Media

AdKaora and Hej!, the digital companies specialised in mobile advertising and conversational marketing, the core of the Mondadori Media MarTech Hub, continue to develop with the launch of new integrated solutions and enhancement of their teams’ highest professionalism.

AdKaora and Hej! have always based their growth on advanced technologies, data-driven analysis and consultative approach. To better promote the development of further synergy and enhance the different skills, the two entities have now also adopted a new organisational structure.

Davide Tran, Director of Mondadori Media MarTech Hub: ‘AdKaora and Hej! are first and foremost companies made of people. For us, promoting talent with the aim of creating a professional future in which expertise and diversity are increasingly recognised as factors of success is the real push towards innovation. “Never feeling like you’ve arrived” and always being ready to seize market opportunities are the levers leading to the success of the union between the AdKaora and Hej! teams. For us, synergy starts with shared values, such as courage, determination and cooperation, and materialises in overcoming initial difficulties, which are part of all truly innovative projects, due to the continuous study of best practices, sharing of ideas and a desire to go beyond one’s own boundaries. The joint work of all the teams is real added value for the growth of MarTech Hub, which, for the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025, is focused on new acquisitions, investments in AI and the entry in new foreign markets in Europe and Latam,’ concluded Tran.

One of the most dynamic and innovation-oriented areas is business intelligence, led by Iolanda Prezio, Head of Digital Media-Ops & BI at AdKaora, which aims to provide targeted insights and data-driven solutions to support informed business decisions. With data analysis and continuous market research, AdKaora works to offer both a clear and detailed overview of business opportunities and increasingly sophisticated tools to improve internal workflows.

The approach of the Media Buying Team, led by Francesca Ianniello, Head of Buying at Hej!, aims to bring the best results to clients, managing campaigns as well as possible on all digital channels involved in the strategies (from social media to search engines).

Clients can also rely on the consolidated experience in campaign management and continuous improvement of the AdKaora Key Account Team, led by Sara D’Apote, Head of Key Account & Agency Relationship Manager, and the Hej! Operation Team, led by Giusy Esposito, Head of Operations.
The goal of the first is to develop innovative strategies to enable customers to finalise new business opportunities.
The second successfully coordinates campaign operations, working with different departments to optimise performance and develop strategic partnerships. In Rome, customer management for Central Italy is entrusted to the sales division, which is led by Marianna De Vita, Head of Sales for Rome and external areas. She is responsible for consolidating the business areas and strengthening the network of relationships with advertisers and media centres, contributing to the cross-cutting development of the MarTech Hub.

Growth and evolution also come from shared values and a solid corporate culture. Audacity, understanding, flexibility and strategic vision have guided MarTech Hub towards an increasingly clear, full-stack and global positioning on the market. Its message is amplified by the Communication and Events Team, led by Giusy Zaccone, Head of Communications, who manages the communication strategy, collaborates in defining the product storytelling and organises key events to enhance networking with partners and customers.

There is also news of MarTech Hub in the tech and IT sector, and its stronger team with the arrival of Nicholas Farinato in the role of Chief Technology Officer. His team aims to carry forward a vision for the international growth of Value Network properties and marketing solutions that AdKaora offers on the market.
In Rome, technological development is instead entrusted to Paolo Molinara, Chief Technology Officer of Hej!, whose twofold goal is to orient the business lines towards innovative solutions that effectively meet market needs while using advanced technology to develop solutions that add tangible value for customers. The overall objective is to create a tech area capable of creating increasingly differentiated assets on the market, as well as fully developing the synergies already established with PLAI, the Mondadori Group startup accelerator.

AdKaora and Hej!, the international digital companies of Mondadori Group specialised in mobile advertising and conversational marketing with full-funnel advertising solutions, participated in ‘Intersections 2024’ – an event created through the union of IAB Forum and IF! Italians Festival – with a workshop entitled ‘From online to in-store with mobile coupons: the multichannel retail strategy for L’Oréal Paris’.

How can loyal shoppers be engaged by turning drive-to-store into an in-store strategy for retail? The integrated campaign, created by AdKaora and Hej! for the launch of Serum Le duo by L’Oréal Paris, used different channels to cover all levels of the marketing funnel and reach users near Esselunga stores. The project ranges from brand awareness to purchase, where mobile interaction and digital coupon incentives play a key role in pushing consumers to action.

During the meeting, Paolo Ingrosso, Chief Revenue Officer of MarTech Hub Mondadori Media, and Walter Ferrari, Chief Marketing Officer of MarTech Hub Mondadori Media, explained the strategy together with Agostino Massara, Performance Media Manager – Consumer Products Division of L’Oréal Italia, and Martina Conte, Digital Lead of Wavemaker Italy.

The goal was to increase user awareness of the product, as it involved a new launch, stimulating their consideration and intention to try and purchase it.

The campaign, online from September 24th to October 13th, was created together with Wavemaker Italy. The specially-designed project aimed to build engagement and improve the customer experience up to the last mile, objectives achieved thanks to conversational marketing by Hej!. Meanwhile, custom display formats, the click to web format on the Stocard app and social planning guaranteed visibility and visual impact.

Through the integration of checkout technology by Savi, AdKaora’s partner in mobile couponing strategies, it was possible to intercept consumers in the final steps, transforming interest into purchases through the use of digital coupons.

Through cross-channel planning, further profiling via Stocard – an application that allows users to upload loyalty cards from different industries – and the AdKaora proximity suite, it was possible to stimulate loyal Esselunga customers – women aged 25-54 – to push coupon downloads, taking advantage of the product offer, and activating an effective drive to store for product sales locations.

The technologically advanced solutions by AdKaora and Hej! therefore intercepted target audiences near the points of sale of interest due to precise and accurate profiling, communicated the offer to active users, initiated a collection of qualitative leads starting from different channels and retargeted users based on their behaviour.

The results are very clear: 1.7 million Esselunga customers reached with advertising. Across creative formats including AdKaora display, Stocard click to web and Hej! social planning, a 2.8% click through rate was recorded, while 7.1% of users redeemed the coupons by using them in stores (a result that reflects market benchmarks).

Agostino Massara, Performance Media Manager and Consumer Products Division of L’Oréal Italy: ‘Thanks to this communication project, we saw that the target audience was not only stimulated in the consideration phase, but especially in the intent to purchase phase, demonstrating that a loyal buyer, such as at Esselunga in this case, will perform multi-channel actions if encouraged by greater product awareness and a current offer. Furthermore, the insights gathered on consumer behaviour through Hej!’s conversational marketing and mobile couponing could be useful for considering how to eventually scale the strategy to other brands in the division and work in an integrated way with the other commercial functions, in synergy with shared business and growth objectives.’

Martina Conte, Digital Lead at Wavemaker: ‘Since this was a product launch for Serum Le Duo, we wanted to work together with AdKaora and Hej! to create a strategy would go well beyond product awareness, encouraging product purchases due to the digital coupon. In fact, all the channels involved in the strategy worked in synergy to intercept consumers in the various phases of the decision-making process and the results confirmed the effectiveness of the project.’

Andrea Zermian, Sales and Marketing Director of Savi, said: ‘We are proud to have supported this campaign with our mobile couponing technology. Covering the “last mile” with integration at checkout has allowed us to convert consideration into purchasing actions smoothly and effectively, intercepting consumers at the decisive moment of their purchasing experience. This project is an example of how an advanced technological approach and well-orchestrated marketing strategy can generate a significant impact, strengthening the bond between brand and customer. Once again, we confirm our commitment to connecting more and more retailers to our platform to simplify the use of digital coupons for customers and offer brands a technologically advanced tool for optimising advertising investments.’

Davide Tran, Director of Mondadori Media MarTech Hub: ‘Intersections fits perfectly with AdKaora and Hej!’s long-lasting approach to proposing increasingly full-funnel and complementary solutions for the market. The campaign designed for L’Oréal Paris also represents an ideal case study in intertwining brand awareness with drive to store, turning proximity marketing into a retail strategy where the last mile of the customer’s journey is stimulated through Savi’s mobile couponing. With precise, data-driven profiling, we were able to target loyal Esselunga buyers and perform multi-channel lead generation activities, collecting qualitative leads interested in using digital coupons to generate conversions.’

Great success for “Focus Live -Traguardi” at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan, Italy

At the seventh edition of the “Focus” Festival of Knowledge, all of the more than 100 free events were sold out: meetings, workshops and interactive experiences with the stars of science

Segrate, 11 November 2024 – Focus’s festival of knowledge, Focus Live, once again achieved incredible success, with over 18,000 visitors. This is the seventh consecutive year that Focus has carried out this event in collaboration with the Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan. The brand demonstrated its digital and social media strength by reaching more than 9.2 million users (a sharp increase from the 2023 edition), with posts, stories and videos shared on the Internet, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Tik Tok, all of which will remain available and will be enriched with new content for fans young and old.

Focus Live – Traguardi hosted 120 nationally renowned scientists, popular science figures, and creators, including Vincenzo Schettini, Telmo Pievani, Dario Bressanini, Teresa Fornaro, Adrian Fartade, Barbara Gallavotti, Tommaso Ghidini, and Massimo Temporelli, who involved the attentive and enthusiastic audience.

“The large participation and turnout at our festival testifies to the fact that there is a great thirst for scientific knowledge in our society”, said Gian Mattia Bazzoli, Director of Focus. “These days we’ve witnessed something extraordinary: science has become a common language, capable of uniting different generations. Celebrating the Achievements of Research and Innovation in all fields, we saw young popular science figures in dialogue with established scientists, resulting in an intergenerational exchange that truly bridged the seemingly distant worlds. This shows that when popular science can be both rigorous and exciting, it succeeds in touching the deepest levels of human curiosity”.

The more than 100 events that made up this seventh edition of the Festival special were all sold out: meetings, talks, workshops, and performances that made participants reflect on the fundamental role of science in shaping our future and illustrate in popular language the achievements of human knowledge. This is all thanks to authoritative voices, innovative formats, a mix of genres, fusions between the arts, music and nature, theatre and biology, sports and technology, embracing the nuances and facets of different languages capable of deep connections and interactions.

Contributing to the excellent result of Focus Live were major players in science and beyond, including: the “Three Musketeers” Adrian Fartade, Elia Bombardelli and Benedetta Colombo, social media popular science figures beloved by the younger generation; Alberto Grandi, food history lecturer and writer; comedian Federico Basso; Giampaolo Ricci, Italian national basketball team member and Doctor of Mathematics, who shared how he managed to combine study with competition at the highest level; Manuel Bortuzzo, bronze medalist in swimming at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, who spoke about his story; and Gian Francesco Giudice, Director of the Department of Theoretical Physics at CERN in Geneva. There was no shortage of Italian Institute of Technology researchers: Adriana Traviglia and Ferdinando Cannella, who brought Ringhio, the first robot archaeologist; Federica Pirrone, Professor of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Milan; Marco Martinelli, popular science figure; and Roberto Valbuzzi, chef and TV host. Ample space was given to health, with Arsela Prelaj, researcher at the National Cancer Institute in Milan, along with Eugenio Santoro, researcher at the Mario Negri Institute and neurosurgeon, Pietro Mortini.

Once again this year, Focus Live gave its many visitors the opportunity to travel into the past or immerse themselves in the future through virtual reality, escape rooms and more, experiencing firsthand how science and technology are shaping the world around us. The experiences at the Experience Area were possible thanks to installations curated by amazing partners like Humanitas University, Scuola Sant’Anna, the Italian Institute of Technology, Airc, Joint Research Centre – European Commission, Politecnico, and the University of Milan.

For children and teens, the Kids area, curated by Focus Junior, offered an even richer program of STEM workshops, with a dedicated stage for talks with writers and scientists. From a magic school to games with graphs; from the use of a digital microscope to travelling around the world with a digital globe; from an escape room to travelling like particles of light to a trip on Santa Claus’s sleigh; from the use of artificial intelligence to write a story to creating a comic, robotics and economics and finance workshops.

Among the new features of this edition were Artificial Intelligence Masterclasses taught by Federico Favot and Jacopo Perfetti of Promptdesign.it, with whom Focus started MYIA, online courses on artificial intelligence. The two lecturers then took the topic to the Main Stage in the talk titled The 7 “Superpowers” You Didn’t Know You Had (Thanks to AI).

Also on display at Focus Live was the suit that will be used by astronauts on the Artemis III mission to return to the Moon, made by Prada and Axiom.

Headlining the Friday and Saturday evenings are two gripping shows: Science Shots, an engaging and interactive conversation between Licia Troisi and Virginia Benzi on the exploration of the unexpected. Then Change the Climate, Change the Music, Change Us Too, a two-voice, three-string, four-composer dialogue on climate change that featured journalist and popular science figure Massimo Polidoro and climatologist Elisa Palazzi on stage along with the Milan Symphony Orchestra ensemble. Closing the festival on Sunday was the lectio magistralis What Makes Us Human by evolutionary philosopher, Telmo Pievani.

Partners and sponsors

Focus Live is a Mondadori Media event, created in collaboration with the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci, and numerous partners:

MAIN PARTNER: Eni, ING
PARTNER: Autostrade per l’italia, Bayer, Humanitas University, Jordan Care, Kia, VTech
CONTENT PARTNER: Airc, Deloitte Foundation, Mondadori Education
OFFICIAL RADIO STATION: R101
AREA KIDS powered by Focus Junior

This edition of Focus Live sees the collaboration and support of various institutions, research centres, and universities: Civic Aquarium of Milan, Ars Dimicandi, Asi, Enea, Esa, Bruno Kessler Foundation, Henesis, IIT, Inaf, Joint Research Centre, Civic Museum of Natural History of Milan, Symphony Orchestra of Milan, Shake srl, Civic Planetarium of Milan, Polytechnic University of Milan, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Smonting, Think about Science, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, University of Milan, University of Milan-Bicocca, University of Ferrara and Way experience.

Advertising for Focus Live is curated by Piemme S.p.A, the Mondadori Scienza S.p.A.

Production and administration by the Left&Right event agency. The advertising campaign and the creativity of the installation were conceived by Zampe Diverse with the help of Artificial Intelligence expert Eddy Anselmi, who produced the visuals generated by generative AI.

Focus, the Mondadori Group brand that serves as a point of reference for scientific dissemination and entertainment, has set a goal of bringing audiences closer to the most important technological revolution of our time: artificial intelligence. With this aim and in collaboration with PromptDesign.it, it is launching MYIA, an innovative series of online courses dedicated to learning and using generative AI for everyday life.

The offer includes 3 video courses organised in levels of increasing complexity: basic, intermediate and advanced. These training courses are designed both for people who are approaching the world of AI for the first time and for those who want to deepen their skills and become experts in the use of advanced tools such as ChatGPT, Claude and DALL-E.
With MYIA, users will learn how to make the most of artificial intelligence, improving their productivity, optimising professional work or simply exploring new creative horizons.

The courses offered by Focus are the ideal opportunity for anyone who wants to dive into the future of technology and understand how artificial intelligence is transforming society and the working world. The course is taught by Jacopo Perfetti, co-founder of the PromptDesign.it platform, author of several essays and Fellow of Innovation at SDA Bocconi, and Federico Favot, co-founder of the PromptDesign.it platform, screenwriter and creative producer, and host of the ‘Hacking creativity’ podcast.

The courses do not require prior technical skills and are fully available online through a dedicated platform. The lessons, which are all recorded, can be followed and reviewed at any time, for maximum flexibility. At the end of each course, a personalised certificate of participation is issued, certifying the skills acquired.

THREE CUSTOM COURSES

Each course is divided into 6–8 lessons and are always available in the personal area on the myia.academy website. Additional materials and slides that summarise the basic concepts can be downloaded for each lesson, along with pdf files of the pages of Focus used for exercises and tests.
1) BASIC: Introduction to Generative Artificial Intelligence. Participants who are new to artificial intelligence will learn the basics of generative AI and how to use models like ChatGPT. The course explains fundamental concepts such as creating effective prompts, the impact of AI on society and the conscious use of technology, providing participants with a solid foundation for using AI tools.
2) INTERMEDIATE: Prompt Design Techniques and the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence. This course is intended for people who are already familiar with AI. It focuses on prompt design techniques and the use of different AI models, such as Claude and DALL-E, to generate images, analyze documents and automate processes. Participants will learn how to fully leverage the potential of personalised GPTs and AI tools.
3) ADVANCED: Master in Prompt Design and Automation with Generative Artificial Intelligence. The advanced level of MYIA is aimed at people who wish to become true experts in artificial intelligence. This course explores innovative solutions for generating content, images, audio and video with tools such as DALL-E. It provides the skills needed to integrate AI into complex projects and automate tasks.

MYIA also offers artificial intelligence courses for teachers, created by Mondadori Education and Rizzoli Education with Formazione su Misura. This is an exclusive project dedicated to the practical application of AI in the world of education. And coming soon: AI courses for children in collaboration with Focus Junior.
Further information on the learning pathways and purchase prices of individual courses, as well as the various packages, are available on the myia.academy website.

Focus, in all its forms, is the leading dissemination brand in Italy, with a fanbase of over 7 million users (Social Media Account + Focus Creator), more than 3.3 million unique users (source: Audiweb 2023), a monthly circulation of over 127,000 (source: Ads, January–July 2024) and more than 3.1 million readers every month (source: Audipress 2024/2). 

Webboh Lab, the first permanent observatory on Gen Z born from Webboh‘s meeting with the Sylla research institute, involved 15,000 teenagers, aged between 14 and 17, to collect opinions, behaviours and perceptions regarding the topic of glass recycling and the use of packaging created with this material. The survey, conducted by Webboh Lab for CoReVe – the national consortium for the collection, recycling and recovery of glass packaging waste in Italy – highlighted some key points of interest.

VIRTUOUS BEHAVIOUR AND AWARENESS

The survey showed that three out of four teenagers (more than 76%) always separate glass, while only 5% said they rarely or never do it. Of these: 38% do not separate glass because they don’t think about it, 21% have someone to do it for them and 14% believe there is not enough information about recycling.

Glass recycling is very common among teenagers, as they generally prefer the use of glass packaging as it is more sustainable.

Young people are taught correct behaviours, such as separate waste collection, by their parents and schools, making it a recognised and widespread practice. Most interviewees believe that the good example of others and more information can motivate us to improve the collection of glass.

The data analysed also showed that two out of three teenagers (67%) are aware of the possibility of endlessly recycling glass without losing quality, while 65% of them are aware that incandescent bulbs and crystal glasses cannot be recycled together with ordinary glass. Finally, 85% of young people know that recycling a glass bottle reduces air pollution by 20% compared to that produced to make a new one.

As regards behaviour in Italy, 56.8% of interviewees believe that Italians pay enough attention to separating glass and that it is very important to do so (70.9%). 60% of children think that in 10 years glass recycling will be more widespread and 74.7% are in favour of penalising those who do not separate glass from other waste.

GROUPS:

Expansion of the answers obtained with respect to issues related to glass recycling and environmental sustainability has made it possible to identify four groups of adolescents with similar answers on in-depth topics.

Proactive recyclers (34%)
They are young people with a strong pragmatic and proactive tendency towards glass recycling, and are highly motivated and hands on as regards the actions taken. They attach great importance to protecting the environment and reducing pollution: they are extremely aware of the environmental issue and are convinced that recycling glass is a great help. In general, they are consistent in their behaviour towards sustainability, consumption choices and daily practices of waste separation, reuse and recycling of materials. They actively correct other people’s incorrect behaviour and they also agree to sanction those who do not separate their waste. They ask for more information to encourage separate waste collection and the virtuous example of influencers and famous people.

Recycling utilitarians (28%)
Teenagers in this group focus on the functional and utilitarian aspects of recycling, but they are much less motivated when it comes to issues related to environmental sustainability. They recognise the importance of glass as a material that is not harmful to the ecosystem and are familiar with recycling bins. Despite this, they are not particularly motivated by the concept of recycling or by the environmental impact that it may have. They are a little less virtuous as regards separating glass than the average person. To stimulate recycling, they propose economic incentives and are against the introduction of penalties for those who do not separate their waste.

Recycling theorists (23%)
Those that are disenchanted with recycling and are the least interested in the issues of recycling and the environment.
They reveal a more poetic and symbolic vision of glass, attaching a special value to its purity and its capacity for rebirth, however, they are less virtuous in separate waste collection, finding it complicated and demanding and remaining less sensitive to the issue of environmental sustainability in general. They claim to be motivated to recycle glass for its infinite reuse but are less concerned with practical details, such as using the correct bins or removing caps.

Poets of transformation (15%)
The young people belonging to this group are very involved in the issues of environmental sustainability and are very aware of related issues. They differ from the first group, the proactive recyclers, for their more romantic and idealistic vision: they see glass as a poetic and special material, and they prefer glass packaging for its unique characteristics. They are the most informed about correct glass recycling practices. They recycle much more than the average person, they are in favour of any incentive that promotes the dissemination of good practices and they are also in favour of penalties for those who do not separate glass correctly. Finally, they adopt, in general, a sustainable lifestyle and feel like active protagonists, attaching importance to the correct management of glass, since they are motivated by the environmental value of recycling.

“The survey is very interesting and allows us to understand what young people think and how they behave,” stated Gianni Scotti, President of CoReVe. “In general, there is alignment among children between environmentally sustainable behaviour, environmental awareness and glass recycling. Almost all of them – as many as 90% – think that the climate crisis is a serious matter and that glass recycling is a fundamental part of reducing pollution. But CoReVe’s challenge is speaking to the 5% that rarely recycle to make it clear what a waste of environmental and economic resources it is not to recycle glass properly. The work we are doing with influencers, creators, schools and territories goes precisely in this direction. Italy’s good recycling rate is, in fact, not taken for granted but must be maintained and, if possible, improved. This is why it is essential to know what Gen Z thinks and what behaviours they adopt,” Scotti concluded.

“This research has attracted a lot of interest among children, it is a generation that is well informed on and aware of environmental issues. The analysis of the data allowed us to identify 4 groups of teenagers with similar answers to the in-depth topics, each with a different leaning towards glass recycling. This has made it possible to collect very targeted information for the customer,” says Furio Camillo, Scientific Director for Sylla. “Webboh Lab confirms itself as a very effective tool for the strategy, marketing and communication of brands and companies that find an interesting target in Gen Z.”

Webboh is the flagship media for Gen Z. Created in April 2019, it has been part of Mondadori Media since February 2023. It currently has a fanbase of 4.5 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and WhatsApp, 70% of which are under 24. The website receives 3 million unique monthly users (source: Audiweb last quarter 2024). It is in the top ten most influential Italian media companies on social media, as well as the first targeting Gen Z for engagement and video views (source: Italian Top Media Rankings for First Communication made by Sensemakers). The topicality, authenticity and interest generated by the content is guaranteed by a bottom-up editorial model: the community is involved in every part of the creative process.

Webboh Lab, a partnership between Webboh and the Sylla research institute, with Scientific Director, Professor Furio Camillo, is the first Permanent Observatory on Gen Z. Webboh Lab’s commitment is to gather the voice of the younger generation, investigate and explore issues to convey them to those who make decisions for them, the adults of tomorrow.

Mondadori Media, the leading Italian multimedia publisher on social media and digital, will feature at “Intersections 2024” on 29 and 30 October, the new event resulting from the union of IAB Forum and IF! Italians Festival, dedicated to digital innovation, marketing, communication, creativity and technology.

Mondadori Media will be present at stand 36 with the innovative experience “Immergiti. Direzione futuro.” experience for completely new discovery, and with its top media brands, including Fatto in casa da Benedetta, which has just joined the Group, and at stand L3 with the latest innovations in the MarTech area. Another unmissable event is the PLAI workshop that will present some of the AI startups selected for the first acceleration cycle (Yellow Room 1).

“IMMERGITI. DIREZIONE FUTURO.” – STORYTELLING TO DISCOVER MONDADORI MEDIA’S TOP MEDIA BRANDS

Thanks to the excellent setting offered by Intersections, Mondadori Media will offer participants the opportunity to discover behind the scenes of GialloZafferano, MypersonalTrainer, The Wom and Webboh through four interactive apps created with Apple Vision Pro, Apple’s mixed reality viewer (Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality), which has not yet been released in Italy.
This is an innovative spatial computing experience which, by eliminating the distance between the screen and the visitor, will make it possible for the first time to enter the heart of content creation processes and to immersively explore the potential of successful brands in the fields of food, the world of women and beauty, wellness and new generations. Visitors, wearing the visor, will be able to enjoy a first-hand experience of all the stages of storytelling used to create projects of all kinds and virtually interact with the creators involved. Whether it is social content or live activities, the direct and immersive contact between guests and brands will leave an intense impression of the various facets and forms through which content created by individual brands is brought to life.

AN EXCLUSIVE INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE IN THE WORLD OF BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT

Offering a comprehensive and original overview integrating the latest technologies with creativity and value proposition, the four immersive paths will also illustrate successful case histories in the world of branded content and entertainment in a captivating manner. These projects and sponsored content are created by Mondadori Media in collaboration with Mediamond and its unit dedicated to special initiatives, Brand On Solutions, and numerous partner companies.

NEW GEN AND AI: THE WEBBOH LAB SURVEY

Intersections 2024 will also be an opportunity to present the new survey revealing the truth about AI, carried out by Webboh Lab, the first scientific and marketing research panel focusing on Italian youth and teenagers. Of the 12,000 respondents, 55% said they had concerns about both the tool’s reliability and the potential risk to employment. The full research will be unveiled during the event at the Mondadori Media stand.

ON THE MAIN STAGE: THE OPENING OF INTERSECTIONS WITH NICOLÒ FAMIGLIETTI

Intersections 2024 will be opened by Nicolò Famiglietti, the first Italian Beauty Fitness Trainer Ambassador of MypersonalTrainer and part of the Power Talent Agency team. With an energising workout, Famiglietti, from the main stage of the plenary, will help the audience to start the day with the right physical and mental energy and to fully experience the event by exploiting the intersections with inspiration, creativity and innovation.

PLAI AT INTERSECTIONS 2024

PLAI, the Mondadori Group’s startup accelerator aimed at transforming ideas based on the use of artificial intelligence into successful entrepreneurial ventures, will also attend Intersections 2024: PLAI’s CEO Stefano Argiolas will give a talk entitled “Unveiling Innovation: Generative AI as a Tool for Crafting New Business Ventures” on 29 October at 10.30 in Yellow Room 1. 5 of the 11 startups selected for the first acceleration cycle will join him on stage.

ADKAORA AND THE MARTECH AREA: APPOINTMENT WITH MOBILE INNOVATION

AdKaora and Hej!, the digital companies of Mondadori Media’s MarTech area, leaders in mobile innovation and proximity marketing, will exhibit the latest in conversational marketing and integrated campaigns at stand L3.
On 29 October at 3 p.m. in Blue Room 2 there will also be a workshop by AdKaora entitled “From online to in-store with mobile coupons: L’Oréal’s multi-channel retail strategy” in which the following topic will be addressed: how to engage loyal shoppers by transforming the drive to store into an in-store retail strategy.
The Apple Vision Pro apps were created in collaboration with Impersive, an agency specializing in the production of immersive videos for virtual reality, and film production company Brandon Box.

Mondadori Media is Italy’s leading social and digital publisher, with a distinctive positioning and audience on the publishing market. The Mondadori Group’s social multimedia company caters to the passions of the Italian people through its brands – food, beauty, fashion, health and wellness, science and tech – and reaches more than 25.5 million unique users every month (source: Audiweb Total Digital Audience average month 2024) and over 128 million followers (source: Comscore Shareablee and social insights September 2024). 

Webboh Lab, a partnership between  Webboh and the Sylla research institute, with scientific director Professor Furio Camillo, is the first Permanent Observatory on Gen Z. The Webboh Lab’s commitment is to gather the voice of the younger generation, investigate and explore issues to convey them to those who make decisions for them, the adults of tomorrow.

PLAI is the Mondadori Group startup accelerator that aims to transform ideas based on the use of artificial intelligence into successful entrepreneurial ventures. PLAI offers them a distinctive field of application and an industrial market both within the Group and with the initiative’s partners. PLAI operates in the pre-seed and seed phases, selecting and investing in Italian and international startups. In addition to capital, the accelerator provides startups with concrete areas to apply AI, structured training and mentorship courses, and the opportunity to participate in networking events, partly thanks to the unique set of skills and assets provided by major Italian and international partners.

AdKaora is a digital company leading in mobile innovation which offers effective tools and solutions from a multi-channel perspective to brands and publishers to reach, engage and influence their target audience, bringing concrete and measurable results. AdKaora mixes data-driven qualitative audiences with exclusive adv formats, created by AdKaora Creative Studio, which record high results in viewability and engagement, certified by third parties. Depending on the objective, activate the right audience through first-party data from the proprietary DMP or location-behavioural, vertical and premium publishers of the AdKaora Value Network. The strong technological component is the plus for Proximity Marketing strategies. AdKaora enables and integrates the best technologies on the market with consolidated proprietary assets, offering an end-to-end Advanced Proximity Suite. Savi’s mobile couponing integration makes it possible to reach the last mile of the consumer shopping experience, influencing consumer behaviour, and measuring user activation from online to offline.

Hej! is a tech company specialised in conversational marketing. It has reinvented the conversational experience, exploiting artificial intelligence on different levels. Through its unique proprietary platform, Hej! offers innovative advertising solutions covering the entire customer journey, with the goal of achieving tangible and measurable results for brands. Hej!’s advertising formats and engaging marketing tools create a direct channel with consumers by activating authentic conversations that guide users all the way down the purchase funnel. Hej!’s conversational marketing is an effective tool for profiling a target that is openly interested in brands and proactively interacts in a one-to-one conversation that makes it possible to obtain valuable information on their identikit and generate leads or hyper-qualified sales linked to specific campaign objectives and measurement KPIs.

Mondadori Media, Italy’s leading multimedia publisher in digital and social media, is taking a new step in its growth strategy by joining Meaningfool, the new generation, high-tech creative agency founded by Fabio Padoan.

Meaningfool was born as a response to the market’s new needs to integrate the most popular channels, languages and formats – such as TikTok and vertical videos with the involvement of creators – within brand and communication strategies and brand storytelling, with an omnichannel creative approach, which is also performance-oriented.

In addition to having a highly experienced and talented team, starting with its founding partners, Meaningfool is also an innovative start-up that invests in the creation of new AI models to help with efficiency, productivity, content scalability, but also to increase the creative and productive possibilities of social advertising campaigns.

Meaningfool’s vision is encapsulated in its name: on the one hand, the importance of the meaning, not only of the communication content produced for companies, but also of why it is produced; on the other hand, the idea that in order to win the challenge of garnering attention and emerge from the background noise of content, it is necessary to create something ‘foolish’, i.e. creative.

“In an increasingly articulate and rapidly changing market, it is essential for a publisher like Mondadori Media, even after the recent acquisition of Fatto in casa da Benedetta, to also have a dedicated creative structure, with a highly qualified team specialised in the world of social advertising and new video languages”, stated Andrea Santagata, CEO of Mondadori Media and Chief Innovation Officer of the Mondadori Group. “In this context, Meaningfool represents an innovative reality with high development potential, whose growth we want to support, but also because of its ability to generate synergies with the activities we already take part in, with talent agencies such as Zenzero and Power, the social brands of Mondadori Media and Hej!, our agency specialising in AI and performance advertising”, concluded Santagata.

For Meaningfool – which as of today sees Mondadori Media as a new shareholder, with a minority stake – this is a second round of investment: the first took place when the company was founded thanks to the support of a group of angel investors from the media and tech world.

“We have only been in existence for a few months and Mondadori Media’s decision to invest in Meaningfool is a great act of trust but also a sign that we are on the right path”, says Fabio Padoan. “For us, entering an advanced digital system like Mondadori Media’s means multiplying synergies and presenting companies with increasingly complete and effective solutions and projects. It is only by joining forces, skills and diversity that we can create tangible changes and generate a positive impact in companies but also in the lives of the people we address every day”, concluded Padoan. 

GialloZafferano, Italy’s number-one food media brand with more than 70 million followers worldwide, announces an autumn filled with exciting news that once again confirms the strong, multi-channel, innovative approach that has made the brand a major benchmark for cooking enthusiasts, including at an international level.

Launch of GZ Lab

Building on its relationship of trust with its community, which in Italy alone numbers more than 35 million followers and 17 million unique monthly users, GialloZafferano is launching GZ Lab, the first digital observatory of consumption and trends related to cooking in Italy, a tool to investigate and learn about Italians’ opinions, interests and habits when it comes to cooking.

As a first step, GZ Lab explored Italians’ relationship with food and cooking in cultural, social and personal terms through a questionnaire, developed together with the Sylla research institute, which received more than 8,000 answers in one week. Various interesting aspects emerged:

• food as a fundamental resource for physical and mental well-being: for 84% of those surveyed, food choices are guided by weight control, allergies or intolerances, and ethical or religious reasons;
• the return to a domestic approach to meals, experienced as a time to express your creativity and show affection towards others: in the past year, 27% of people have increased the number of times they eat at home and 54% have decreased their online food orders;
• a focus on limiting expenses: for 21% this is a factor that guides their food choices, without compromising on exploring new horizons and discovering new flavours thanks to high-quality ingredients and attention to the way dishes are presented;
• more than 30% of the respondents associated cooking and meal preparation with a gesture of love and care directed towards others, as a connection with the world to build and consolidate bonds, and towards themselves as personal growth, a path of experimentation, curiosity and discovery.

Full results are available here.

An all new version for GialloZafferano Magazine

Starting this month, Italy’s most popular cookery magazine with over 80,000 copies per month and more than 1.5 million readers, is presenting itself to the public in a new version adapted to readers’ demands.

Its pages devote even more space to recipes, with a step-by-step approach that ensures that they are easy to follow and more closely linked to GialloZafferano’s website and social media channels. There will also be even more contributions from ambassadors, resident chefs, bloggers and brand creators, including Luisa Orizio, Sebastian Fitarau and Azzuchef, who are all featured in this month’s issue. GialloZafferano Magazine also presents new columns and special features, such as themed sections dedicated to the local area and industry events, offering visibility opportunities for partner companies.

To mark the magazine’s renewal, a digital campaign was carried out involving more than 50 GialloZafferano bloggers and strong visibility in retail outlets and large-scale retail trade.

GialloZafferano in the United States

After taking centre stage at the recent Summer Fancy Food Show in New York with showcooking, original content and performances designed and staged for major Italian food brands, GialloZafferano is expanding its roster of chefs and culinary talents active in the United States with the addition of Bilena Settepani and Daniele Uditi to the team. Awarded by Iginio Massari in 2023 as one of the best pastry chefs on an international level, Bilena Settepani is Executive Pastry Chef of the famous Settepani Bakery in New York, whose creations based on the Italian confectionery tradition are appreciated throughout the United States. After moving from Caserta to Los Angeles in 2010, in 2017 Daniele Uditi opened the first “Pizzana”, a brand that has now become a chain with 7 locations in California and Texas, which are frequented by prominent figures from the American jet set.

The new chef creators of GialloZafferano, managed by Zenzero, Mondadori Media’s talent agency, will further strengthen the presence of Italian cuisine in America, including through the creation with Universal Marketing – the exclusive organiser of Italian companies’ presence in the Fancy Food Show halls – of a new trade fair experience for our cuisine, already starting from the next Winter Fancy Food Show in Las Vegas, in January 2025.

GialloZafferano is also announcing the start of an editorial collaboration with Alessandra Ciuffo, known on social media as Flavors by Ale. Alessandra, whose profile now has over 900,000 followers, grew up in New York, started cooking when she was just three years old and has made a name for herself in the industry by sharing her passion for cooking, cooking techniques and everyday moments with her close-knit Italian-American family.

GialloZafferano is Italy’s leading food media brand on the Internet. 1 in 2 Italians cooks with GialloZafferano, which reaches an average of 17 million people every month (average month Audicom 2024). It is the fourth largest food media brand in the world on social media, with a fanbase of almost 71.5 million followers (source: Shareablee-Comscore and Social Insights, August 24). Thanks to recipes within everyone’s grasp, it is available to people 24/7 on all channels: from the Internet to social media, from apps to smart devices, as well as magazines, books and local events nationwide.

Qeeboo and INTERNI, the interior and contemporary design magazine published by Mondadori Group, commemorate Andrea Branzi with Equilibri Instabili, a special event to inaugurate an exhibition of unpublished objects and present a new book dedicated to the designer.

Thursday, October 10, Qeeboo Loft in Milan will become an exceptional stage for remembering the great architect and internationally renowned designer one year after his death. On display will be four unreleased collections, some in limited editions — carpets, cushions, ceramics, and metal objects — designed by Branzi for Qeeboo, a brand founded by Stefano Giovannoni, Andrea’s friend for more than thirty years.

‘Qeeboo once again confirms its focus on innovation and research, keeping the memory of one of the brightest minds in the world of design and architecture alive,’ says Stefano Giovannoni.

For the event, the volume Equilibri Instabili, curated by the architect Matteo Vercelloni for INTERNI and published by Electa, will be presented. The volume collects more than two hundred texts by Andrea Branzi written and published in INTERNI, a permanent observatory on the culture of design and architecture that the author collaborated with from 1979 to 2023. This anthology of articles and essays is accompanied by a few of his drawings, retracing forty years of reflections on the ‘project’ and broader changes in society through dialogues, portraits, and interviews with leading figures in design and criticism. Topics such as the city and the metropolis, modernity balanced between technology and animism, but also reflections on teaching, art, and suggestions for politicians are just some of the numerous ‘acrobatic’ topics — as Branzi liked to define them — and cultural fields that the author approached and always presented in clear and immediate prose.

‘This collection, unlike other publications by Andrea Branzi, may appear eclectic, but it actually expresses a wide-ranging freedom of thought, unconstrained by a specific topic and therefore fruitful and rich with references, synergies, and skilful interdisciplinary elixirs,’ explains Gilda Bojardi, Director of the INTERNI System. ‘His approach to the world of the project, which is revealed in these writings presented in clear prose understandable to every reader, has always been based on close observation tied to the anthropological-cultural scene around us. As Branzi reminds us, the history of design has never been just a history of objects, but also a history consisting of thoughts, religions, politics, and people.’ For Gilda Bojardi, hers with Branzi was ‘a special friendship that lasted over time, contributing to my professional growth from the very beginning through discreet but indispensable advice. His advice accompanied me in a world that did not belong to me and where the directions he suggested constituted valuable forays into new and unexplored territories. So a big thank you, Andrea, for always giving us not writings, but capsules of wisdom.’

This extraordinary event represents an important moment to highlight the value and role of Branzi’s thought in architecture, urban planning, and contemporary design, with the participation of Stefano Giovannoni, designer and founder of Qeeboo, Gilda Bojardi, Director of the INTERNI System, Matteo Vercelloni, architect and curator of the book Equilibri Instabili, and Nicoletta Morozzi, among others.

The objects on display, including the limited editions, can be purchased at www.qeeboo.com. Equilibri Instabili will be available in bookstores starting on October 22.

ABOUT QEEBOO

Founded in 2016 in Milan by Stefano Giovannoni, Qeeboo is an Italian design brand. His objects are the result of a design culture that combines thought, vision, and emotion, leading individuals to feel free to reconnect with their creative side. With a touch of pop, wonder, and culture, Qeeboo creations are designed to enhance each individual’s style, bringing originality to every environment while maintaining a strict attention to detail and final quality.
For more information, visit www.qeeboo.com

INTERNI

A monthly magazine with a circulation of 50,000 copies, publishing began in 1954 as the first Italian periodical dedicated to interior decoration. Today INTERNI is one of the main communication tools in contemporary Italian and international design, essential for professionals and design enthusiasts. In 2024 it will be celebrating its first seventy years, during which it has been fortunate enough to share in the fantastic and adventurous history of Italian furniture and interior design. It has closely followed the growth expressed by design through the intuition and work of brilliant cultural figures, capable and courageous architects, designers and entrepreneurs. In the early 1990s, the monthly magazine became part of Mondadori Group, Italy’s leading publishing group, and a system of parallel publications have developed over time under the editorship of Gilda Bojardi, transforming the magazine from elite media to mass media. Activities by INTERNI also include the development and coordination of events and exhibitions organised to foster interaction between the different people involved in design, production and distribution. The famous FuoriSalone, an urban event that enlivens the city of Milan during the week of Salone del Mobile, was organised by INTERNI in 1990. It celebrated its 30th edition in 2021 with the publication of Volume XXX-Y 30 anni di FuoriSalone | 1990-2020 Milano Design Stories (Electa). Following the start of publication of INTERNI in China (2015), the expansion of international editions is planned. INTERNI is a communications partner of the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka | The Ideal City.

The partnership between McDonald’s and GialloZafferano, Italy’s most popular food media brand, has been renewed for the sixth consecutive year. This partnership, which has led to sales of 45 million sandwiches, is now returning with a new edition of McChicken Creations: two tasty recipes inspired by the original McChicken, available in all of the over 700 restaurants until 28 October.

The two variants boast high-quality Italian ingredients that enhance the classic 100% Italian, free-range, GMO-free chicken breast supplied by Amadori and the bread produced in Italy by Bimbo. The new recipe for 2024, McChicken Delizioso, combines crispy bacon and Italian artichokes, along with “Grana Padano PDO” artichoke sauce; McChicken Gustoso is also back in a Wrap version with crispy bacon, Italian red cabbage and Pecorino Romano DOP & pepper sauce.

The McChicken Creations reaffirm McDonald’s commitment to the Italian food supply chain year after year: in 2023, the company invested around 415 million euro in the sector. McDonald’s commitment is also reflected in its strong ties with the Protection Consortia, with which – thanks to the valuable support of the Qualivita Foundation – it has been working since 2008. Since then, 21 PDO and PGI ingredients have been introduced into McDonald’s menus, included in more than 45 recipes, with a total of 7,000 tons of raw materials used.

The McChicken Creations were conceived by McDonald’s and GialloZafferano, which created two recipes that showcase Made in Italy excellence.

“We are proud to re-launch such an important project for McDonald’s. For six years, the McChicken Creations initiative has seen us unite with GialloZafferano in the goal of creating recipes that showcase the quality and taste of Made in Italy ingredients,” remarks Giorgia Favaro, CEO of McDonald’s Italy. “This annual initiative not only strengthens our connection with Italy, but also reaffirms our concrete commitment to supporting the agri-food sector. Partly thanks to the collaboration with the Qualivita Foundation, over the past 15 years our support has enabled us to highlight local excellence, bringing PDO and GI-certified Italian products to our customers’ trays.”

“GialloZafferano’s partnership with McDonald’s is a truly successful project to which we are particularly committed,” comments Andrea Santagata, CEO of Mondadori Media. “It perfectly represents some of the key elements that make up our brand’s DNA. These include always offering products that are tasty and accessible to everyone, combining Italian character with innovation, and dialoguing with and entertaining our target audience by developing new communication languages and formats,” Santagata concludes.

The new edition of the McChicken Creations was presented today at a special event at the GialloZafferano headquarters, attended by Giorgia Favaro, CEO of McDonald’s Italy, Andrea Santagata, CEO of Mondadori Media, Nicola Lussana, CEO of Mediamond, Mauro Rosati, General Manager of the Qualivita Foundation, Stefano Berni, General Manager of the Consorzio di Tutela Grana Padano, and Gianni Maoddi, Chairman of the Consorzio di Tutela Pecorino Romano.

The event also involved GialloZafferano’s top food creators, including Sebastian Fitarau, Luisa Orizio – Allacciate il grembiule, Angello Coassin – Cooking with Bello, Gessica Runcio – Le ricette da Gessica, Andriana Kulchytska and Dany Resconi, who collaborated on the project with a series of exclusive content posted on social media.

The outstanding presenters were the two faces of the Le Iene TV show, Veronica Ruggeri and Stefano Corti, who conducted the event with their distinctive style, involving speakers and participants.

All the activities and visibility plan for the McChicken Creations were developed together with Brand On Solutions, Mediamond’s project area, with the coordination of OMD and in partnership with Leo Burnett, on all digital channels of Giallozafferano, from the website to all social media profiles – Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube –, and the app, with the addition of push notifications targeted at McDonald’s drive-to-store and drive-to-app.