Digital: MarTech and Advertising Solutions

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.

Pharmacies are being transformed. They are no longer just points of sale but actual strategic touchpoints capable of connecting brands and consumers when decisions really count. This was the guiding vision of AdKaora, Mondadori Group’s MarTech agency, when it designed the new campaign developed in collaboration with WPP Media for the launch of the HYALU-FILLER skincare line by Laboratoires Filorga Cosmetiques Italia.

An Ecosystem Combining Digital and Physical Content, Branding and Performance

The new HYALU-FILLER line, inspired by the Skin Booster and Filler treatments, represents an important step for Filorga in the world of pharmacies, which are currently a priority channel. To enhance the products, the brand built an integrated communication ecosystem together with AdKaora to accompany users at every stage of their journey, from product discovery to purchase, through direct in-store interaction.

Media Mix Focused on Pharmacies

The core of the communication strategy was the new in-store retail media channel. The touchpoints activated in the campaign included the Addendo Pharma digital network by Haiku Technologies, AdKaora’s partner in the pharma & beauty sector. Participating pharmacies throughout the country were equipped with indoor digital screens to deliver video advertising, turning points of sale into real media centres.

As a second step, the AdBox™ technology – also developed by Haiku and integrated into pharmacy registers – collected real-time data on user behaviour. With this IoT system, concrete, timely insights are obtained to accurately measure the impact of campaigns on sales, optimising ROI (return on investment) and enhancing the effectiveness of the entire communication ecosystem, as well as providing timely, granular information on sell-out at individual pharmacies.

Proximity Marketing to Trigger Action

The strategy did not stop with the pharmacies. AdKaora also activated a proximity marketing component – its historical strength – to intercept users on the move. With geolocalised, engaging and highly relevant mobile formats, it was possible to stimulate interest and guide users smoothly and naturally to points of sale.

To make the experience even more immediate, a call to action was integrated to activate Find&Go Now! The interactive map, created using AdKaora’s proprietary technology, shows the nearest pharmacies with active screens in real time, presenting the shortest route to get there. A direct bridge between banner and shelf.

Results: Awareness, Action and Concrete Performance

The campaign managed to combine visual impact and activation across the area, recording excellent performance throughout the funnel. The Display format achieved a CTR (click-through rate) of 2.1%, indicating strong interest and involvement by the target audience, while the pharmacy videos ensured a constant and memorable presence at a key moment in the decision to purchase.

However, sell-out is where the strategy expressed its full potential. Weekly sales in Addendo circuit pharmacies that were analysed increased by more than six times the annual average. This increase leaves no room for doubt about the effectiveness of retail media in the pharma sector in generating tangible results, turning engagement into real conversion.

A New Approach to Pharma Retail Media

The campaign deployed a well-orchestrated mix of technology, media and data, both online and offline, with a single objective: enhancing the pharmacy channel as a space for interaction, advice and conversion. Today, using solutions such as those by AdKaora, this aspect can become an active part of a brand’s media strategy.

‘For Filorga, the pharmacy channel is much more than a point of sale. It is a place of trust and advice, developing genuine relationships with consumers. Presiding over this strategic touchpoint with innovative and measurable communication solutions is crucial for enhancing the value of our skincare products, especially in a setting where choices are made at a decisive moment. With the support of AdKaora, we have transformed our pharmacy presence into an omnichannel experience that combines awareness and conversion, confirming our commitment to supporting people along their beauty and wellness journey,’ says Irene Picazio, Marketing Director at Laboratoires Filorga.

‘Retail media in the pharma channel can no longer remain in the shop window. It must become a tool for interaction, activation and measurement. With our full-funnel approach, we take brands exactly where it counts: to customers at the moment they are deciding what to buy. Using a hybrid ecosystem combining pharmacy screens, geolocalised mobile advertising and drive-to-store technology, AdKaora is now able to turn advertising into concrete action, and pharmacies into true physical media touchpoints. With the ability to measure real insights and sales uplift, we guarantee brands not only visibility, but also performance. We would like to thank Filorga for their trust, given the sales results, and for sharing this strategy with us,’ says Davide Tran, MarTech Director of Mondadori Media.

A carbonara can express more than a recipe: it can communicate tradition and quality, as well as innovation, contemporary taste and brand choices. This is exactly whatTulip has done. This Danish brand, which boasts over a century of experience in meat processing, turned to AdKaora, the MarTech agency of the Mondadori Group, for a digital advertising campaign tailor-made to celebrate the latest edition of Carbonara Day.

A tailor-made format for an impactful experience

Goal: to communicate the two variants of its diced pancetta – sweet and smoked – in an engaging way through an immersive experience that speaks to the audience, combining brand storytelling, design and performance.

The heart of the campaign, running from 1 to 13 April, was a fully customised rich media format designed by AdKaora Creative Studio. The creativity took the form of a Product Carousel, designed to highlight the two variants of Pancetta Tulip through simple and engaging navigation.

The format, designed to stimulate user engagement and ensure complete product discovery, integrated high-impact visual elements and immediate call-to-actions, ensuring high visibility and memorability, while encouraging interaction to drive qualified user traffic to the site.

“The campaign created for Tulip best expresses our understanding of shared value: a tailor-made project, creativity built for the right channel and distribution capable of reaching the most receptive audience at the ideal time. What makes the difference is our Creative Studio, which allows us to develop truly tailor-made advertising formats in a very short time to market, designed to deliver fluid, engaging experiences that are perfectly integrated into the user journey. This combination of content, context and innovation yields concrete and lasting results,” commented Davide Tran, MarTech Director at Mondadori Media.

The power of distribution: valuable content in valuable contexts

The campaign found its ideal home in the AdKaora Value Network, a publishing ecosystem that today brings together 159 publishers and over 1,900 web domains and AMPs, reaching millions of passionate users in brand-safe and relevant environments. Thanks to the quality and vertical nature of the contexts on offer, Tulip conveyed its message through the main food properties, reaching highly profiled audiences

“The collaboration with AdKaora is a perfect fit in our multi-channel strategy, which integrates high-performance digital activities with a strong in-store presence. We developed a project that enhanced the product’s distinctiveness in qualified digital environments, generating not only excellent results in terms of engagement and conversions, but also a high and authentic level of attention from the public. Today, attention is a key indicator for measuring the real effectiveness of campaigns and confirms the solidity of our integrated approach, geared towards building value for the brand,” comments Daniele Moggia, Trade Marketing & Business Development Manager at Tulip Italia.

The natural integration of the advertising format within users’ digital habits, coupled with the strength of the tailor-made creativity developed by the AdKaora Creative Studio, led to excellent results: an engagement rate of 4.4% and a CTR of 2.8%, clear signs of genuine and spontaneous interest from the audience.