Let me begin with an anecdote … when we restarted the production line after COVID had closed it for 7 weeks during the first lockdown, we felt like we were making history. We celebrated the moment by filming the first car off the assembly line. We also sent the video to the client. His reply said an enormous amount about the Ferrari brand. He wrote back saying that whilst the purchase of the high range car had a meant a great deal to him in recognition of his personal business success, the emotion that he had experienced when he watched the video and trembled in front of his computer, meant a whole lot more. His car not only had become a symbol of the restart of a nation, it had also confirmed his sense of being part of a Ferrari family, which no other car brand had ever achieved before.

This story expresses the idea that a person can be bigger than his own desires. It leads us to see that Ferrari’s native arena is truly a form of expression. It is about belonging to a myth, to a world of meaning. It’s not just about about a car, nor a powerful engine, it’s about saying “ I belong to this and I am part of this story” – a story in the making.

Of course, Ferrari ventures into arenas such as move and play, but ultimately Ferrari is an expression of identity, and identification. Through a strong sense of belonging the brand becomes a Category of One where we look to see how we can take the mythology of Ferrari into new categories. To understand how wide and deep the expression arena can be for Ferrari.

On this note, personalisation as a critical societal trend is also very relevant to Ferrari, because in creating a new car, no single car is ever the same. Up to the point that a one-off car is a possibility that represents the apex of personalisation in Ferrari terms – a car that is completely different in its forms and design, to another other in the world. By definition these cars are rare, only for very few special clients who say “I want something that no one else can ever have”. So, in this respect Ferrari is quintessentially about expression also as a form of self expression: “I want to belong, but at the same time I want to be unique. “

It’s not just about about a car, nor a powerful engine, it’s about saying “ I belong to this and I am part of this story” – a story in the making.

So what is Ferrari? As macro-systems, the environment, the market and the customer all evolve what does the brand hold on to, whilst still remaining relevant? How do you translate the same values from 1947 to 2020 when the world and society have changed so much? How do you keep the heart and soul of the brand going, together with that deep sense of belonging?

We consider Ferrari as a single brand with two distinct souls – the sporting origins of Scuderia Ferrari contrasted but coexistent with the refined excellence of Ferrari. The Scuderia’s energy, passion and raw competitiveness is juxtaposed with the sculpted sophistication, innovation and technology of Ferrari roadcars and Ferrari branded creations. Both souls are part of a single brand and live in symbiosis, each one building on the same expressions and values with differing, complementary interpretations.

Building on these essential dimensions, as we looked at new ways to engage with new and existing targets, we understood that it is possible to feel so passionately about Ferrari, that many may even want to wear us – which led us to launch our new fashion line this past spring which was designed exclusively to represent a new form of Ferrari excellence whilst also interpretating the brand and its iconic expressions through the years.

The Ferrari brand also has the legitimacy to bring its incredible DNA to life in previously uncharted arenas. E-Sports help us to find the right language and the right moments to engage with new generations. In days gone by a child would have had a poster of a Ferrari car, probably red, proudly displayed in his or her bedroom. Today’s youth are now interacting and competing live with cars via E-sports, an arena which Ferrari has also recently decided to participate in. We continue to learn more and more about how to engage new audiences, always on their terms, adding new platform choices while always being faithful to who we are as a brand.