Provoking good

An editorial by Giacomo and Momo

At the entrance to the Sustainable Development Goals pavilion at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, there was this manifesto.

United Nations reports are a key tool for narrating the world and its evolution. They speak to politicians, decision-makers, the research world, the public, and everyone in between. These reports serve as instruments of dissemination, information, and new hypotheses, demonstrating how the path toward a new world is possible.

Many of the reports featured were created by us, in collaboration with various United Nations teams.

Yes, for the past 15 years, we’ve worked alongside the United Nations, engaging in continuous dialogue and constant provocation. We craft content aimed at making the world a better place. We assist decision-makers with design to make more informed choices. We help UN communicators reach their target audiences and convey their messages more clearly and broadly through strategic planning. We simplify complex concepts through illustration and motion design, making them accessible on social networks. We tell stories through videos that reach global audiences. We write about ever-changing worlds and cultures, and are constantly challenged, changed, and influenced by a privileged perspective: that of our UN colleagues.

All of this might seem commonplace for a strategic communication agency. However, just above, we used the word “provocation”, a term that may initially seem distant from the world of the UN. But it’s a word we embrace, one we’ve always used in these kinds of projects, from creative kick-off meetings to client presentations. We believe that to get attention, certain topics need something extra. Something that our ongoing research and passion can add to the equation. We could describe it as creativity with deep roots and showy fruits – roots that draw from experience and relentless commitment, and fruits that ripen without fear of exaggeration.

These roots span 15 years. Initially, we were designers, but we evolved, partly following and partly anticipating the needs of our UN colleagues. And so, we became communication strategists, editorial designers, videomakers, digital strategists, authors, copywriters, coders, digital storytellers, data visualizers… always maintaining a unique perspective: our experience in this world of politics, sociology, and contemporaneity. But above all, our focus on humanity, in all of its evolutionary forms, not always positive ones.

We are immensely proud to work on these types of projects and with these partners every day. All of this grants us a better perspective of the world around us. The know-how accumulated over the past 15 years makes Blossom a place of boundless knowledge and experimentation, enabling us to look at the world with fresh eyes every day. Most importantly, it allows us to apply all of our know-how to other areas – education, business, entrepreneurship – in collaboration with our partners to create a better world.

In our own way, we try. Every day.

Two hands-on sessions that transformed perspectives and enhanced team skills

We conducted a bootcamp at the Illumia headquarters, our long-time client, as part of a training program aimed at their marketing, communications, digital, HR, and IT teams. Over two days of practical training, we shared tools and techniques we use daily, offering concrete knowledge on using AI for content creation – from text generation with ChatGPT to image creation with MidJourney and advanced research with Perplexity.

This bootcamp marks an important milestone in our eight-year partnership with Illumia, built on mutual trust and a desire to grow together. With a creative and strategic approach, we supported the team in enhancing their skills, even encouraging those who were initially skeptical to explore new possibilities in the practical use of artificial intelligence.

We continue to share our expertise in communications and marketing, offering innovative and actionable solutions to transform the way companies work.

At the service of creativity, strategy, and innovation: here are the tools that continuously evolve our work.

At Blossom, we love to experiment, acquire new knowledge, and engage in constant learning. That’s why we test different AI tools every day, always on the lookout for those that can enhance our communication methods. These tools become an integral part of our creative, strategic, and consulting work.

But which tools are the favorites of each team?

Strategy Team

Perplexity. Why? With its ability to quickly gather and analyze large amounts of data, it provides us with a clear and detailed view of the market, in combination with other research tools. This tool makes strategic planning more fluid and effective, enabling us to make more informed and targeted decisions in less time.

Copywriting Team

An ideal tool for organizing ideas, developing content, drafting, and revising texts. Which one? ChatGPT. From brainstorming to translations, from editing to structuring complex documents. It’s always open on our desk, making the writing process more agile, creative, and precise.

Media House Team

In video production, Runway (Gen-3) is the most valuable support. Its advanced features and constant updates allow us to elevate the quality and diversify our productions, achieving increasingly stunning realism.

Design Team

When it comes to transforming concepts into images, we mainly rely on Midjourney. With its wide range of artistic styles, it enriches the final result, making each creation unique and distinctive.

AI Impact

The AI tools we adopt not only refine our creative and strategic approach but also enable us to quickly translate ideas and data into practical and concrete solutions. Thanks to this integration of technological innovation, expertise, and critical analysis, we can swiftly respond to market challenges, turning every opportunity into a tangible and valuable outcome.

An intimate journey into “The Hammer’s” energy, on and off the court, during Wimbledon.

Illumia chose to tell a different story. And to do so, they once again turned to the strategic and creative consultancy of Blossom. With the Instagram series “Oltre – Stories of True Energy,” we highlighted the most authentic side of Matteo Berrettini, the star of a unique and engaging journey.

An impactful video to present the first range of fully branded Prometeon tires.

The launch of Serie 02 was a key moment. It is the first-ever Prometeon-branded industrial tire range; designed, produced, and tested to meet performance and durability needs in every usage context.

For this occasion, we created a launch video with the tagline Unlock a New Era, announcing the arrival of this significant innovation that projects every journey into the future of transportation. In a post-industrial space, a man enters and opens a container revealing the first Prometeon-branded tire. 3D animations highlight its components and technology.

The video was presented in Egypt during the event celebrating Prometeon’s thirtieth anniversary of the Alexandria factory, attended by representatives from global branches and major suppliers.

We are proud to enter this new era alongside Prometeon. Let’s keep rolling together.

Watch the video.

How do we face times of great transformation? At Blossom, we started with knowledge.

It is said that to invent the light bulb, Thomas Alva Edison conducted thousands of experiments, using hundreds of plant fibers, and testing solutions for over 18 months. For this reason, Edison has been attributed with quotes like:

True or not, this quote holds great appeal in these times of technological transformation. Edison was able to innovate because he could adopt a new mental approach each time.

But, how easy is it to change our mindset when faced with new developments today?

If you don’t change your mind, you change nothing

A survey we recently conducted at Blossom revealed an extremely interesting fact: after a year of continuous training on the use of generative AI, 42% of participants reported changing their minds on this topic.

While it is true that the majority remained in their positions, a significant portion of the course participants admitted to shifting from a more skeptical approach to a more enthusiastic one.

A Form Of Intelligence

The fact that the mindset change occurred in a positive or negative direction is not as relevant. What is interesting is that training, and therefore knowledge, has been the main factor of transformation.

It demonstrates that knowledge allows us to overcome prejudices; that “knowing” remains the first step to forming an opinion, even in these frenetic times; and that understanding helps us see the limits and potential of a change, even when it is still ongoing.

More Sharing, More Awareness

Along with knowledge, interaction has certainly played a fundamental role in the ability to view new developments with a fresh perspective.

The training within Blossom was conducted largely in the form of Communities of Practice, or “safe spaces” where people can learn together, putting into practice or deepening the theoretical notions acquired in exchange for constructive feedback, either among peers or with professionals.

In the survey, submitted to all participants of Blossom’s Communities of Practice, comments and considerations on the limits, risks, and opportunities of AI emerged, demonstrating an increasing awareness and an ability to keep up with the evolutions of AI itself.

“It’s always necessary to check the results, because mistakes are always possible.”

“AI has made routine operations faster and simpler.”

“I’ve sped up lengthy processes, even when it comes to creative processes (like brainstorming).”

“Sometimes I’m tempted to take the results at face value without applying critical thinking.”

It can WOOOORK!

Change, including a mindset shift within organizations, is a difficult but possible transformation. Of course, it needs to be accompanied and guided.

And if it’s true that the “light bulb” of AI is still quite imperfect, at Blossom we have learned that to get closer and closer to true innovation, we must never stop testing and trying. In other words… to be restless!