On the occasion of the publication of the first “Press collection” of the Laviosa Infoma magazine, we interviewed key figures of the Laviosa Foundation and the magazine: president Giovanni Laviosa, magazine editor Simone Di Nasso, and board members Piero Starita and Simona Manfredini.
The conversation, in addition to clarifying the role of the magazine, opened up to important projects.
When was “Laviosa Informa” born?
John Laviosa Laviosa Informa was born from the idea, shared in Laviosa Chimica, of finding a tool for those working in the company to participate in the most significant events.
It was born as a communication tool within the company.
Piero Starita Wanting to find communication tools for the company and inspired by some large companies that had used such tools, we thought of a small publication to be named Laviosa Informa.
The time was about 10 years ago.
Laviosa Informa has had moments of higher and lower circulation; now it is time to give stability to the publication.
Simone Di Nasso When was “Laviosa Informa” born?
Originally Laviosa Informa was a kind of mimeograph that surveyor Paolo D’Andreagiovanni had worked on.
It was a communication tool that worked, but with engineer Starita we thought of doing something more structured, that could communicate bidirectionally, that could also involve our foreign offices.
We said to each other, “we are from Livorno, let’s put a little pepper, a little saltiness.”
That’s when we started making the magazine in multiple languages, registering it in court and giving it an allure, a graphic design that was more modern, representative of our desire to keep up with the times.
We then decided to distribute it not only internally.
Talking at length to see who might be interested in it, we decided to share it externally with the Livorno newspaper libraries, to distribute it to relevant local entities such as the Port Authority, Fire Department, Local Government.
All this was done to make Laviosa’s life pulsate in the city context.
Rather than print it we put it online, on our website, it was a green choice.
There was a desire to do something that was in step with the times and able to communicate what we are and what we have done and what we want to do.
Simona Manfredini Laviosa Informa won me over.
Part of the reason I gladly agreed to collaborate with the Laviosa Foundation was determined by the magazine.
I was very impressed by the fact that I was coming into contact with a company that not only produces material goods but also produces values that are made evident by the way Laviosa Informa is structured, which, in addition to being an organ of a company, very clearly conveys the spirit that animates the company and its interest in the world around it, its curiosity about the territory in which it operates, its desire to investigate the same and, more generally, the major themes of contemporary society.
What also won me over was the streamlined and fresh form that manages to connect the company with Laviosa and vice versa, in a very stimulating back-and-forth between the company and the world in which it operates.
What function does Laviosa Informa magazine have for the company?
John Laviosa It seems important to me to emphasize how Laviosa Informa is also designed for internal communication within the company, because awareness of what the company does is an important value and then indirectly it also becomes a tool to make those who read us understand what kind of company Laviosa is.
To this end, we also consider the Annual Report important.
Piero Starita It is clear that from the very beginning the problem of dissemination, of possible users, has always been difficult because the more you expand, the more complicated you make the drafting of the product.
When I talk about users I am talking about the stakeholders, the customers, the suppliers, the employees, the sectors that Laviosa deals with.
For about two years Laviosa Informa has been enriched with the “Culture Section.”
What is the purpose and what can be elements of integration between the first version and this latest one?
John Laviosa The integration of a culture section within Laviosa Informa was a happy intuition because the company wants to inform about its work, and cultural topics define its nature and the social responsibility that the company feels it has.
We like to talk about work because this is the specifics of our operation in various parts of the world and being able to represent it through a cultural slant as well, through photography seemed original to us.
I have seen other company publications as well, but 90 percent of what I have seen insists on business and, with marginal exceptions, from this point of view ours remains a unique experiment.
Piero Starita Originally Laviosa informs was focused on the company.
The addition of culture makes it possible to make the product more interesting and, more importantly, open it up to a much wider audience.
Simone Di Nasso We consider this an opportunity, a reason for distinction.Simona Manfredini The thing that characterizes Laviosa Informa and makes it attractive is that an organ of communication of a company has an editorial and aesthetic robe that ennobles it.
The culture section broadens the breath of Laviosa Informa and makes it a magazine worthy of greater circulation.
Laviosa Informa has a four-monthly cadence, so it is taken for granted that the articles and reports it hosts have value over time.
Do you agree?
John Laviosa Content related to the culture section is more likely to remain over time because, beyond the moment when a publication or exhibition is made, the content remains.
What happens in the company can also be less about the event and more about reflection.
Laviosa Informa could be a mix of what happens (also an important aspect because it rewards people in terms of goals achieved) and reflective themes such as corporate purpose and values of the company that go beyond the moment but still have strong relevance to our work because we talk about the setting of the annuity or income.
Piero Starita In the life of a company whatever topic is addressed, whatever choice is made, there is always evaluation of the short, medium and long term components and often life circumstances lead to focus on the short term, less on the medium term and even less on the long term.
Rebalancing this difference, evaluating problem solving in the short term but also evaluating the effects in the long term is important.
The fact that Laviosa Informa is a quarterly creates the opportunity for long-term evaluations.
Simone Di Nasso In the publication of a daily newspaper, there is a counter life of the given information that is concentrated in a time frame from morning to evening, while the editorial has a broad scope that allows it to be read even days later without the topic losing importance.
The quarterly may have a slant that maybe even winks at a short news story but I think the editorial formula, that is, information that has a longer bench life, is the right slant for us.
Simona Manfredini I find it a perfect formula.
Four months is a good period to keep an eye on current events but at the same time the product has validity over time.
Looking back at the year’s Laviosa Informa I find that there is nothing expired.
The formula is right.
How to acquire information that can enrich Laviosa Informa with news stories about the work and those who represent it in a wide variety of roles?
How to extend interest to non-workers, including those outside the company?
John Laviosa This is an important goal.
It needs to be declined on this journalist-interview-response role because then it becomes less specific.
There is always a link to work but that is not necessarily about an event but about the condition of work in broader terms that can affect a wider scale of readers.
Piero Starita Opening up to the outside world is very important but must be done in stages.Simone Di Nasso I saw that our company has a global reach, we are present in so many areas.
I realized that when I say what the company does there is a lot of interest and it also arouses citizen pride.
By publishing civil engineering posts, inherent Laviosa, on my Linkedin profile I have verified that there are always many views from various parts of the world.
I see that there is attention and so let’s enhance it.
Simona Manfredini I find the idea of interviewing Laviosa in all its personifications very interesting.
I have unclear ideas about the breadth of Laviosa’s activity, and there are so many characters that I think have so much to tell about what Laviosa is, about their working reality, about their memories in the context of the company.
I agree with the idea of giving a space to the people who represent it in the world.
Might it make sense to host a column within Laviosa Informa that tells the Laviosa trades?
John Laviosa This sounds like a very good idea to me.
The goal is that Laviosa informa should not be finalized into an individual reading, it should have features that broaden the reading possibilities, what happens in the factory accompanied by broader reflections and cultural news that perhaps through the interview talk about the trades.
Use Laviosa Informa to talk about topics that allow for broader reflections on labor.
I would like to emphasize the importance of the interview as a facilitator of communication.
Not everyone is familiar with writing outside their field of expertise, but everyone may have important things to say.
Using the interview can facilitate communication.
Do you have any other ideas for disseminating the magazine?
Piero Starita Suppliers, customers mean a whole set of subjects.
Certain industries or association sectors are the normal scope of outreach.
Simone di Naxos I am a great believer in the educational sphere; we have a duty to future generations.
All channels: newspaper libraries, libraries, schools should be used.
In addition, an outreach in this sense can one day create opportunities for future generations to submit good resumes to the company.
Simona.
Manfredini There are youth gathering places in Livorno that, in addition to the categories Simone mentioned, can be channels of dissemination but also a source of inspiration for Laviosa informa.
It would be interesting to create a kind of journalistic alliance with Il Tirreno or other local newspapers where you can find inserts from Laviosa Informa on certain occasions.
Interview by Serafino Fasulo