Digital: MarTech and Advertising Solutions

With the aim of helping brands navigate an increasingly fragmented digital landscape, AdKaora, the Mondadori Group’s MarTech agency, and Amilon, a leading European provider of digital gift cards and incentive technology solutions, today announced a strategic commercial partnership.

The collaboration builds on AdKaora’s approach of combining data, technology and creativity to help companies address the complexities of the digital ecosystem. Since its inception as a MarTech company, the agency has focused on transforming data into communication projects that deliver business results while remaining meaningful to consumers. Today, its offering extends beyond traditional advertising, delivering solutions that engage users across multiple everyday touchpoints. Advertising thus becomes an enabler of seamless experiences that connect the physical and digital worlds.

This vision aligns perfectly with the ideaShopping ecosystem, Amilon’s Italian shopping app. The platform uniquely brings together digital gift cards, discount coupons, loyalty cards and digital flyers from more than 15,000 retail brands and supermarket chains across Italy, covering key sectors including consumer electronics, children’s products and toy retailers.

A high-value audience: the Profile of “Future Buyers^®”
The partnership gives brands access to an exclusive audience that Amilon defines as “Future Buyers^®“: consumers with confirmed purchase intent and a very short path to conversion. The platform reaches around 5 million highly profiled users. Of these, 98% are employees aged between 25 and 54, while 100% are the primary household purchasing decision-makers. Users access the app with an average balance of €150 and typically spend 20–35% more than the value of their voucher, often opting for impulse purchases and premium products.

Davide Tran, MarTech Director at Mondadori Media and CEO & Co-Founder of AdKaora

The ability to measure performance, reach users based on their interests at the very moment they are making purchasing decisions and, above all, connect digital data with real-world behaviour provides precise audience insights and tangible performance results. Converting digital users into physical store visitors—and ultimately into customers—requires advanced drive-to-store and proximity marketing strategies integrated with channels such as Retail Media. Our agreement with Amilon and AdKaora’s integration into ideaShopping are a direct response to this need: through data analysis, we can follow the entire customer journey and transform digital interactions into concrete, measurable actions, while continuously improving the performance of future campaigns.

Lorenzo Incantalupo, Director of Content & Product Marketing at Amilon

“Our partnership with AdKaora takes Retail Media to a level that no other digital channel can replicate. Users who open the ideaShopping app already have a dedicated budget, a clear purchase intention and are actively looking for the most convenient way to shop. Reaching them at that precise moment with sponsored content seamlessly integrated into their shopping journey transforms advertising into being present exactly when purchasing decisions are made. For brands, this represents a direct, measurable and highly convertible opportunity to engage with an exclusive audience of Future Buyers^®—users who are certain to make a purchase in the near future.”

 The customer journey across the funnel: a unique, measurable and fully integrated shopping experience
The partnership is built on a technological ecosystem in which the entire customer journey unfolds seamlessly within the app, covering every stage of the marketing funnel. Users are guided smoothly from the initial discovery of promotional offers to viewing product details, activating coupons and planning their next in-store visit. For brands and retailers, every step of this journey is fully traceable and measurable, providing complete visibility into campaign performance.

The partnership’s key differentiator lies in its ability to deliver native, non-intrusive advertising precisely when consumers are evaluating their shopping options. At the heart of this synergy is the “Flyers” section of the ideaShopping app, one of the platform’s highest-engagement entry points. Within this space, AdKaora has introduced two native placements dedicated to digital flyers: an advanced promotional content aggregator that leverages integrated geolocation technology to deliver retail catalogues relevant to each user’s location.

This approach fundamentally transforms the in-app shopping experience. ideaShopping was designed as a digital shopping and employee engagement platform, enabling companies to provide fringe benefits that employees can convert into gift cards within the app, while also giving them access to additional savings tools such as discount coupons and digital flyers. By integrating brand promotions seamlessly into this decisive stage of the shopping journey, the traditional Drive-to-Store model evolves into an instant Drive-to-Buy experience. Since the platform’s audience largely consists of gift card holders with pre-allocated spending budgets and a strong propensity to purchase, retailers benefit from an audience whose purchase intent is significantly higher than the market average.

Mondadori Digital’s development plan is built around three key growth drivers: a targeted M&A strategy, the native integration of Artificial Intelligence, and a strong focus on international expansion. These are the three growth drivers at the heart of Mondadori Digital’s development plan, the newly established Mondadori Group company dedicated to technological innovation, MarTech and AI. 

The new digital company enters the market with 2025 pro forma revenues of more than €100 million and EBITDA exceeding €20 million, backed by the success of a unique cross-media ecosystem with a fanbase of over 137 million followers across Italy and international markets, and 33 million monthly unique users. 

The company has built a distinctive identity that positions it as the publisher of Italy’s leading excellence brands, thanks to its leadership across some of the most representative and high-value Made in Italy verticals: food, design, wellness and lifestyle. This leadership is supported by market-leading editorial brands, highly engaged communities and advanced digital monetisation capabilities.

“Mondadori Digital is tangible proof of the Mondadori Group’s ability to grow by creating new businesses of value, as we have successfully done in other sectors, including Education,” said Antonio Porro, Chief Executive Officer of the Mondadori Group. “We began investing in digital several years ago, guided by the long-term vision of our Chair and shareholder, Marina Berlusconi. We have pursued that strategy with determination, transforming Mondadori Digital into an independent business and a market leader. Today, the company represents not only a strong business in its own right, but also a hub for experimentation and innovation, enabling us to test cutting-edge solutions in real-world settings before extending them across the wider organisation,” continued Porro. “Looking to the future, our objective is to further accelerate its development.” he concluded.

The company’s growth journey, competitive positioning and strategic vision were presented by Andrea Santagata, Chief Executive Officer of Mondadori Digital, together with Stefano Argiolas, Chief AI Officer of the Mondadori Group, and Ferdinando Napoli, Chief Executive Officer of Edilportale. The event concluded with remarks from Antonio Porro, Chief Executive Officer of the Mondadori Group. 

A UNIQUE MODEL IN ITALY’S PUBLISHING LANDSCAPE
In an environment increasingly shaped by the evolution of distribution models and content production methods, Mondadori Digital is positioned as one of Europe’s leading digital and social publishing players, and one of the best-structured operators to capitalise on the sector’s ongoing transformation.

“The publishing industry is undergoing profound transformation: formats are evolving, communication channels are multiplying, audience relationships are shifting, and the very role of content is being redefined. Mondadori Digital was created precisely to interpret this evolution through an approach that combines editorial expertise, technological innovation and a strong focus on people,” said Andrea Santagata, Chief Executive Officer of Mondadori Digital. “Our goal is to establish the company as a key reference point within the Italian and international digital ecosystem, enhancing its editorial and cultural heritage through technological innovation, AI and new forms of communication.” From this perspective, we position ourselves as the leading consolidator of Italy’s digital market, leveraging a new, scalable and distinctive business model built around vertical communities and MarTech capabilities,” added Santagata. Supporting this vision are both our strong acquisition track record over the past five years and our belonging to the Mondadori Group, which provides us with strategic credibility and significant investment capacity.” Santagata concluded.

Mondadori Digital’s activities are based on the multi-platform production and distribution of proprietary content capable of engaging high-value audiences, generating monetisation opportunities through premium video advertising, branded content, influencer and creator marketing, as well as an advanced suite of full-funnel MarTech services.

The value creation model combines human capital, editorial teams, creators and communities, with AI-enabled processes; leading editorial brands with scalable technological infrastructures for data optimisation and advertising campaign management; and the selective expansion of the model into key markets. It also operates as a native hub for the management and enhancement of top digital talent, with the ability to identify, integrate and accelerate high-potential, complementary businesses.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AS A STRATEGIC DRIVER
Mondadori Digital’s approach to AI is based on two key pillars: 

• product development;

• business model innovation. 

Artificial intelligence is therefore integrated into editorial workflows, distribution processes and monetisation activities. This approach has enabled Mondadori Digital to develop a range of innovations, including AI chatbots for marketing and performance, AI tools supporting editorial activities, and an AI-powered search engine for Archiproducts.

FIVE YEARS OF GROWTH AND FUTURE OUTLOOK
Building on five years of continuous innovation and value creation, Mondadori Digital aims to expand its portfolio through targeted acquisitions of talent, expertise and innovative businesses, in line with the Mondadori Group’s development strategy aimed at strengthening its digital presence.

A recent example is the acquisition of a majority stake in Edilportale.com, Italy’s leading digital platform for architecture and construction. Among the company’s key assets is Archiproducts, a leading European ecosystem in design and interior architecture. The acquisition represents a strategic milestone in strengthening Mondadori Digital’s position in the design vertical, accelerating its international growth path and expanding its product and service offering, while enhancing industrial, editorial and commercial synergies across the entire value chain. At the same time, Mondadori Digital will continue to invest in MarTech and AdTech activities, leveraging proprietary technologies, AI-driven solutions and conversational and performance marketing tools, with the aim of developing new models of engagement, lead generation and digital monetisation. Notably, one of the most recent steps to strengthen the MarTech offering has been the merger of Hej! into the digital company AdKaora. This operation has strategically transformed the two entities into a single operating company and market leader, supported by a highly specialised technological hub for full-funnel digital solutions: from brand awareness to lead generation through to final conversion. 

INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION
Mondadori Digital is closely focused on international markets, which today account for 15–20% of its total revenues. The company’s international expansion began with its presence in Spain through AdKaora Iberia, which generates 25% of the digital company’s total turnover, demonstrating the scalability of its business model across markets.

A further step in its overseas development was the establishment, last March, of GialloZafferano USA Inc.

Completing the picture is Archiproducts, a global benchmark in the development of content, services and platforms for professionals and companies in the architecture, design and construction sectors. 

AD cube, the AI platform for the optimization of digital advertising campaigns and part of AdKaora, the MarTech agency of Mondadori Digital, launches CreativeDNA, a new module dedicated to the in-depth analysis of ad creative assets.

CreativeDNA allows advertisers to view the performance of all their assets, both static and video, in a single dashboard. It helps identify which elements drive the best results, uncover patterns across top-performing projects, and generate actionable recommendations to improve creative strategy.

The new module is integrated with other products within the AD cube platform: MMM (Marketing Mix Model) for strategic budget planning, and AD cube core for campaign monitoring and operational optimization. Together, the three modules cover the entire digital advertising cycle, from strategy to execution and creative analysis.

In performance advertising, focusing only on budget and channels is no longer enough. Creativity has become the decisive variable,” says Alessandro Nuara, CEO of AD cube. “Yet for too long creative decisions have remained a matter of intuition. With CreativeDNA we aim to build a bridge between creativity and results, giving teams the opportunity to understand, based on data, what really works and why. The goal is to transform creative analysis from a subjective exercise into a measurable strategic lever, enabling companies to replicate successes, eliminate waste, and make creative decisions based on evidence rather than opinions,” Nuara concludes.

CreativeDNA is already available to AD cube clients. A modular version of the product will be made available in the coming months, allowing new users to test the platform’s creative analysis features.

AD cube is an AI platform for the optimization of digital advertising campaigns. Since September 2025, it has been part of AdKaora, the MarTech agency of Mondadori Digital. The company was founded in February 2023 from research conducted by the Politecnico di Milano and ML cube. The company, selected among the 16 best AI startups in Europe by the ELISE programme, manages more than €30 million in optimized advertising budget for clients in Italy and abroad.

AdKaora, the digital company of Mondadori Digital, announces a strategic partnership with YEP (Your Eco Plan), a platform specialised in measuring, optimising, decarbonising, and activating environmental impact in digital advertising.

Thanks to this agreement, AdKaora integrates YEP’s Media Environmental Efficiency KPI (or Impact KPI) into its offering, adding a new level of measurement alongside traditional media KPIs. The system enables advertisers to assess how environmentally efficient a campaign is, without altering existing media buying strategies or operational workflows.

Environmental efficiency becomes part of media KPIs

Digital advertising today contributes over 3.5% of global CO₂ emissions, an impact comparable to the entire aviation sector. At the same time, growing European regulatory pressure, including the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive – EU 2022/2464), is encouraging companies to consider advertising as part of their Scope 3 emissions.

In this context, there is a need to complement traditional media KPIs with new indicators capable of measuring not only performance but also the environmental efficiency of advertising delivery.

Making the impact actionable within the media

“We are pleased to collaborate with Luca Brighenti and YEP to offer our clients a timely tool that integrates environmental impact directly into media strategies, at a moment of strong and justified attention to green issues,” says Davide Tran, CEO of AdKaora and MarTech Hub Director at Mondadori Digital. “This partnership strengthens our positioning as an innovative player and allows brands to link advertising delivery to measurable and trackable environmental indicators.”

“With AdKaora, we introduce the Media Environmental Efficiency KPI directly within the agency’s offering,” states Luca Brighenti, Founder of YEP. “The goal is to make environmental efficiency a native media metric, integrated into campaign planning and evaluation, complementing traditional performance KPIs with a new operational dimension.”

How the integrated solution works

Within AdKaora’s offering, the new KPI is activated as a plug-and-play solution requiring no additional technical integrations. Through a single operational layer, the system provides:

• Measurement of environmental efficiency: calculating the environmental intensity of advertising delivery (gCO₂ per impression, energy consumed, campaign footprint) via a carbon data platform aligned with global frameworks such as the Global Media Sustainability Framework (GMSF);
• Optimisation of media efficiency: continuous analysis of media configurations to identify opportunities to improve environmental efficiency, with actionable recommendations integrated directly into planning strategies;
• Decarbonisation and activation of environmental projects in Italy: for unavoidable emissions, brands can activate decarbonisation solutions via certified carbon credits and local nature-based projects (reforestation, agroforestry, marine ecosystem protection), linking media efficiency to tangible environmental outcomes;
• Efficiency-ready reporting: YEP reporting translates delivery into clear environmental indicators — Footprint Index, Optimisation Index, and Outcome/Activation Index — which together form the Impact Score, a single metric representing the overall environmental efficiency of the campaign.

AdKaora, the digital company of Mondadori Digital, has been selected by Guess, one of the world’s most recognisable fashion brands, to manage its 2025 digital activities in Europe, with coordinated planning across Italy, Spain, Germany and Poland. The partnership was created to support two of the brand’s most important initiatives through a creative and technological ecosystem capable of maintaining a consistent narrative across multiple markets.

The campaigns, aimed primarily at a female audience attentive to style, personal care and fashion trends, with a strong interest in beauty, fashion and accessories, benefited from a multichannel approach combining high-impact formats, premium editorial distribution and advanced proximity marketing tools.

A central role was played by the proprietary creative formats developed by the AdKaora Creative Studio, designed to showcase products through an immediate, immersive language capable of capturing attention from the very first seconds. Thanks to their interactive nature, these solutions offered Guess a distinctive way to present both the spring lingerie collections and the iconic accessories launched in the second half of the year.

The strength of the collaboration lay in the ability to build a full-funnel journey, adapting messages and objectives to the different stages of the decision-making process. The upper funnel was supported by high-impact rich media and premium placements, while the consideration phase relied on more interactive experiences. Conversion, in turn, was driven by proximity marketing and drive-to-store solutions, integrated with a certified footfall analysis, enabling the real impact of digital activities on Guess boutiques across the various markets to be measured.

The overall analysis highlights how the synergy between strategy and creativity delivered strong performance, significantly exceeding market benchmarks in all countries involved, thanks to targeted planning on the AdKaora Value Network, an international editorial ecosystem that includes premium sites across the fashion and lifestyle sectors. This network enabled Guess to reach relevant audiences in each market while maintaining high quality standards. “Working with a partner like AdKaora allowed us to achieve very solid results, both in qualitative terms, thanks to consistently high-quality content, and in performance across the entire funnel. At the same time, being present within a premium editorial environment gave us the reassurance of planning aligned with the brand’s values, even across multiple markets,” said Ester Diamante, Media Planning Manager at Guess.

“The collaboration with Guess is a concrete example of how proprietary creativity, multichannel planning and measurable drive-to-store activation can coexist within a single international strategy,” commented Davide Tran, MarTech Hub Director Mondadori Digital and CEO of AdKaora. “Our Value Network, made up of premium vertical publishers across the main European markets, is a strategic asset that enables us to guarantee quality, consistency, brand safety and real results wherever the brand chooses to communicate. With proximity and drive-to-store strategies, we also ensured that Guess could bring genuinely interested customers into its stores, maximising visit rate performance throughout the campaign,” Tran concluded.

PLAI is opening applications for 2026, targeting high-potential, AI-driven startups interested in accessing investment opportunities and developing collaborations with the Mondadori Group.

The selection process will remain open throughout the year. Each application will be assessed based on the actual value of the solution, its level of maturity and its strategic fit with the Mondadori Group. This approach enables PLAI to evaluate startups on an ongoing basis and to accelerate the transition from experimentation to implementation.

For interested startups, key evaluation criteria will include the degree of innovation of the AI solution and its potential for integration and cooperation within the Mondadori Group ecosystem. The level of collaboration and the final investment will be determined according to each startup’s potential. 

“The 2026 Call represents not only an investment opportunity, but also a privileged access point for high-potential, AI-driven startups interested in collaborating with the Mondadori Group,” said Stefano Argiolas, Chief Executive Officer of PLAI and Chief AI Officer of the Mondadori Group. “For us, true fit is based on two key elements: genuine innovation – technological, product-based or business-model-driven – and the real possibility of integrating the proposed solution with our platforms, brands and processes. This flexible approach, combined with an ‘always-on’ selection model, allows us to quickly identify and activate the most promising collaborations, accelerating the entry of the most deserving startups into our ecosystem,” Argiolas concluded.

What’s new for 2026

Building on the experience rapidly gained in this field – with over one thousand applications received in the previous two years and 16 startups accelerated – 2026 marks an evolution in PLAI’s model. The accelerator is strengthening its market positioning as a continuous open-innovation platform, focused on creating industrial value through structured collaborations with the Mondadori Group. In this context, PLAI aims to identify startups with which to develop innovation projects, Proofs of Concept and solutions applied to real business contexts.

As part of this strategic evolution, PLAI will also launch an experimental phase through the creation of a Venture Builder to explore the development of new entrepreneurial initiatives starting from concrete industrial needs. PLAI will offer the Mondadori Group the opportunity to create new products or services based on business-unit requirements, co-financing, where appropriate, the establishment of dedicated NewCo to develop and scale the identified solutions.

Strategic areas of interest

PLAI’s goal is to develop AI solutions applicable to the Mondadori Group’s reference markets, with particular focus on the following areas:

• Education, with an emphasis on the digital learning and edtech sectors;
• Retail, covering customer experience, demand management and logistics;
• New Media & Advertising, specifically content, audience growth and optimisation, and advertising solutions;
• Publishing, with a focus on optimising editorial workflows, distribution and engagement;
• Corporate, including planning and control, administration, procurement, supplier management and legal functions.

What PLAI offers selected startups:

• up to €300,000 in equity investment (including initial investment and follow-on) to accelerate growth;
• up to €100,000 for Proofs of Concept and pilot projects, co-development initiatives and experimentation in real business contexts within the Mondadori Group;
• direct access to corporate expertise, real use cases and co-development opportunities;
• strategic and operational support aimed at delivering concrete projects;

Partners

In 2026, PLAI will be supported by Italian and international partners including Amazon Web Services (AWS), ElevenLabs, Fastweb+Vodafone, I3P, IFAB, Multiversity, PwC Italia, Startupbootcamp and StartupItalia.

📌 Full details and the application form are available at:
👉 https://www.plai-accelerator.com/call-2026/

PLAI is the Mondadori Group’s startup accelerator, supporting AI-driven startups with the aim of transforming innovative solutions into concrete entrepreneurial projects, fostering integration between technology, markets and real industrial contexts. Operating as a platform for open innovation and industrial collaboration, PLAI offers selected startups the opportunity to develop Proofs of Concept, co-development projects and applied initiatives in synergy with the Mondadori Group and its ecosystem. Active in the Early-Stage and Growth phases, PLAI selects and invests in Italian and international startups, providing capital, corporate expertise and access to real use cases, with flexible, tailor-made support focused on value creation and real-world adoption of solutions.

Mondadori Digital is strengthening the offering of its MarTech hub with the merger of Hej! into the digital company AdKaora. The transaction represents a strategic step forward for both businesses, which come together as a single operating entity and a market leader, driven by a highly specialised technology hub offering full-funnel digital solutions: from brand awareness and lead generation through to final conversion.

“With this operation we are completing a strategic integration journey that has, over the years, proven its effectiveness in terms of results and innovation,” said Andrea Santagata, CEO of Mondadori Digital. “The merger of Hej! into AdKaora further consolidates the positioning of our MarTech hub, which today generates more than €40 million in combined revenues across Italy and LATAM, thanks to a full-funnel offering that brings together creativity, technology, data and performance. From this virtuous integration emerges a digital ecosystem that enhances the value of each individual asset, setting new benchmarks for effectiveness and performance in the MarTech landscape,”,’ Santagata concluded.

The new AdKaora, with operations in Italy and Spain, brings together a team of more than 80 industry professionals, led by Davide Tran as CEO and Paolo De Santis, COO and Co-founder of Hej!, who has been appointed Co-CEO of AdKaora.

“The integration of AdKaora and Hej! under a single brand is the natural outcome of years of shared successes, and having Paolo De Santis alongside me in leading this new organisation reflects our strong commitment to continuity,” said Davide Tran, MarTech Hub Director at Mondadori Digital and CEO of AdKaora. “Today we no longer offer simply complementary products, but a single digital ecosystem in which creativity, data and technology work together to guide users throughout the entire funnel. AI plays a central role in this evolution, with Hej! remaining the cornerstone of our performance offering. Our goal is to further strengthen our position as the partner of choice for innovation in marketing and communications, delivering effective and distinctive solutions for our clients. In the first quarter alone, we already have several new products in the pipeline, spanning both awareness and performance, as we continue to evolve and differentiate ourselves in the market,” Tran concluded.

“By bringing teams and expertise together, we are building something truly new, grounded in very solid foundations. For us, bringing people together has always come before merging companies, as from the very beginning we have shared the same principles and the same vision of the world and of business. This deep alignment results in a genuine cross-pollination of ideas and know-how, creating the fertile ground from which our next wave of products, services and innovation will grow”, said Paolo De Santis, Co-Managing Director of AdKaora.

THE STRENGTHS OF THE NEW ADKAORA

The new AdKaora is built on three key pillars:

1. technological evolution: the sharing of technological infrastructures accelerates the development of proprietary solutions and the integration of increasingly advanced artificial intelligence systems;
2. data enhancement: the integration of databases and analytical capabilities enables even more granular user profiling, transforming data into predictive value for campaigns and into measurable, tangible results;
3. optimisation of operational workflows: the unification of internal processes allows for a faster, more comprehensive and more consultative response to market needs.

In this context, Hej! retains its strong identity as a best-in-class product line and as a specialised technology arm focused on AI and Conversational Marketing.

ADKAORA’S NEW ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

AdKaora ‘s new organisational structure brings together, under a single strategic vision, specialised expertise designed to enhance the company’s ability to bring integrated, data-driven technological solutions to market. Reporting directly to CEO Davide Tran, the team includes key roles with cross-functional responsibilities, including:

• Stefano Argiolas (Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer at AdKaora and Mondadori Digital), responsible for steering strategic development and product innovation, with a specific focus on leveraging AI as a competitive driver across the entire Mondadori Digital ecosystem;
• Paolo Ingrosso (Chief Revenue Officer), responsible for revenue growth, commercial activities and relationships with clients and agencies;
• Francesco Binetti (Chief Operating Officer – Supply), leading operational management and supply-side development, with a focus on the monetisation of advertising inventory for national and international publishers;
• Walter Ferrari (Chief Marketing Officer), responsible for coordinating marketing strategies, communication and events;
• Luca Nigro (CEO AdKaora Iberia) and Gonzalo Guzman (Co-CEO AdKaora Iberia), leading business development and commercial strategy in the Iberian markets, as well as the expansion of the international publishing network.

AdKaora, the international digital Martech agency of the Mondadori Group and a leader in mobile advertising, proximity marketing, and full-funnel solutions for brands and publishers, has launched the white paper “Dal banco alla brand experience: il Retail Media in farmacia” in collaboration with Haiku Technologies. The study provides an in-depth analysis of pharmacies as new strategic media hubs and examines consumer trends shaping the sector’s evolution.

In recent years, Italian pharmacies have undergone a profound transformation: from simple points of sale to multifunctional hubs integrating prevention services, consultation, and advanced technologies capable of measuring advertising effectiveness. Thanks to digitalization and the installation of indoor screens and multichannel proximity solutions, pharmacies have become high-value communication channels, reaching consumers already predisposed to purchase.

The white paper offers market analysis, case studies, and guidelines for leveraging this growing channel, which is projected to reach over €640 million in Italy in 2025.

Key insights from the white paper include:

• Purchase trends show significant seasonality: supplements +20% in August, dermocosmetics +43% in December, and infant products +79% in December.
• Product category weight varies: OTC (over-the-counter drugs) 41%, Personal Care 24%, and Supplements 11% representing the most significant share of the pharma sector.

The document also highlights the importance of a full-funnel approach for effective retail media strategies AdKaora and Haiku’s solutions are designed to reach consumers both inside and around the pharmacy and across their digital journey through multiple touchpoints.

With over 250 digitalized points of sale, 2.5 million monthly scans, and an omnichannel ecosystem, AdKaora and Haiku provide healthcare and pharma companies with granular insights into purchasing behaviour and real-time KPIs. This allows for direct connection between media investment and actual sales results, optimizing campaigns and maximizing ROI (return on investment).

For brands and investors, the opportunities are numerous: from planning high-impact, measurable retail media campaigns to segmenting and personalizing strategies based on specific product categories.
In conclusion, retail media confirms its status as a strategic and innovative channel, set to play an increasingly central role in communication and marketing strategies for the future.

The full white paper is available here:link.

AdKaora, the international Martech digital agency of the Mondadori Group, together with Hej!, specialised in conversational marketing, and Meaningfool, a next-gen creative agency partly owned by Mondadori Media, supported Alcon in promoting the free trial of its Precision1 contact lenses at the new pop-up in Piazza Gae Aulenti, in the Porta Nuova district of Milan.

The three companies designed a complete funnel, where digital strategy, creator-led video content, performance marketing and in-store experience come together to create an integrated drive-to-store campaign, running from September 16th to December 15th.

With this project, AdKaora, Hej! and Meaningfool launched a new framework that combines data, technology, media and creativity, redefining both the user experience and the relationship between digital channels and physical retail spaces, while measuring the overall impact.

THE DRIVE-TO-STORE CAMPAIGN

AdKaora implemented a mix of channels and technologies to reach the target audience and drive traffic to the pop-up. Interactive rich media formats were used to boost engagement and raise product awareness, while a blend of display and social drive-to-store activities increased visibility and encouraged visitors to experience the event in person. Key measurement tools included Footfall analysis – to assess the campaign’s impact on pop-up visits – and Brand Lift studies to evaluate campaign effectiveness in terms of brand recall and perception, while also gathering valuable socio-demographic insights on the target audience.

Hej! brought its expertise in Conversational Performance Marketing to the project, integrating a conversational strategy that used personalised messages and customer journeys to generate interest, inform users about the features of the lenses, and guide them towards booking a free trial at the pop-up. This one-to-one approach not only improved the quality of the leads collected but also strengthened customer relationships, offering seamless integration with Alcon’s booking system.

Meaningfool, meanwhile, designed and produced a UGC video campaign on Meta that ran throughout the entire funnel. Three creators brought the pop up’s storytelling, built around the parallel between finding the right “feeling” with your contact lenses and in a romantic relationship, to a new, more ironic level. The free trial of Precision1 lenses became a playful opportunity to see people better on first dates, the complimentary pouch for visitors turned into a place to stash failed flings, and the pocket mirror became a tool to spark a chance encounter on the street. The creators guided the audience through every step: sharing full details of the initiative, recounting their own first hand experience, and highlighting the top three reasons not to miss the trial.

The two performance campaigns that closed the funnel, both aimed at driving online bookings, included a first video with multiple creative variants for testing, followed by a second retargeting video.

PLAI, the Mondadori Group’s start-up accelerator aimed at transforming projects based on artificial intelligence into successful companies, has selected seven new start-ups for its second acceleration batch, which will be accompanied on an excellent six-month training course culminating in a new Demo Day.

The programme of this second edition consisted in two dedicated call4startups: one for early-stage start-ups — i.e. the product validation phase — and one for more mature, growth start-ups — i.e. with a product already validated on the market and ready to build solid collaborations.

More than 1,000 applications received in the two batches launched by the accelerator — with 514 collected in the second batch — confirm the attractiveness of the PLAI programme. New start-ups were selected according to key criteria such as the quality of the team, potential business integration, scalability, degree of technological innovation, roadmap and go-to-market strategy.

Expanding its areas of focus, the new call included the category of procurement process optimisation in addition to education, retail, new media & advertising and publishing.

The selection process for the second cycle began on 6 March. More than 1,500 hours of application evaluation led to an initial shortlist of 16 start-ups, which presented themselves during the Selection Day held on 27 May, following which 7 finalists were selected.

‘We are constantly impressed by the quality of the submissions to our calls. Once again, the choice was challenging but it allowed us to identify cutting-edge start-ups with a clear vision of the future, noting an increase in international applications for the first time. The selection reaffirmed our commitment to supporting the most revolutionary and sustainable ideas, confirming the high level of competition and excellence of the projects. We can’t wait to start working with these new companies, helping them turn their ideas into commercial success,’ says Stefano Argiolas, CEO of PLAI.

Many Italian and international partners are supporting PLAI for Batch 2025: Startupbootcamp, I3P – Incubator of the Politecnico di Torino, Amazon Web Services (AWS), ElevenLabs, Fastweb + Vodafone, WPP Media Italy, IFAB – International Foundation Big Data and Artificial Intelligence for Human Development, Multiversity Group, PwC Italy, StartupItalia and Codemotion.

Acceleration for selected start-ups

Early-stage start-ups will receive an investment of €100,000 in exchange for about 7% of the capital. If deemed viable by PLAI at the end of the course, some of the selected start-ups will also be eligible for an additional €400,000 follow-on investment to support further growth and scalability.

For start-ups in the growth phase, a €40,000 compensation for a Pilot/PoC (proof of concept) is envisaged to help implement pilot projects with and for the Mondadori Group or PLAI’s corporate partners.

Both categories include more than 60 hours of high-quality workshops with PLAI partners to develop core skills (business, tech, fundraising, external & internal communication) and over 45 hours of customised mentorship with experienced managers and entrepreneurs. All selected start-ups will also benefit from €10,000 in credit to be used on the AWS (Amazon Web Services) platform, three months of access to the ElevenLabs platform (Tech Perks) including digital services and credits, and access to the PLAI network for strategic connections and business development along with its entire ecosystem, which fosters collaboration and innovation.

The programme is enriched with vertical events with industry experts and custom Investor Day Preparation sessions, which offer tailored strategic and technological tools to grow and scale successfully.

Start-ups entering BATCH 2025

BILLD – retail
Every year, Europe produces 230 billion receipts made of non-recyclable thermal paper, creating a considerable environmental impact and important storage limitations. Furthermore, 93% of offline data remains unused for advertising and trend analysis purposes. Billd is a green fintech start-up offering an innovative HaaS (hardware as a service) for digital receipts, collecting and analysing big data from the offline market. The device developed by Billd is easy to install and compatible with any cash register.

BOOSTED AI – education
The student drop-out rate is high (12% at university level), less than half of students receive adequate, personalised feedback and poor digitisation wastes money for educational institutions and demotivates students. Boosted AI is an intelligent platform that transforms study materials into a personalised digital learning pathway and automates assessment.

CICERO.LIVE – retail
Companies rely on hypothetical interpretations to assess the involvement in and results of conferences, trade fairs and sales spaces. Cicero.Live is a machine learning system that tracks the performance of live events by calculating the audience’s level of attention, involvement and sentiment and correlating it with the movements and words of the speaker on stage.

COMPRI – procurement
Traditional procurement tools are rigid and outdated, often add complexity and still rely on email, Excel and ERP systems that are not built for modern needs, consequently wasting time. Buy centralises all procurement activities in one platform supported by an AI assistant, and automates operational and strategic processes: from requisitions to order management, supplier qualification, compliance, RFQs, budgeting and analysis.

LIA – procurement
In Italy, more than half of B2B SMEs with an annual turnover of less than €15 million collect payments more than 60 days late, delaying growth, limiting liquidity and burdening administrative teams. The AI-based LIA platform acts as a virtual administrative and legal assistant. It sends white-label reminders, analyses customer behaviour, suggests repayment plans and manages legal steps, all while preserving customer relationships. Through customised messaging, it reduces collection times by up to 80%, lowers costs and works on a fixed fee model without commissions.

MATH LEGACY – education
Current EdTech solutions for the school system are based on quizzes and superficial gamification, but they no longer work because students do not learn. Globally, performance in mathematics continues to deteriorate and in Italy, 44% of secondary school students do not even learn the basic skills. Math Legacy is a suite of video games — one for each topic — with a shared engine, engaging narrative and recognisable visual identity. In its first tests with over 5,000 students in 30 schools, Math Legacy – awarded Best Italian EdTech 2024 (GESAwards) – recorded a 23% increase in scores in just one month.

MEMORAIZ – education
Educational, publishing and cultural institutions struggle to integrate AI sustainably without disrupting workflows or replacing the digital tools currently in use. MemorAlz provides flexible artificial intelligence modules that can be integrated into existing processes and tools to transform content, personalise experiences and support pedagogical interaction, meeting the needs of individual organisations in education, publishing and culture.

For this second edition as well, thanks go to the members of the Advisory Board for their professionalism in supporting the activities of PLAI and the selected young companies: Sergio Amati; Marco Becca; Paola Bonomo; Marco Bressani; Luciano Catoni; Mario Coletti; Giampaolo Colletti; Paola Colombo; Alessandro Conca; Stefano Denicolai; Guido Di Fraia; Lisa Di Sevo; Matteo Flora; Luca La Mesa; Paolo Meraldo; Paola Mogliotti; Julian Prat; Federico Rampolla; Alceo Rapagna; Maurizio Romandini; Chiara Russo; Franco Spicciariello; Vincenzo Tanania; Davide Tesoro-Tess; Luca Tremolada.

PLAI is the Mondadori Group’s startup accelerator, which aims to transform projects relying artificial intelligence into successful companies. PLAI offers a distinctive field of application and an industrial outlet, both within the Group and with partners of the initiative. PLAI selects and invests in Italian and international start-ups. In addition to capital, the accelerator provides start-ups with concrete areas to apply AI, structured training and mentorship courses, as well as the opportunity to participate in networking events, due to the unique set of skills and assets provided by relevant Italian and international partners.