Italian magazines

Digital School, the training initiative promoted by Donna Moderna, CasaFacile and Sale&Pepe, has launched three new e-learning courses for aspiring writers: Creative Writing – romantic fiction, life stories and the thriller – online from today on Digitalschool.it.

The new courses are aimed at those who want to write, share emotions and tell stories. Under the guidance of publishing professionals including editors and authors, it will be possible to acquire the tools of creative writing, to practise and refine your skills while learning to apply narrative methods and explore in more detail specific narrative genres, in line with individual interests, for example, in romantic fiction, life stories and the thriller.

Each of the three options on offer is organised in two modules: the first, run by Edoardo Brugnatelli, an editor at Mondadori, will outline the notions underlying creative writing; while the second will illustrate the narrative techniques of the chosen genre, with advice and observations from the writers Alessandra Appiano, for romantic fictions, Michela Murgia, for life stories and Grazia Verasani, for the thriller.

All participants will have the possibility of seeing their stories published Donnamoderna.com. Plus, every month, Edoardo Brugnatelli will select three pieces of work for personalised editing and publication on the site.

The teaching materials for the course includes 3 hours of online video lessons with practical exercises, supporting documentation and 2 test games to ascertain the skills acquired and a final certificate of attendance.

Enrolment for the entire programme (first and second modules) ives participants the option to buy the other two modules by the writers.

For more information about enrolment and costs, please go to: Digitalschool.it.

The official hashtag is: #progettodigitalschool.

From tomorrow, Icon Design, Mondadori’s upscale design and furniture magazine, becomes a real monthly: a magazine with a sophisticated personality reporting on the world of design through stories about the talent that characterise it.

Confirming the original formula of the editor Michele Lupi, with a design approach and a focus on architecture and design as a starting point for cross-sectoral storytelling that looks at design design also in adjacent worlds of fashion, art and technology. The upscale positioning of Icon Design is consolidated also by its international dimension, with the collaboration of photographers and world-renowned writers, as well as the presence in every issue of an English translation of the main stories, combined with distribution in major cities in Europe, the US and Asia.
There will be eight issues this year that will come out between March and December.

This year’s first issue, on newsstands from tomorrow, features on the cover Jasper Morrison, the world-class English icon from the world of design, with a retrospective of his work (Thingness) and his highly personal selection of objects (MyCollection) from the Museum für Gestaltung collection: Also in this issue is Frenchman Didier Faustino, a designer sui generis and a “nomad among the arts” who blurs the boundaries of design with film, literature and painting, and thereby avoiding definition.
As editor Michele Lupi explained. “We want to emphasise, on the one hand, our interest in icons – it’s not a coincidence that call ourselves Icon Design – and, on the other, our vocation for research aimed at enabling our readers to discover always interesting worlds. The role of a magazine is certainly to highlight the quality of the great, but also to uncover stories that the general public does not know, and giving both the same dignity,” Lupi concluded.

Icon Design will also take its content online with icondesign.it, which, in line with the editorial content of the magazine, selects and reports what’s new in the world of design, with particular attention to the stories that hide behind the most creative objects and personalities of the design world.
The site has a responsive layout and four thematic channels: News (with events and the latest news from the world of design), Products (objects of style, cutting-edge design projects and iconic products), Storytelling (stories of artists, designers, internationally-renowned architects, emerging creatives and great photographers), Places (design places and districts, artists’ workshops, the most beautiful houses and places to discover).
The title’s offer is completed with editorial specials, with news, photos and in-depth coverage of the most important forthcoming events: e.g. the Milan Design Week and Milan Design Film Festival. Icon Design is also on Facebook (facebook.com/icondesignIT) and Instagram (instagram.com/icondesignIT).
The first issue of 2016 is published with 65 advertising pages with over 50 of the best brands from the sector.

Following the success of previous editions, also this year, the magazine Focus Junior and the Polytechnic University of Milan have joined together for the “Tutti insieme all’università” (“All Together at University”) project which is aimed at children between the ages of 7 and 13: five appointments offering an opportunity to participate, some years in advance, in real university lectures of big scientific topics with some of the best teachers of the Polytechnic University of Milan.

The lessons, that will take place in the months of February and March, have been designed to respond to kids’ curiosity using innovative, amusing and stimulating content that will help them to discover the world in a new and intelligent way that is entirely consistent with the educate-by-entertaining approach that guides all the activities of the Focus Junior brand.

The initiative starts on 27 February with two appointments, at 10.30 and at 12.00: practical experiments in physics will lead the kids through the science fiction and reality of the films of the Star Wars saga, and a look at some of the most recent technological inventions.

The lessons will continue on 5 March, with the excitement of robots, on 2 April with the discovery of the engines of the future, on 9 April with the design techniques for paper jewellery that respects the environment, and concluding with a final lesson on 14 May on how videogames work by deconstructing three of the most popular titles.

While the kids are “studying”, their parents will be given a guided tour of the Polytechnic University of Milan campus.

Participation is free, with a maximum of 400 places for each lesson.

All you have to do is sign up on the Polytechnic University of Milan web site, in the section devoted to events: www.eventi.polimi.it.

The expertise of the Donna Moderna, Starbene, CasaFacile, Cucina Moderna and Nostrofiglio.it brands has given birth to Opinion Model, a new shared marketing community that will enable users to learn about new products, to try them out at home and share them with their contacts.

“We are really confident in the potential of this new project that we have launched with our brands and partner companies,” declared Pamela Carati, Brand Manager Mass Market. “Opinion Model invites consumers to test the products proposed by companies: an initiative that, on the one hand, satisfies the consumers’ desire to test directly and fro free new products and, on the other, offers advantages for companies who can dialogue directly with the public and use the feedback to continuously improve their offer.” “Opinion Model will be organised in an initial 4-week launch phase in which four companies will each week make one of their products available. But the initiative will then continue for the whole of 2016,” Carati concluded.

Opinion Model aims to establish an ongoing relationship of trust with users and readers and rewarding the most active participants with incentives. There will also be the possibility of applying a mark of approval to the brands involved in the initiative.

The project is a precious asset for partner companies who will gain visibility within the tester community tester and benefit from the cross-media communication in support of the launch of Opinion Model.

Plus, the most significant results of the survey conducted by Mondadori on the opinions expressed by users will be reported of the Opinionmodel.it platform, as well as in the pages, on the web sites and social profiles of the brands involved.

Becoming a member of the community is very easy.

Users can sign up by visiting www.opinionmodel.it, and filling out the form related to their profile. Subsequently they can apply for the product they want to test.

Readers will have two weeks from the publication of the magazine to submit their application for one or more products. The candidates selected will then soon receive the material to be tested, delivered directly to their homes.

The initiative is the result of collaboration between the magazine titles Donna Moderna, Starbene, CasaFacile, Cucina Moderna and Nostrofiglio.it and the contribution of Mondadori’s content & data marketing area, brining together Cemit’s expertise in relational marketing Cemit and the know-how in digital engagement of Kiver.

Opinion Model will be supported by a campaign developed by Hi! Communication and will be spread across different channels: Mondadori magazines, TV, radio, web and social.

The proposal of the format to the market will be managed by Mediamond, that has already involved many companies from different sectors: beauty, health, food, homewares, as well as products for babies and maternity. Opinion Model is an important new feature in the advertising offer of the company and an innovative addition to clients’ marketing tools. Users who apply to test the products will be profiled on the basis of the interest shown in participating in the activities of the platform and may therefore also be subsequently involved in other tests of products of interest for them. This data-driven approach will markedly increase the efficacy of the operation.

The launch format for Opinion Model will have an estimated reach of over 11 million unique users (source: M— Cube: based Audipress and Audiweb data).

TV Sorrisi e Canzoni, Italy’s leading entertainment weekly is once again the essential point of reference for fans of the annual Festival della Canzone Italiana, with initiatives and special content in the magazine, on the web site Sorrisi.com and on social media, for minute-by-minute coverage of the year’s most anticipated musical event.

Following the success of Sanremo Start, the exclusive party – organised in collaboration with Radio Italia – that brought together the stars of the competition for a toast at the start of the Sanremo week, the association between TV Sorrisi e Canzoni and the Festival will be reinforced by Sorrisi.com, live from 9 to 13 February at Sanremo with a dedicated video station, a privileged vantage point to observe and meet the stars and guests of the event. For the entire week exclusive video-diaries by four champions: Annalisa, Lorenzo Fragola, Rocco Hunt and Valerio Scanu, who will talk about their own Sanremo experiences and what it feels like to be on the stage. Plus, backstage and behind-the-scenes curiosities, video interviews with the stars and every evening a live blog, also on Facebook and Twitter.

Readers can also take part with accounts of their own Festival experiences using the hashtag #ilmiosanremo, telling world how they experience the competition from their own homes, with friends, or on the streets of the Ligurian town itself, once again festooned with life-sized cardboard cut-outs of the presenters and the singers in competition – produced in collaboration with the City of Sanremo – beside which fans can take selfies to share with their friends and family. The most amusing photos will be selected by the editorial staff of Sorrisi and published on the site.

Moreover, once again, for this edition of the Festival, TV Sorrisi e Canzoni will publish three issues dedicated to the Festival: an authentic guide, in the weeks before, during and after the event, with exclusive covers, a previews of the lyrics of the songs, a full programme of every evening and, on the 12 February, the official compilation “Sanremo 2016”. A double CD with 35 tracks with the music from the stage of the Ariston Theatre, including unreleased tracks by the big names and the new songs and covers performed by previous winners on the evening of Thursday 11, a chance to enjoy again some of the best loved tunes form previous seasons. “Sanremo 2016” will be available on newsstands with TV Sorrisi e Canzoni for €14.90, excluding the price of the magazine.

Plus, with the competition “Vinci Sanremo 2016”, Sorrisi has given 10 readers the opportunity to participate live at the five evenings of the event.

Il mio Papa, the world’s first weekly entirely dedicated to Pope Francis, today celebrates its 100th issue: “An important starting point to improve our work,” said Aldo Vitali, editor of the magazine launched by Mondadori in March 2014 and now present in eight other countries around the world.

“For one hundred weeks we have been reporting what the Pope says and what the Pope does, with the same passion of the first issue and with a level of satisfaction that we never expected at the beginning of this adventure,” says Vitali. “With its unique formula and a positive and popular approach, in a short time Il mio Papa has been able to carry the Pope’s message even in small daily gestures, and to win more and more readers outside Italy. Pope Francis himself has asked to receive copies of our magazine at his Santa Marta residence,” Vitali concluded.

The 100th issue of Il mio Papa is on newsstands this week with a quiz where readers can test their knowledge about the Holy Father, answering 100 questions about his life, his family and his tastes.

Tv Sorrisi e Canzoni presents Cuccioli e Sorrisi, a new magazine for enthusiasts of cats, dogs & co, on newsstands this wek with the weekly edited by Aldo Vitali.

Cuccioli e Sorrisi will offer a monthly overview of how to care for pets, through more than 60 pages full of news, advice, stories and lively photographs.

Extensive space will be given to the most common pets that inhabit our homes, dogs and cats: insights and practical sections, along with the opinions of experts such as veterinarians and trainers, to help you understand how to choose, learn about and train your pets, and to live well with them in everyday situations.

The magazine is completed by paged with the latest news from the animal world, with a look also at less common pet species; the section “Books” for new reading suggestions; a story based on a literary classic with four-legged characters, and, finally, the comic adventures of two cute basset hound puppies “Baguette & Bonton”.

Also readers are invited to contribute by sending pictures of their pets on www.cuccioliesorrisi.com: the best shots will be published in the magazine.

Among the contents of the current issue is a focus on the relationship between dogs and children, and how to create a relationship that is healthy and stimulating for children’s development. In addition, all you need to know about vaccinations; a report on the most common plants that can pose a danger to pets, and the story of Mia, the canine star of the latest film with Laura Morante, told the dog trainer Massimo Perla.

Cuccioli e Sorrisi was created in collaboration with L’Arca di Noè, the official magazine of the TG5 programme, with the editorial support of Mozart, that also manages advertising sales.

The communication campaign will involve print media and in-store posters.

Cuccioli e Sorrisi will be on newsstands every month with the issue of of Tv Sorrisi e Canzoni at the price of €0.50.

Digital School, the training school run by Donna Moderna, CasaFacile and Sale&Pepe, launched last October, following the success of its classroom courses in content and social media management, is expanding its e-learning offer with a new course “Starting a blog”, online from today at Digitalschool.it.

“We who communicate professionally every day have decided to offer our skills and experience to those taking part our courses, accompanying learners step-by-step through the big digital world,” said Annalisa Monfreda, the editor of Donna Moderna and one of the teaching staff of the Digital School. “With “Starting a blog” we will teach the right techniques and narrative tools to promote yourself and work on the web,” Monfreda concluded.

The “Starting a blog” course features a one-hour lesson by Luigina Foggetti, digital strategist, consultant and trainer, who will show learners how to start a blog on the WordPress platform, and a final test game to immediately measure learning. Plus, there will also be a special contribution by Sarah Pozzoli, the director of Nostrofiglio.it, Italy’s leading portal for young mothers.

“The web opens the door onto a previously inaccessible world, just think of the phenomenon of the blogger moms”, said Sarah Pozzoli, director of Nostrofiglio.it. “Blogs are now also a tool to promote a business idea and makes it possible to extend the limits of your profession. For anyone who wants to take this route it is important to acquire the skills required by the world of digital communication and never tire of trying new things,” Pozzoli concluded.

The e-learning offer of the Digital School also includes five study programmes organised in a number of lessons: “Content strategy”, “Social Media Pro”, “Online sales”, “Graphic design and photography for the web”, “Promoting a business online”.

The three Mondadori magazines, leaders in women’s, interiors and food segments, make their experience in the digital field and social media available to learners, with lessons ranging from “Digital PR”, to discover the identity of and how to interact with bloggers and influencers, to “SEO (Search Engine Optimization)”, in order to understand how to increase the visibility of your content by improving the ranking on search engines, as well as “Photography from blogs and social media” and “Writing multiplatform content”.

Each course, with lessons that can also be bought separately, includes teaching materials such as video, notes, test games and a certificate of attendance that will be issued at the end of every lesson. There will also be opportunities to become a social contributor of the three magazines.

For more information about enrolment and costs: Digitalschool.it.

The official hashtag is #progettodigitalschool.

Flair, Mondadori’s upscale women’s title, edited by Michele Lupi, continues to evolve with a new creative team. The Art Direction of the magazine will be led by Davies Costacurta who, along with the SM Associati design studio, already oversees the creative side of Icon and Icon Design, while the position of Fashion Director is taken up by Tanya Jones. The creative team of Flair will be completed with the arrival of Gloria Maria Cappelletti.

By joining the creative galaxy already shared by Icon and Icon Design, Flair will strengthen the area of excellence and luxury with increasingly well-defined limits developed by the editor Michele Lupi, who explained: “We have taken the best from the experience gained with the success of Icon and Icon Design, to make Flair the third important element of a platform of excellence that has already enjoyed a very positive response from the market and readers. The editorial line of Flair will have a strong and precise character, a proudly Italian view of the world that can be taken by others as a point of reference: a highly independent and innovative magazine, made in Italy and read potential throughout the world. With a strong Italian identity with regard to fashion and beauty content that is shared by the entire upscale system of the three titles.”

This is the completion of a year of significant innovations for Flair which in February became a standalone title, sold separately from Panorama. During 2015 it continued to expand its international distribution network at leading newsstands in Paris, London, Berlin and New York, and, last September, adopted a larger format, just like Icon and Icon Design.

The next issue of Flair, the first of 2016, will be published on 25 February, during the usual women’s fashion week in Milan.

Donnamoderna.com, Italy’s leading site for women, this year for Christmas Festival is giving readers a double gift: a video greeting #SoloUnaCosaContaANatale and the launch of a new channel dedicated to the world of food on www.donnamoderna.com/cucina

#SoloUnaCosaContaANatale is an account of the contemporary family, and the desire to celebrate the joys of being together. Shot by Orlando Salmeri (Olafilm), it will be launched across all of DonnaModerna’s social channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube) and on Donnamoderna.tv, inviting users to share their thoughts about Christmas.

“We wanted to give our readers a video ‘hero, a short format designed to be shared on all social platforms” said Daniela Cerrato, digital manager at Mondadori. “It is an opportunity to spread Christmas greetings from Donnamoderna.com, as well as a taster of the mood of our new Cooking channel.”

More than 70,000 recipes, with captivating pictures, dedicated video content and an innovative user experience, these are the ingredients of the new food offer from Donnamoderna.com, which, with Italy’s biggest recipe book, will be a practical guide and a faithful help for all women who want to cook in an easy, intelligent and quick way, but with a hint of originality.

The recipes become a touchpoint to access a universe of content built with a new storytelling approach, thanks to a predictive system that identifies and correlates search trends on topics of interest to users, and enables them to find selected editorial content related seasonal ingredients and creative ideas, tutorials with step by step images and videos, insights on healthy eating and news related to the home.

New tools have also been introduced to make life in the kitchen even easier: “what’sinthefridge” to find dishes that can be made based on the ingredients already available in the house, and “shopping list”, which lets you send by email or WhatsApp the ingredients of a recipe.

The result is a website with a sophisticated and modern look & feel and even more immediate reference thanks to a fully responsive design and infinite scrolling, to be used and enjoyed comfortably even while cooking.