If you are planning to expand your business in Italy, should deepen your knowledge of Italian customs before writing marketing content. This will surely give you an edge over your competitors and will save you a lot of embarrassment while reaching Italian consumers.
In fact, many successful campaigns revolve around holidays but some of your country’s symbols might not be understood in Italy. At the same time, including specific references to Italian customs and sayings will help the success of your campaign.
Want to know more? Keep reading to discover the customs of three Italian feast days, specifically:
1) Epifania
2) Pasqua
3) Ferragosto
Italian customs can affect an advertising campaign and its effectiveness
As I’ve already stressed, if you want to offer your services or products to the Italian market, you should consider translating your information into Italian, particularly if you are dealing with tourist information. Moreover, it is also important not to forget the cultural environment of the target audience. In fact, considering Italian customs while writing marketing content is the best way to reach Italian consumers with something that really resonates with them. So, let’s find out more about three Italian feast days.
1) Epifania (Epiphany)
On 6th January, Italians celebrate Epifania, a feast day that officially marks the end of the Christmas holidays. Schools close just before Christmas and re-open the day after Epiphany.
On this day, people share gifts, particularly with children. In fact, according to Italian folklore, an old woman called Befana delivers gifts to children, leaving them in their socks with some candy (or coal, if they’ve been bad).
As “L’Epifania tutte le feste porta via,” – which literally means “Epiphany sweeps away all the festivities” – many Italians decide to spend the first week of January on a final vacation. Why not include this Italian custom and saying in your campaign?
2) Pasqua (Easter)
Easter is a very important holiday in Italy but many of its festive symbols are not shared with the English-speaking world.
For example, the Easter Bunny is almost unknown in Italy and egg hunts are not a tradition for most Italians. Instead, Italians celebrate Easter Sunday (and Easter Monday, which is called “Pasquetta”) with copious amounts of food and gift each other chocolate eggs.
So, if you are planning a marketing campaign with puns revolving around Easter bunnies and egg hunts, you should rethink your slogans and start your copy from scratch, as it won’t make sense for the Italian market. Want to start brainstorming some slogans that are more apt to expand your business in Italy in this period? A famous Italian saying is “Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi,” or “Christmas with your family, Easter with whom you choose,” and this might just be a fun place to start!
3) Ferragosto
On 15th August, Italians celebrate the Assumption of Mary into Heaven and call this feast day Ferragosto. For many people, the week around the day of Ferragosto means holidays because many businesses in Italy are closed.
As a consequence, “Cosa fai a ferragosto?” or “What are you doing on Ferragosto?” is one of the most commonly asked questions in that period: people are just looking for something fun and exciting to do to say goodbye to the ending summer.
You could use this specific Italian custom to craft a marketing campaign for your new clients!
There are few sayings about Ferragosto and they are quite regional, so maybe you can come up with something catchy that might just go viral!
Crafting the perfect Italian slogan
Don’t forget these Italian customs while writing your marketing content! And always keep in mind that these are very heartfelt holidays, so proper etiquette and sensibility are required when crafting your online campaigns, website offers, fliers, and catalogues.
Reach out if you’re wondering whether your slogans and payoffs will work in Italian or if you’re not sure how to adapt your campaign to the Italian market. Relying on a professional translation service is always a good idea but, in this case, you may need something more creative, so also check out my transcreation and copywriting pages.
I’ll be happy to help make your campaign “un gran successo!” – that is to say a big success.
