The Big Impression – Diadora’s Antonio Gnocchini on the Power of Discovery

Podcast: The Big Impression
Host: Damian Fowler (The Current)
Guest: Antonio Gnocchini, Chief Marketing Officer, Diadora
Air Date: January 22, 2026

Overview

In this episode, Damian Fowler sits down with Antonio Gnocchini, CMO of Diadora, to explore how the iconic Italian sportswear brand leveraged the Paris 2024 Olympics to reignite its performance legacy and reassert its place as a challenger in a market crowded by giants like Nike and LVMH. The conversation focuses on how Diadora balanced heritage with innovation, focused on authentic storytelling, and found ways to create brand resonance—even without being an official Olympic sponsor.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Harnessing the Olympic Moment (00:00–03:35)

• Olympics as Brand Catwalk: Antonio describes the Olympics as “the main event, your main catwalk... the perfect environment to talk again about what you stand for” ([01:18]).
• Challenger Opportunity: He notes a shift: "This Olympics was maybe one of the first one[s]... when you could see some challenger brands activating and being visible. In the past, this was really an event only for main sponsors." ([01:18])

2. Changes in Media and Brand Opportunity (03:35–05:47)

• New Channels Enable Challengers: The modern media landscape, with digital niches and fragmented attention, lets smaller brands break through where only dominant sponsors once thrived.
  • “Challenger brands are gaining space, market share, and also visibility... Running is one of those categories that is really extremely democratic.” ([04:00])
• Value Beyond Big Names: Success isn’t just for those with big athletes—genuine niche marketing can work.

3. Diadora’s Legacy and Evolution (05:47–08:42)

• Heritage’s Double-Edged Sword: Diadora was once “the tennis athletes brand,” but had focused on product and missed marketing innovation.

• Transition to Lifestyle and Back: Over time, the brand became seen as “romantic, Italian, quaint, traditional” but lost traction as a “performance” brand.

  • “If you’re not serious about sport, you lose your credibility as a lifestyle or sport brand.” ([06:24])

4. Reasserting Performance and Innovation (08:42–11:11)

• Brand Health Studies: Confirmed a disconnect; people recognized Diadora but didn’t link it to innovative performance products.
• Restoring R&D and Communication: Shifted focus to R&D and marketing that spotlights technological advancements and authenticity—especially to entice younger, discovery-minded consumers.
  • “If you want to be successful in sports, you have to talk about innovation... and being technological advanced.” ([08:57])

5. Focusing on the Right Audience (11:11–13:39)

• Prioritizing Niche Authenticity: Rather than chasing mass appeal, Diadora targeted genuine, high-mileage runners with the “normalize high mileage” campaign.
  • “...Direct[ed] only to that type of consumers that could recognize the acts and the gestures and the typical struggle of that type of runners, even if that meant alienating for a little bit a wider audience.” ([11:29])
• Influence via Niche: Authentic engagement with a niche can drive broader influence over time.

6. Building Pre-Olympic Buzz (13:39–16:06)

• Message Depth Over Speed: The team focused on “stopping attention” and communicating deeper stories, aiming to break through the “noise” of the Olympics.
• Amplification Across Channels: They prepared not just athletes but retailers and partners, ensuring coherent messaging and optimized product placement.
  • “The content that we had created... was getting a completion rate of 97-98%.” ([14:47])

7. Measuring Impact (16:06–17:05)

• Comprehensive Monitoring: Annual brand health studies, social media monitoring, and close ties with retailers allow ongoing calibration.
• Success Metrics: High video completion rates, social buzz, and retail sell-through rates are pivotal.

8. Lessons and Outlook (17:05–21:24)

• Challenger Mindset: Daring to attack vertically in select categories, not spreading too thin (“We only are focusing now on few sports, but to do them with authenticity.” [17:15])
• Continuous Readiness: Success comes from capitalizing not just on the Olympics, but on all relevant sport “moments”—big or small.
• Discovery over Preaching: Gnocchini emphasizes, "you can't preach to consumers, but you can allow them the opportunity to discover" ([20:30]), highlighting the shift from brand education to consumer-led discovery.

9. Brand Touchpoints and Authenticity (21:24–22:21)

• Every Interaction Counts: Authenticity must shine through every single consumer touch point.
  • “If you want to be serious... every touch point, every single touch point, need[s] to tell something about that story. Otherwise they will immediately perceive that it’s not authentic.” ([21:55])

10. Advice for Other Marketers (22:21–24:44)

• Focus, Not Frenzy: Brands should resist the temptation to overextend, instead “doing few things and do[ing] them perfectly.” ([23:04])
• Saying No is Strategic: “You need focus. And this means also at times being capable of saying no to things... Even when you get pressure from anybody or everybody in the company to do and also the pressure from the market...” ([23:04])
• Real Innovation Only: Communicate innovation only when genuine.

11. Looking Ahead and Industry Reflections (24:44–28:55)

• Olympics as a Long-Term Play: Planning for Olympic moments is ongoing and requires forward-thinking alignment across product, athletes, and messaging.
• Valuing Local and Lesser-Known Events: Underappreciated events and athletes can yield major brand wins. (“You can build excellent, engaging campaign through those.” [25:51])
• Hierarchy of Brand Success: Gnocchini rates storytelling as most important, followed by innovation, and then heritage. ("If you do cultural storytelling well, I think your legacy, your heritage is probably already well told in there." [26:24])
• Data Gaps in Advertising: Reliable metrics beyond simple reach remain elusive. Digital hasn’t solved Wanamaker’s age-old problem of knowing which half of ad budgets works ([27:03]).
• The Attention Economy Challenge: New channels may distort stories; marketers must adapt without losing their brand’s essence.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On attention at the Olympics:
  "For a few weeks you have the attention, you have people connected and engaged, you have people who care. And so it's a perfect environment to talk again about what you stand for." – Antonio Gnocchini, [01:18]
• On challenger brands’ rise:
  "In these past few years there is a change going on in which incumbents are really under pressure from challengers brands in the sport industry." – Antonio, [04:00]
• On not preaching to new generations:
  "Every time about we try to give lessons, especially the younger generation doesn't seem to be interested and doesn't like it also. But what we see that they like is what they discover." – Antonio, [18:33]
• On authenticity at every touchpoint:
  "If you want to be serious in your relationship... every single touch point need to tell something about that story. Otherwise they will immediately perceive that it's not authentic any longer." – Antonio, [21:55]
• On brand focus as a key to success:
  "The most important thing for us has been to be capable of focusing on doing few things and do them perfectly, or at least as perfectly as we could do." – Antonio, [23:04]
• On the future of brand building:
  "If you do cultural storytelling well, I think your legacy, your heritage is probably already well told in there..." – Antonio, [26:24]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00 – Introduction to Diadora’s Paris 2024 campaign
• 01:18 – The Olympics as a platform and Diadora’s ambitions
• 04:00 – Challenger brands and changing media
• 06:24 – Diadora’s heritage, marketing shifts, and loss of performance focus
• 08:57 – Research findings on brand perception
• 11:29 – Defining and pursuing the core audience
• 13:51 – Pre-Olympic buzz-building strategies
• 14:47 – Analyzing campaign impact and completion rates
• 16:21 – Monitoring and measuring brand buzz and sales connection
• 17:15 – Challenger market strategy and vertical focus
• 18:33 – Lesson on storytelling versus teaching brand history
• 21:55 – Authenticity through product and experience
• 23:04 – Marketer advice: focus, selectiveness, and authentic innovation
• 25:51 – Overrated trends & unexploited opportunities in sports marketing
• 26:24 – Innovation vs. heritage vs. storytelling: what matters most
• 27:03 – Data and ad effectiveness challenges
• 29:03 – Closing thoughts: focus and execution

Takeaways for Listeners

• Find your moment: Even as a challenger brand, iconic events like the Olympics can be leveraged by focusing on authenticity, niche marketing, and agility.
• Prioritize storytelling and innovation: Cultural storytelling now trumps simply heritage or technology. But innovation, when real, still matters.
• Target and trust your niche: A committed core can drive broader influence if you connect authentically.
• Don’t preach—curate discovery: Today’s younger consumers prefer to discover meaning and brand history, not be lectured.
• Stay vigilant about every touchpoint: Authenticity is made or broken in the details.
• Focus beats frenzy: Success often comes from doing a few things exceptionally well.

This episode offers a primer for marketers seeking to revitalize legacy brands, especially in highly competitive arenas dominated by established giants.