Two prestigious multi-centenarian members of the Italian Historic Companies Association are among the 57 candidates for the OMI Prize for the best corporate monograph: Florentine companies “Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella 1612” and “Manifatture Sigaro Toscano 1818”, currently celebrating its first 200 years of activity.

Launched in 2013 by the Corporate Monographs Observatory and now in its fourth edition, the OMI Award for Best Corporate Institutional Monograph is a real showcase of “Made in Italy” companies. The last three editions saw the participation of 154 companies, representing the entire Italian production landscape, in terms of economic sectors, geographical areas and company size. Many different narratives of an extremely rich and diversified socio-economic fabric.

The fourth OMI Prize has been awarded during the first European Year of Cultural Heritage, a community initiative aimed at raising awareness on the importance of territorially-rooted values, inherited and embodied by the people living, working and creating in those same places. There’s no way of innovating, without knowing the past. The Osservatorio Monografie d’Impresa is committed – also by means of its Prize – to promoting the cultural heritage of Italian companies.

The round table will be held on the occasion of the awarding of the 2018 OMI Prize trophies on October 17^th, bearing the 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage logo, and it’s included in the events agenda of the MiBACT – Ministry Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism.

The OMI Prize is awarded under the patronage of the Veneto Region, the University of Verona, the IUSVE University, the Coris Department of the Sapienza University of Rome, the Heritage Hub of the University of Hertfordshire, the Chamber of Commerce of Verona, the UPA – Associated Advertising Users, Assocarta, AIMSC – Italian Press and Paper Museums Association, and Assografici, in collaboration with ASCAI – Association for the Development of Corporate Communication, FERPI – Italian Public Relations Federation, ASSOREL – Italian Association of Full-Service RP Agencies, ASSOCOM – Communication Companies Association, with the technical sponsorship of the Chamber of Commerce of Verona, of Intesys Web Agency, of Promemoria Archives & Heritage Vision, of Financial Press – Associated Press Studio, and also the collaboration of Montegrappa (writing tools). The Award aims at promoting corporate monographs as an instrument of corporate reputation and communication, thus raising interest among private and public companies, advertising and public relations agencies, creative professionals and publishing companies.

The Award offer an insight on the circulation and fruition of corporate books. It also sheds light on a sector involving many different professions belonging to the multi-faceted world of communication, as well as a large number of publishing houses.