Google Unfold Milano: Why the brand that keeps its promise wins
Two days in Milan with DILLING
Last week, Brian Ahle and Jacob Struve, together with DILLING, attended Google Unfold in Milan. Two days focused on brand building, omnichannel and the shopping experience in retail, featuring speakers from some of the world's strongest brands.
We heard about luxury from Dolce & Gabbana, Audemars Piguet and Golden Goose, received a private behind-the-scenes tour, and the overarching theme was, not entirely surprisingly, AI. How do we make full use of it without compromising the brand and the feeling it evokes?
Here are the most important takeaways we're bringing back to our clients.
Luxury is about protecting the feeling
A large part of the day centred on luxury and the branding behind it. The brands control their own sales or work through selected premium retailers and deliberately stay away from discounting. Every time a brand is sold too cheaply, the sense of luxury erodes for the customer.
Dolce & Gabbana Beauty CEO Gianluca Toniolo also highlighted the importance of a product line that serves as an entry point to the brand, allowing new customers to step into the universe and become part of the community.
Sales and broad distribution
Drives sales here and now, but weakens the perception of the brand.
- Quick revenue
- The customer waits for the next discount
- The luxury feel is diluted
Control, entrance and community
Sales stay close to the brand, and new customers get a way into the universe.
- Entry product as a gateway
- Sell directly or through premium retailers
- Community that retains the customer
Concept sketch, not data.
"A promise kept." What the consumer expects, you must deliver. The bigger you are as a brand, the harder it is to recover if you fail to live up to expectations.
Brian Ahle
Be bold, or lose momentum
One of the day's highlights was chairman Renzo Rosso from OTB Group (Diesel, Jil Sander, and others), who spoke openly about being bold, standing out, and not being afraid.
Sometimes you stumble, but you get back up and become wiser for it. If you don't challenge yourself and innovate technologically at every level, you lose momentum and market share. That applies across all industries.
Five takeaways from Google Unfold
The same content does not work on both YouTube and TikTok. Users have different needs and expectations, so content must be created for the platform from the outset.
From the stage, Google stated that structured data in product feeds delivers around 5% better performance. The figure comes from Google itself, and we are keen to see it tested in practice.
As AI agents increasingly need to understand and recommend products, clean and well-structured data becomes a competitive advantage.
The story must carry the customer all the way to purchase. It is about brand building and storytelling just as much as it is about performance.
Factor in the customer journey and long-term customer lifetime value from the start — not just the first purchase.
What does this mean for you?
Performance marketing and brand building are more closely linked than ever. Jacob Struve sums it up: Think outside the box, test things out, and remember the customer journey.
Is your brand ready for the next wave?
We look at your feed data, your creative across platforms, and the balance between brand and performance. Contact us for a no-obligation conversation.
