High Point University

Knowledge sharing is deeply rooted in SAY’s corporate culture. This very mindset paved the way for our collaboration with High Point University (HPU) in North Carolina, USA, specifically with students from the Master’s in International Strategic Communication programme. The academic objective for the American university was to provide future global leaders with direct, hands-on exposure to the operational and competitive dynamics of overseas markets.

During an educational tour of Italy exploring the country’s leading creative hubs, HPU requested to meet with a well-established Italian marketing and communications agency. The goal was to gain first-hand insight into what it truly means to operate in this industry across Italy and Europe, examining the cultural and strategic nuances that set the European market apart from North America. SAY welcomed the opportunity, opening the doors of its Milan headquarters for an advanced training session, delivering a comprehensive overview of who we are, what we do, and how we got here.

We kicked off the day with an in-depth overview of SAY’s identity, our brand positioning, and our business model. It was the perfect opportunity to demonstrate to the students how a multidisciplinary team is structured to work synergistically—integrating strategic consultancy with vertical expertise to tackle the contemporary challenges of the global market.

Immediately after, we broadened the scope with a macroeconomic and cultural deep dive focused on the complexities of the European Single Market. During this session, we explored the profound differences in strategic approach compared to the United States, highlighting how marketing in Europe requires constantly navigating linguistic fragmentation, local cultural nuances, and strict regulatory frameworks.

Moving into the core of our services, the journey continued with a vertical deep dive into our Creativity division. We demonstrated how brand identity and copywriting translate into tangible value through the comprehensive strategy developed for the Padua University Hospital.

We showcased the restyling of the official logo and corporate web portal, the creation of the institutional brand identity across print and digital media, and the concept behind the multi-subject advertising campaign against violence towards healthcare workers. Finally, a central focus was placed on the wayfinding system: a complete redesign of the hospital’s topographical map and signage based on logistical analysis and target audience profiling, engineered to simplify navigation for all user groups.

From pure creativity, we then transitioned into numbers, turning the focus to our Performance capability. Centred on data-driven consultancy, lead generation, and advanced advertising, this session concretely demonstrated to students how data analysis can inform and maximise creative effectiveness in international contexts, highlighted through the “Inner Viking” case study for Erreà Sport during the FIFA World Cup.

For this project, our agency led the end-to-end strategic development of a global photo contest, from initial naming studies to the management of operational tools. The goal was to leverage the media exposure of the Icelandic national football team to align with the core values of the Nordic people: grit, humility, and a deep connection to their roots. By deploying high-performance dynamics and targeted advertising, the campaign drove the audience to generate a massive volume of user-generated content in line with the positive spirit of Iceland’s supporters.

Culminating this journey through the world of SAY, we concluded the day by exploring our Relations universe (Press Office, PR, Events, and Influencer Marketing). As our final flagship case study, we presented the Olympic Games and the Milano Cortina Media Tour, leveraging our agency’s extensive track record of active participation across six editions of the Games (Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024, and Milano Cortina 2026), overseeing content production, press office management, and communications coordination.

Specifically for Milano Cortina, we outlined the complex organisation of a strategic Media Tour, designed to promote competition venues through immersive visits aimed at generating authentic content and engaging media outlets on a global scale. These assets were subsequently deployed by a network of journalists and PR professionals to share the host regions’ most compelling stories with an international audience.

The session with High Point University’s emerging talent proved to be far more than an academic exercise: it was a true strategic bridge connecting the American educational approach with the pragmatism of the European market.

Engaging with the questions, curiosity, and ambitions of those who will shape tomorrow’s marketing landscape offered immense mutual value. For SAY, sharing our know-how means doing precisely that: turning field experience into a value accelerator, helping shape a new generation of professionals equipped to drive meaningful impact across any global scenario.