Italian companies target Chinese consumers with innovative virtual tour of Leonardo da Vinci’s art launched on Alipay

Ahead of 2023 International Museum Day, Digital to Asia, an Italian digital marketing agency focused on Chinese market, and Way Experience, an Italian production company that creates unique AR and VR immersive experiences for the culture and tourism sectors, today announced the launch of an innovative virtual tour featuring Leonardo da Vinci’s art on Alipay, the leading digital open platform in China.

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The tour, with a 360-degree view powered by immersive 3D technologies, allows Chinese art lovers to see and learn about Leonardo da Vinci’s works that are displayed across different museums around the world into a single virtual museum. Italian designers and creatives took inspiration from European Renaissance architecture for the look and feel of the virtual museum. The virtual museum also includes a Chinese language guide of Leonardo da Vinci’s life and his most iconic paintings such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, as well as his inventions, such as the flying machine, collected from Codex Atlanticus.

Chinese art lovers can purchase the tour through a mini program, named Yunshang Mibao, on the Alipay platform.

The virtual museum on Alipay is the latest example of how technology is being used to bring history and culture to life for a new generation of consumers. By partnering with Alipay, Digital to Asia and Way Experience are able to offer Chinese art lovers a unique and immersive experience that would not be possible otherwise.

“Emerging technologies give us the opportunity to create virtual places and travel inside them to discover humanity's greatest masterpieces. We are excited to partner with the Alipay platform to bring innovative sight-seeing experiences to Chinese consumers,” said Marco Pizzoni, co-founder and CEO of Way Experience, “Together with Digital to Asia, we created a virtual tour of Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpieces for Chinese art lovers in a Renaissance-like museum with inspiration drawn from different places that represent Italian history.”

“As an agency specializing in digital marketing strategies for Asian markets, we always stay ahead of the curve. Given mobile-savvy Chinese consumers’ open attitude towards new and innovative experiences, we have been working with Italian partner Way Experience and leading platform Alipay for the past several months to provide users with a Leonard da Vinci themed virtual tour that they have never experienced before,” said Giuliana Zagarella, General Manager of Digital to Asia. “Alipay’s deep connection with users and the availability of various digital tools on the platform make it the perfect platform partner for us in China.”

“Digital technology is making it possible for people to transcend the limitations of time and space and experience different cultures and art from all over the world. As a platform, Alipay is committed to supporting businesses to better engage with digital savvy audiences,” said Nicole Wang, Alipay’s digital solution expert for the museum industry.

The culture and tourism industries are becoming increasingly digital, with companies using more digital solutions to create new experiences for customers. According to a survey by Accenture, senior travel industry executives believe that technology is becoming more important in developing long-term business success¹.

By the end of 2022, more than 2,000 museums have been using the Alipay platform to improve their digital operations and connect with museum enthusiasts, particularly younger, mobile-savvy generations. These museums leverage digital tools and services offered on Alipay, such as mini-programs, lifestyle accounts, live streaming, and blockchain-based digital collectibles to improve engagement with visitors.

According to OECD’s Tourism Trends and Policies report in 2022², “Digital technologies present wide-reaching opportunities to facilitate increased reach to consumers, productivity, and the transition to a more sustainable and inclusive future, delivering benefits to micro and small businesses and local communities as well as to visitors”.

About Way Experience

Founded in 2019, Way Experience is an Italian production company that creates unique AR and VR immersive experiences for the culture and tourism sectors. Way Experience comes up with, produces and shares innovative projects designed for the general public through both phygital experiences and full digital products. We are a team of digital creatives, storytellers and virtual artists whose mission is sharing culture, knowledge and beauty through disruptive experiences that enrich everyone who lives them.

About Digital to Asia (Branding Records Group)

Digital to Asia is a digital marketing agency founded in 2017 that supports European Brands in promoting products and services towards Chinese customers. Digital to Asia designs digital marketing strategies for Asian markets with significant and measurable results, starting from market analysis, defining sales and communications strategies and searching for suitable Chinese partners to develop online sales and brand promotions. Moreover, Digital to Asia is expert on travel marketing, with the aim to guide Chinese customers discover European attractions while ensuring the most amazing lifestyle and luxury shopping experiences.

About Alipay

In the digital era, Alipay has evolved from a trusted payment tool to an open platform that connects businesses, institutions, service providers, and other partners with consumers. Alipay enables partners from various industries to offer safe and convenient payment options. It also enables partners to communicate and deliver different digital services to their customers in China through Alipay mini programs, lifestyle accounts and other tools. The Alipay platform has connected over 80 million businesses with more than one billion consumers.

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¹ https://www.accenture.com/content/dam/accenture/final/industry/travel/document/Travel-Technology-Vision-2022.pdf
² https://www.oecd.org/cfe/tourism/oecd-tourism-trends-and-policies-20767773.htm

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Contact information

Bell Wang
yixing.wl@antgroup.com