Business

CasaFacile celebrates its fifteenth year and from Thursday 8 March it will be on the newsstands with a completely new look.
CasaFacile has always offered its readers ideas, practical and easy to copy suggestions, as well as designs and furnishing solutions linked to the acquisition of and living in a home on a day to day basis. And it is a mission that has been rewarded by the readers, as is demonstrated by the +15% recorded by the latest Audipress survey (2011/III). Also in terms of advertising, in 2011 the number of ad clients grew by around 6% compared with the previous year, reaching 204 for a total of 830 advertising pages.

“The new CasaFacile has been conceived to bring it even closer to the needs of the readers,” declared the editor Giusi Silighini. “And we have worked very closely with them, finding out what would improve and make it even “easier”. Also because beauty is now within the reach of everyone, what is more difficult is to render it usable. This is why we have made special efforts to decode the work of stylists, entering homes with a magnifying glass in order to help to create a really personal style,” Giusi Silighini concluded.
At the heart of the magazine is the section Casa Prima&dopo (before & after), by a wide margin the readers’ favourite, from this month with bigger, all-colour images, technical details and backstage photos.
Among the new features is Décor, a section entirely dedicated to the world of decoration and creative do-it-yourself, recovery and transformation, with suggestions from experts on the web that every month will reply to questions from readers about design and interiors. Finally the section Link brings together the most interesting comments and ideas from our community of readers (social networks, blog family tester, events with the editorial staff).

The monthly, that has been very active on Facebook from the beginning, talks to and interacts with almost 30,000 fans who from this issue will contribute even more in choosing the content of certain sections of the magazine.

In support of the re-launch of CasaFacile a communication plan has been drawn up across various media: print (Mondadori magazines), web sites and PoS. On the ground a guerrilla marketing campaign has been organised in the centres of Rome and Milan. In the latter, the windows of the Camomilla Store in Corso Europa and Moroni Gomma in Corso Matteotti will be “dressed” for two weeks with CasaFacile creativity.

In addition a mini-site has been activated www.casidifficilicasafacile.com to play and participate in the CasaFacile online competition with prizes that range from cult design objects to subscriptions to the magazine.

The new CasaFacile will be available from newsstands from Thursday 8 March with a cover price of €1.90.

Today sees the start of Milano Fashion Design, the initiative promoted by the Mondadori Group, with its titles Donna Moderna, Grazia, Tu Style, the web sites Donnamoderna.com and Grazia.it, and the City of Milan, which this year will take part in the programme with cultural initiatives and events.
Milano Fashion Design will offer the city, until 26 February, and coinciding with the Fashion Week, five days of shows, meetings and performances at the special Fashion House designed by Michele De Lucchi, in Piazza Liberty.

Fashion Show
The programme of Milano Fashion Design will be rich in appointments dedicated to fashion. Until Saturday 25 February, from 3pm to 7.30pm, at the Fashion House in Piazza Liberty, there will be a series of fashion shows organised by Grazia with the participation of personalities from the world of entertainment. Among the performances scheduled today Fornarina, Luna and Luciano Soprani, in addition to a special event by Asus introducing its latest technology. In the coming days it will be the turn of Yes-Zee, Swisses, Cromia, Mangano, Nell & Me, Giorgia & Johns, Kocca, Mazzonetto, Geox, Sisley and Peserico, while Milano-Fiera Macef will promote its exhibition activity with a fashion performance.
Also this year Sunday will be dedicated to children with catwalks between 2.30pm and 4.30pm, presenting clothes by the most prestigious companies in the sector, including Eddy Pen, iDo and Il Gufo.
Grazia.it and the bloggers of the new Grazia IT Blogs network will be on the move around the city to capture and photograph the latest trends in fashion and beauty. Headquartes of the GRazia.it editorial staff will be the Grazia.it POP Up located in largo La Foppa

“Special events”
The extensive programme of activities of Milano Fashion Design begins today with the first of a series of special events on the theme of Donne in scena (Women on Stage), organised by the City of Milan in collaboration with Tu Style.
Until Friday 24 February, from 12.30pm to 1.30pm, at the Fashion House, important protagonists from many of the shows running in Milan’s theatres will provide previews of their work, as part of the cultural encounters initiative presented by the city’s director of entertainment, fashion and design, Antonio Calbi.
Introduced by the city’s councillor for the arts Stefano Boeri, the programme will begin with Valeria Magli and Lina Sotis presenting Soirée Sotis, which will run from 24 to 26 February at the Teatro Elfo Puccini. Tomorrow, Thursday 23 February, Elisabetta Pozzi, Eva Robin’s and Alvia Reale will preview the stage play “Tutto sua mia madre” (Teatro Elfo Puccini, 21 February – 4 March).
On Friday 24 February Maddalena Crippa will talk about “E pensare che c’era il pensiero” (Tieffe Teatro Menotti, 21 February – 4 March), while from 7.30pm, Tu Style will bring to the Fashion House stage the veejay Alessandro Cattelan who will present his book “Quando vieni a prendermi?” (Mondadori).
In addition, for the whole of the event, the stage of Milano Fashion Design in the evenings will be animated by the most famous international companies of street artists taking part in the Milano Clown Festival and, on Saturday 25 February, the Unione Italiana Sport per Tutti will stage a dance show.

Casting and Fashion coach
From tomorrow until Saturday 25 February, from 10am to 12.30 p.m., Donna Moderna will run a series of castings to select the protagonists of the magazine’s fashion and beauty coverage, and above all the women who, on Sunday 26 February will walk an “all-Italian” catwalk at the Fashion House: 20 ‘real women will take part in the show, one from every region of the country, wearing the creations of famous designers. The magazine has also decided to launch, precisely during the most glamorous week for fashion, a new challenge: to sign the Manifesto delle donne vere (Manifesto for Real Women) including their own definition of beauty and truth on the mini-site www.donnevere.donnamoderna.com, on Twitter at hashtag #donnevere, on Facebook or by writing down and placing their description in a box on the Fashion House stage.
At the same time the fashion coach of Donnamoderna.com will change, with just a few moves, the style of all those who want to “learn” something more about fashion. Every day the woman who has most revolutionised her image, thanks to the advice of the personal stylist, will receive as a gift a total look at one of the stores in the city centre.

The partners
Milano Fashion Design has been organised thanks to the support of Regione Calabria – main partner – that tomorrow, Thursday 23 February, at 2.30pm, will present its achievements in the field of fashion and crafts, that will also be on show every day at 2pm during the event.
Renault – main sponsor – will present the new Twingo, also offering visitors the possibility of a test-drive in Via Hoepli.
Event sponsors: Ferrovie dello Stato, Milano-Fiera Macef, Glaming, L’Oréal Paris, also with the “Nail Bar” by Color Riche, L’Oréal Professionnel, Cadey with Staminaline, Asus and Alcatel.
Milano Fashion Design is an event produced by DPR Eventi.

The complete programme for Milano Fashion Design can also be found on the web site www.milanofashiondesign.it.
You can also follow Milano Fashion Design on Facebook.

Donnamoderna.com, having successfully launched the Low Coach blog dedicated to low cost shopping, on the occasion of “Milano Fashion Design” has decided to get even closer to its users by bringing the advice of its personal stylist to the heart of the city, in Piazza Liberty.

During Milan’s most glamorous days, from 23 to 25 February, from 10am to 12.30pm, the “Milano Fashion Design” stage will become the control centre of the editorial staff of Donnamoderna.com and its young web stylist editors who will make available to all those who would like to learn something more about fashion the fashion coach, Valentina Fradegrada, who in just a few moves will change their style.
The woman who has revolutionised her look the most thanks to the advice of the personal stylist will receive exclusively a total look from one of the stores in the city centre.

Donnamoderna.com, in collaboration with Igers Milano, has also created a photo game on Instagram. Using an iPhone or iPad everyone can upload their photos on the theme fashion shoes using the tag #shoeMi – sandals, stilettos, wedges, moccasins, ballerine, boots, sneakers – and sharing the images on a virtual gallery visible in a special section of the Donna Moderna web site.
On Saturday 25 February, at 10am, the best photographs will receive prize gifts during an “Instameetup” organised by Donnamoderna.com at the Fashion House in Piazza Liberty.

The site will also of course include live fashion shows, this year even more up to date thanks to an innovative content curation format that makes it possible to aggregate content and authoritative comment from Donnamoderna.com correspondents and contributors, presented in the form of a continuous flow of videos, text and images. Finally, there will also be the possibility to become a virtual model with the game “Tu in passerella” (You on the Catwalk): choosing a dress and uploading your photo you can have the impression of participating in a fashion show on Milan’s coolest catwalk. The photos can also be voted and share on social networks.

Donnamoderna.com, as well as being very active on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, is among the first Italian media player to join Pinterest, the social network of the moment, with a range of fashion and beauty news.

The “Grazia International Network” continues to grow and has now reached 20 editions around the world.
Following the announcement of an agreement with the publisher Media24 to launch before the end of the year Grazia South Africa, from March the magazine will also be available in Slovenia, published under a licensing agreement by Videotop Color Media, a company of the Color Press Group, one of the principal players in the sector in the country.

Unique in the publishing industry in terms of the rapidity of development and the quality of the offer, Grazia brings to four continents – Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania – the very best of made in Italy luxury, in a unique and innovative formula that has allowed the title to become one of the international leaders in women’s fashion magazines.
Created in 2005, “Grazia International” is in fact one of the most dynamic magazine networks in the world and is already successfully published in Italy, France, Great Britain, Germany, Russia, Holland, China, Australia, India, the Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Indonesia, Thailand, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia.

And precisely because of its strong links with the world of fashion, the “Grazia International Network” will be present at the “Milano Fashion Week” with a “guerrilla” action that will have as its protagonists seven models who will “carry” the “Grazia International” logo at the most important fashion shows.
In addition, on Sunday 26 February, from 5pm to 6.30pm, and on Monday 27 February, from 4.30pm to 5.30pm, as part of “White Milano”, “Grazia International Network”, in collaboration with Campari, will invite the public at its stand to share in a fashion happy hour, during which they can flick through and enjoy all of the magazine’s international editions.

New recognition by readers of the titles produced by the Mondadori Group, Italy’s leading magazine publisher.

Figures published by Audipress (2011/III) show continued growth in readership for the Group’s weeklies and monthlies and that 82% of the readers of magazines in the country read Mondadori titles.

LEADERSHIP
In particular, according to the survey, every week Italians choose the magazines Tv Sorrisi e Canzoniand Chi: with a readership of 4,398,000 people, an increase of 3% on the previous survey (Audipress 2011/II), Tv Sorrisi e Canzoni confirms its position as Italy’s most widely read weekly; followed byChi, which is in the number one position among women’s entertainment weeklies, with a continuously rising readership (3,614,000 readers, +4.6% compared with Audipress 2011/II).

There were big numbers also for Donna Moderna, which once again is shown to be the most popular women’s weekly (2,710,000 readers, +3.6% compared with Audipress 2011/II).

With a monthly readership of 6,441,000 (+4%), Focus remains Italy’s most widely read magazine.

Moreover, according to the Audipress figures, an increasing number of Italians read Mondadori’s cooking titles, with the company holding 73% share in this market segment. Among the monthlies,Cucina Moderna, is the most widely read (+14% compared with Audipress 2011/II).

Meanwhile Starbene confirmed its absolute leadership (1,532,000 readers), also recording the best performance in the wellness segment (+7.5% compared with Audipress 2011/II).

BEST PERFORMANCE
There was great satisfaction at Mondadori also for the best performances recorded by other titles in the portfolio in the cooking and interiors.

Cucina no Problem recorded the best growth (+17%) in the cooking segment, in which alsoSale&Pepe stands out (+4,6%), appreciated by readers following the recent renewal.

In the consumer interiors segment, in which Mondadori has a 57% share, there was a brilliant result by CasaFacile (+15%), followed by the monthly Casaviva with an increase of +7.4% to reach a readership of 967,000, and recording strong growth particularly among women.

In addition, there was also significant growth by Confidenze (+23.3%), Economy (+20%), Ciak(+13.5%), Guida TV (+11.6%), Men’s Health (+10.1%), Pc Professionale (+8%), which was also the only IT title to be included by Audipress in the segment, and Panoramauto (+8%).

Jacopo Loredan has been appointed the new editor of the monthly Geo. Loredan, who will take over from the March issue, will also continue in his role as editor of the lifestyle monthly Jack.
At the same time Marco Casareto, who is stepping down as the editor of Geo, will concentrate more specifically on growing commitments related to the development of editorial initiatives based around Focus Storia and its system of brand extensions such as Focus Storia Biografie, Focus Storia Wars and Focus Storia Collection.

The new Geo, edited by Loredan, will be an even more international product, on the strength of a brand recognised for excellence in the international world of publishing thanks to the high quality of its images and reportage.

Jacopo Loredan, who was born in Venice in 1957, began his career as a journalist at ANSA where he became a professional journalist in 1982. Two years later he was hired by Lamberto Sechi at the newly-launched Nuova Venezia. In 1987 he moved to Epoca where he remained for seven years: first as a reporter and subsequently as a special correspondent and then as managing editor. In 1994 he was hired as a correspondent by Panorama. Two years later, in March 1996, he went to Focus, the Gruner+Jahr/Mondadori monthly, as deputy editor. In November 1999, having edited the first issue of the quarterly Focus Extra, he was asked to develop the project for Jack, of which he was to become editor.

Marco Casareto, 45, was born in Chelmsford (England). After studying physics at the University of Milan, he began to work with a number of different magazines including, from 1993, Focus. Three years later he joined the staff of the magazine and in 2000 was appointed section chief with responsibilities for the coordination of the brand extension Focus Extra. Managing editor from 2002, in 2004 Casareto became coordinator of the new Gruner+Jahr/Mondadori title Focus Storia, of which he became deputy editor in 2006 and editor in 2008. The same year he was also appointed editor of Geo, a position he held until November 2009, taking it up again in September 2010. He is currently the editor of Focus Storia and its related editorial offshoots, Focus Storia Biografie, Focus Storia Wars and Focus Storia Collection.

According to the circulation figures released by the OJD (Office de Justification de la Diffusion) for 2011, Mondadori France confirmed its position as a leading publisher with significant successes and excellent circulation results.

“Innovation and editorial quality are our strengths and the drivers of our performance,” underlined Ernesto Mauri, the chairman of Mondadori France. “4 re-launches since 2010 and three new titles in three years: Grazia in 2009, followed in 2011 by Auto Plus Classiques and Guerres et Histoire, which further reinforced our Science & Vie brand,” Mauri added. “These results have also been accompanied by an authentic success in advertising, thanks to which our advertising company has achieved a market share of 10.3% (+0.7% compared with 2011), positioning the company in second place, in terms of volume, in the magazine sector,” Mauri concluded.

Genuine circulation success
Among the haut de gamme (upscale) women’s titles was the continuing circulation success of Grazia France, which reached an average sale of 184,832 copies, an increase of +3.1%.
Meanwhile also the “success story” of Biba has continued, showing the strongest and most significant growth among the competitors in the same segment. In fact the monthly has grown by 80% since 2004 and in 2011 grew by a further 4.5% to an average of 326,339 copies.
Pleine Vie, following a redesign completed last June, saw newsstand sales increase by 54.5% compared with 2010, with an average circulation at 843,647 copies (+1.3%).


Additional leadership
Modes & Travaux, after an extensive reconfiguration is now, after 26 years, the leader in its market of reference with an average sale of 444,228 copies (+5.9% compared with 2010). In two years the magazine has increased average circulation by 70,000 copies (+19,3%), to become the women’s monthly with the highest growth level compared with the previous year (+24,859 copies).
Since 2009 Telé Star has achieved the best performance in the market for TV listings titles (+1,037,954 copies) and in 2011 became the second magazine among the titles in the weekly segment. Despite a general decline in the sector, Télé Star limited its fall to -2.5%.
L’Ami des Jardins is the leading gardening monthly, with an average circulation of 154,736 copies (+3.6%).

Confirmed leadership
2011 saw the confirmation of the success of Top Santé, the main point of reference in the health and fitness area since its launch, which recorded a 5.8% growth in sales to an average of 350,386 copies; while Closer which, with an average circulation of 414,174 copies, maintained its leadership among the “people” titles for women.
In a particularly difficult market, the car titles of Mondadori France continued to perform extremely well. Auto Plus, with an average sale of 297,667 copies, confirmed also in 2011 its leadership among generalist weeklies in the segment.
And once again, Science & Vie, with a circulation of 288,690 copies (+2.4%) and Science & Vie Junior, with sales of 168,533 copies (+2,7%), were the leaders in their respective segments.

To celebrate the redesign and relaunch of the SIS, Scrittori Italiani e Stranieri series, Mondadori has organised four special encounters, to be held at the Teatro Franco Parenti in Milan, with some of the publishing house’s most important authors.

Taking the stage on 6 February will be Alessandro Piperno, on 27 February it will be the turn of Paolo Giordano, while on 5 March the guest will be Carlos Ruiz Zafon. This series of encounters will close with Margaret Mazzantini and David Grossman on 26 March.
Entry is free though limited to the capacity of the theatre.

After thirteen years, Mondadori is redesigning and relaunching the SIS, Scrittori Italiani e Stranieri series, the company’s most important fiction series that includes the great masters, new discoveries and the most fascinating and interesting voices of international literature.
Making a return of the covers of the titles from the Scrittori Italiani e Stranieri series is the noble and ancient symbol of the rose and a quotation from Dante “in su la cima” (right at the top), a symbol of patience and beauty that, since 1934 – when it appeared for the first time on the frontispiece of the Classici Italiani series – has characterised the books published by Edizioni Mondadori.

Mondadori has signed an agreement for the publication of Grazia South Africa with Media24, the leading publisher in Africa in the business and consumer magazines market.
This launch extends the reach of the Grazia International Network for the first time with an edition also in this continent.

John Relihan, chief executive of Media24 declared: “Grazia has become a global brand and we believe it can have the same level of success in South Africa as it has had in other countries. We are delighted to embark on this new adventure with a partner like Mondadori,” Relihan concluded. Liezl de Swardt, general manager of Media24’s Women’s Interest division, explained: “The first edition of Grazia was published in 1938 and since then the magazine has become one of the key brands in fashion, and a leader in the women’s weekly market at an international level”.

“Grazia South Africa will be the first on the African continent,” declared Zeno Pellizzari, head of Mondadori’s International Activities. “We are very proud to be working with Media24 and with this launch we are sure that we will have a decisive impact on the competitive scenario in South Africa, just as we’ve had in France, the UK, Germany, China, Russia and Holland,” Pellizzari concluded.

The weekly Grazia South Africa will be characterized by the usual ‘easy chic’ formula that distinguishes the Grazia brand around the world: fashion, news and celebrities, enhanced with international trends and local style and tendencies.

Media24
Media24, is Africa’s leading publishing group, with its principal activities in the south of the continent. It is the biggest magazine publisher and one of the most important players in the newspaper sector, as well as operating as a printer and distributor of magazines and digital content.

Sale&Pepe, the cookery monthly edited by Laura Maragliano, now has an app for the iPhone and iPad.

Every month the magazine – which is a reference point for those in search of exclusive and refined gastronomic proposals – offers the best recipes, columns and background details not only of what’s goes on in the kitchen, but everything that circulated around the world of food, with interviews with top chefs and itineraries for visiting places where you can find good food.

Thanks to the new app, it is now possible to take advantage of all this exclusive content also on the move, from your iPhone or iPad. Features of the app include:

– more than 7.000 recipes accompanied by photos, ingredients, preparation times, indications of the level of difficulty and calories, along with a detailed search function to make it easier to find your favourite dish;
– a section dedicated to Sale&Pepe Specials where, with a free monthly update, you can find new tasty recipes for all occasions;
– video recipes made at the Cook&Books Academy, the Sale&Pepe cookery school located inside the Mondadori Multicenter in Milan’s Piazza Duomo, and featuring famous Italian chefs.

With the Sale&Pepe app it is also possible to mark any of the recipes as a “favourite” and save the ingredients on a shopping list. It is also possible to share your tastes and recipes with your friends on Facebook and Twitter or even directly by email with a single click.

Facebook and Twitter are integrated in the app, you can share your preferences and favourite recipes with your friends.

The app is available in Italian from the Apple Store for the iPhone and iPad at the price of €2.99.
For further informations: http://www.applicazioni-mondadori.it/periodici/salepepe/