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Italy 
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Hand-filtered news from the online mainstream and trade press designed to give you topical insight into Italian advertising and marketing, life and lifestyles.....
12.12.05
The 'four Ps' of marketing, it seems (product, price, place, promotion), are no longer enough to stimulate the curiosity of consumers and induce them to purchase, says the Italian online business journal Tgfin.it. That is leading an increasing number of companies to seek to strengthen their market presence by forming strategic alliances. One company to have taken this route is the glass mosaic manufacturer Bisazza Mosaici. And with some success, given that sales have risen five-fold over the past five years and 20% in 2004 alone.
"For the last Milan car show", sales director Marco Piscitelli tells the journal, "we covered four Mini models using our mosaics. The unique results attracted customers and the press alike, with incredible benefits for our image. "We benefitted in terms of increased brand awareness in our traditional market and Mini was able to enter into the world of design, positioning itself as a brand in tune with the world of art". To read a longer version of this article, in Italian, click on the link below (left) to be taken to the corresponding page on the Tgfin.it website. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to see the same article, translated into English by From Europe With Love.
05.12.05
Italians are thirsty for more and more information and are accessing it through a growing range of sources. At least that's the result of the 39th report produced by Censis, a research foundation set up to explore themes of socio-economic importance. Reported on the online business journal Affari Italiani, the survey classifies the population by their uptake of new and existing media services. Thus 'marginals' (using television only) and 'the poor' (who use no more than two media types) are identified, although in each case the number of people falling into these classifications is falling. The number of consumers who can be classified as 'average' (defined as making good use of media, without including the internet) is also falling, Censis says. The number of 'omnivores', on the other hand (and who use as many as seven types of media) and 'pioneers' (eight types and over) is growing. "Around 20% of the Italian population is truly taking advantage of the digital age", Censis says. This is proved by penetration figures for communications and entertainment devices: 90% of citizens have a mobile phone, 85% a video recorder and, in just one year, the percentage of the population owning a DVD player has risen from 21% to 60%. According to Censis, around 20 million Italians could be considered as internet users during 2005, equivalent to just over 40% of the population. To see what else the foundation discovered, either click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this article, in Italian, on the Affari Italiani website, or click on the link below (right) to see the full text of the press release on the Censis website.
30.11.05
Italy's film industry has been hit over the past year or so, writes the online newspaper Affari Italiani, by a decision taken by the country's finance authorities to cut state funding. As they search for other sources of revenue, Affari Italiani says, they are increasingly turning to product placement. Camelot, an agency that specialises in such deals, says that one changes in local laws made the practice possible, it immediately set to work to make sure that the Tim mobile phone brand would be present in the film 'Qua Vadis baby'. Five further titles due to appear in 2006 will include product placements negotiated by Camelot, agency head Paola Mazzaglia tells Affari Italiani. The first will feature the lead character in 'Eccezionale Veramente 2' using the 892 892 phone number enquiry service to locate his daughter. Subsequent releases will benefit the pasta brand Pasta Garofalo, among others. Through such deals, Mazzaglia says, Camelot has brought over a million euros into the Italian fim industry in just one year. Click on the link below (left) to read a longer version of this story for yourself, in Italian, on the Affari Italiani website. Alternatively, to visit the daily news site of the leading Italian film company, Cinecittà, click on the link below (right).
22.11.05
Italian state broadcaster RAI, which relies on two sources of income for its funding, says that the levels it actually receives from one of them - the 'canone', or licence fee - is much lower than it should be. Faced with a cap on the amount of advertising it can carry, the company has been looking to assess and reduce the number of those not paying the annual fee, which is obligatory for any household owning a television. Stanislao Argenti, head of its subscriptions department, was charged with putting a figure on the number of 'evaders' and has come up with a full 5 million families. What's more, it's a long-term habit, he says, with only 2-3% of that figure having ceased to pay during the past 5 years. 120 agents patrol the country trying to track down non-paying TV watchers, but they have a difficult task, says the trade magazine Prima. "It's not easy to find people who want to do the job", Argenti tells it. "They are paid on commission and only when the missing money has been paid into the bank". What's more, all they are allowed to do is ask people whether they have been paid, to which the answer, presumably, is always "yes". "If they're not paying, there's not a lot we can do about it", Argenti admits. Though an order could be issued by the courts upon request, "this has never happened", he says. Rai has even been gaining access to lists of subscribers to satellite services, such as Sky, to attempt to fish out names. Sky, Argenti says, are nothing to do with Rai, but he doesn't see why they should be paying their subcription to that company and not paying their obligation to the state. To read a longer version of this story for yourself, in Italian, click on the link below (left) to visit the Prima Online website. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit Rai.
16.05.05
Parmalat, the Italian dairy products manufacturer which went so spectacularly bankrup towards the end of 2003, is counting on the launch of a new line of products designed to halt the ageing process to restore its fortunes, writes the advertising industry newsletter Pubblicità Italia. Called 'Jeunesse' (the French word for 'youth'), the line includes yogurt, skimmed milk, fruit drinks and pineapple-flavoured desserts, Pubblicità Italia says. Its launch will be backed by a 10 million euro advertising campaign set to run throughout the summer and, if successful, will also be sold in export markets. The products are all enriched with the co-enzyme Q10 and a variety of vitamins said to have anti-oxidant properties. They are aimed principally at female consumers aged between 35 and 44 years old who, while they don't believe in miracle cures, Parmalat says, do pay attention to their health. "With this new brand", Parmalat managing director Carlo Prevedini told the press last week, "we want to send a signal of rebirth and a re-establishment of the company's strength. Our relaunch is not simply a question of cuts and restructuring plans, but also of product innovation". The advertising campaign will use the line "Jeunesse, nutri la tua giovinezza' ('Nourish your youth') and appear on TV and in print witha view to reaching a sales target of 30 million euros in the products' first year. To read a longer version of this story for yourself, in Italian, click on the link below (left) to visit the Pubblicità Italia website. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit Parmalat.
09.05.05
Italian children are 'stuffed' with advertising for junk food, according to a study conducted in various countries and presented this week in Milan by the European Heart Network (EHN). 70% of ads on TV aired during hours when children are the principal audience promote foods which are rich in fat, sugar and salt, the EHN's researchers found, with just 2% showcasing 'healthier' alternatives such as fruit and vegetables. 69% of Italian children, it goes on, eat foods that they can remember advertising for, while 81% ask their parents for specific brands. The situation, EHN says, is alarming both in Italy and beyond. The figures quoted are based on a 32-month study conducted in 20 European countries and designed to deliver a 'photograph' of the current situation across the continent and encourage governments to promote a programme of information on the problem of childhood obesity, spokeswoman Lida Rota Vender told journalists. If children are overweight, she continued, they stand a 25%-50% greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease in adulthood. In Italy, it is calculated that 4% of youngsters aged between 6 and 17 are obese and a further 20% overweight. "In Italy, the amount spent by food manufacturers on TV advertising has doubled over the past two years and it now takes up 40% of all promotional airspace during children's programmes", Vender adds. "We have calculated that in five-and-a-half hours a day of children's programming, around 300 ads will be aired", says Margharita Caroli, of the European Chilldhood Obesity Group. You can read a longer version of this story for yourself, in Italian, by clicking on the link below (left) to visit the website of Quotidiano Nazionale, which published it. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit the website maintained by European Heart Network.
03.05.05
... changing, according to figures released this week by the market auditing company, AC Nielsen. "The effects of dietary change are making their effect felt on Italian dinner tables, with significant falls in consumption of margarine (-25%) and rapeseed oil (-17%) compared to levels observed in the year 2000, replaced only in part by growth in consumption of extra-virgin olive oil (+1%)", the company's data shows. The figures were published this week by the news website ADN Italy Global Nation, basing its article on an analysis of Nielsen's figures by Coldiretti, the Italian farmers organisation. Overall, consumption of fat has fallen by 8% in the past 5 years, it says. During that time, interest has grown strongly in oilive oil which comes with a 'denominazione di origine', attesting to the fact that it was grown and produced in a particular region, and organic oilive oil, demand for which has grown by over 370%, albeit from a very low base. Other products falling out of favour since 2000 include butter (-11%), corn oil (-21%) and soya oil (-43%). These declines have been countered by the rise in popularity of extra virgin olive oil, now Italian's preferred form of the product. These changes, Coldiretti concludes, evidence an increasing attention to diet and its health effects, given that extra virgin olive oil has been shown to have positive medical properties. To back this claim up, it cites figures produced by health authorities in America which indicate that aruond 2 spoonfuls of olive oil a day can reduce the risk of coronary disease. Why not read this story for yourself, in Italian, by visiting the ADN Italy Global Nation website... just click on the link below (left). Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit Coldiretti.
25.04.05
Clients in some European countries - particularly Spain and Italy and in particular public sector clients - have been criticised in recent years for inviting too many agencies to pitch for individual advertising projects and treating them poorly in the process. While there has been much talk about correcting the process, little, practically, has been achieved, particularly if the recent experience of Enrico Montangero, head of his own ad agency and also of the Italian trade association Assocomunicazione, is to be believed, says the local industry newsletter Pubblicità Italia says. "A medium-sized manufacturer called me about a pitch", he tells the newsletter. "They told me that they had sent the invitation out to a certain number of agencies in addition to mine and that the deadline was fairly short. I worked enthusiastically on the strategy, thinking up a campaign to run across radio and print and had even booked my air tickets to make the presentation. But we never got to do that..". "In the meantime", Montangero explains, "I was finally able to get answers to two of the questions I had asked the prospective client. They said that they couldn't tell me who I was pitching against nor the terms of remuneration, saying that these could be discussed should we win the pitch". "At that point I said no", he continues. "That surprised the client, who told me that none of the other - nineteen - agencies competing had rasied any objections to competing 'blind' in the pitch. And this is a big budget account". Assocomunicazione is due to sit down soon with the advertisers association Upa, he says, to try to sort out a set of rules. Till then - and probably also afterwards - progress remains to be made on the question of 'ethical' pitches. Read this story for yourself, in Italian, by visiting the Pubblicità Italia website... just click on the link below (left). Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit Grana Padano, the Italian dairy giant which caused a similar stir last year by announcing an extensive pitch list from which incumbent agency JWT felt moved to remove itself.
18.04.05
Italian car maker Lancia, part of the Fiat group, is basing its advertising campaign to introduce the latest revision of its Ypsilon model around the theme of being 'United Against Ugliness', writes the local advertising industry newsletter Daily Media Italia. On air in Italy since March 28th and now breaking progressively in other countries internationally, the campaign is designed to be innovative, original and full of spirit, qualities it both draws from and hopes to confer on the car. "The idea for the campaign came up when we sat down to think about what the features of the new Ypsilon were", Nicola Francovicchio, in charge of internet marketing at Lancia, tells Daily Media in an interview designed to coincide with the appearance of a website designed around the idea of rejecting ugliness. "We came to the conclusion", she continues, "that our car is one of the most stylish in the sector. We think it's a theme our clients will recognise and identify with and have started a campaign to battle against ugliness, using the car as its icon". Testaweb, the internet division of Italy's leading independent advertising agency, Armando Testa, produced the internet site, with its mother company taking responsibility for the mainstream campaign. To read this story for yourself, in Italian, by visiting the Daily Media website, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit the United Against Ugliness website - then select your language.
11.04.05
The Italian wine industry may be in good health, says the national news agency Ansa, but it is gearing up for competition from an unexpected 'new world' source. Local wines remain firm favourites, with 57% of consumers saying they prefer Italian-produced red wine. No reason, however, says Ansa, to be complacent. Just as has happened with tomatoes and other products traditionally 'made in Italy', competition is imminent from a potential flood of wine produced in China. Some Chinese wines have already started to appear, the agency says, although volume imports are expected to pick up 'massively' from this autumn. Exports of wine from Asia rose by 200% last year, according to the Italian agriculture federation, Cia. Wines made in China are principally red and come at prices that undercut those of their Italian counterparts. "Obviously, in terms of quality they leave a lot to be desired", the Cia claims, "but they could be about to cause more than a few problems for our wine makers over the coming months". Demand has been fuelled on the Chinese market with the growth of the economy, coupled with contact with European lifestyles and a desire to use certain consumer goods as status symbols. Growth of wine sales in mainland China of 80% was registered between 1997 and 2003, Ansa says. And, as if the threat of an attack on the Italian wine market wasn't enough, apples, pears, garlic and onions grown in China have also started to make their appearance on Italian market stalls. To read this story for yourself, in Italian, on the Ansa website, click on the link below (left). Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to read all about traditional Chinese wine at answers.com.
04.04.05
Following the announcement by Pier Silvio Berlusconi, vice-president of the broadcaster Mediaset, that his company would not be commissioning any new 'reality' show formats as their cost was considered too high, Fabrizio del Noce, Director of the state-run broadcasting corporation Rai, has said that his organisation, too, would be cutting back on such programming. Noce's decision, says the news site Quotidiano Nazionale, follows the high-profile flop of Rai's latest venture in the genre, 'Ritorno al presente' ('Return to the present, a competition show in which 'celebrities' were consigned to living conditions corresponding to various ages through history, but which was pulled prematurely after failing to capture the public's interest. "For us, reality shows are a closed book", del Noce told the press. "They can work when you hit the accelerator in terms of trash, but they don't work if you try to hold them on a leash". This refusal to broadcast too much 'trash', he believes, is what led 'Ritorno al presente' to fail. Click on the link below (left), to read this story for yourself, in Italian, on the Quotidiano Nazionale website. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit the site devoted to the show.
29.03.05
Italians' awareness of the plus points that 'made in Italy' can confer on a product is becoming increasingly acute. The term is so established in the Italian language that it serves to define the country's export performance. Nevertheless, the trend for moving production to countries where labour is less extensive has affected Italy as much as it has its western European counterparts (click here to see an earlier story on this page about this). 'Made in Italy', however, is ready to defend itself "with its nails and teeth", Santo Versace, of the famous fashion family, tells the online newspaper Tg.com. Versace's professional life includes acting as head of the national chamber of Italian fashion. Speaking on the radio station Radio Anch'io recently, he stated that "intellectual property has to be respected. Tons of counterfeit products are seized every day. We defend European agriculture, but we don't put the same effort into defending sectors such as fashion". Questioned about the practice of moving production abroad, Versace counters that: "the big Italian companies manufacture in Italy. All of their leading lines and high-range products are made here" Mario Moretti Polegato, however, chairman of one of Italy's leading brands of luxury shoe companies, Geox, tells Tg.com that movig production abroad is a choice dictated by the market "Many companies would have closed if they hadn't done it", he says. What's important, Polegato believes, is how you do it. "We shouldn't export Italian creativity", he tells the site. "Products should continue to be designed in Italy, even if manufacture then occurs abroad... ... this is a treasure that no-one should take away from is. The Chinese can take away our machines and also produce shoes for a lower price, but nobody will ever take away our creativity. Click on the link below (left), if you would like to read an Italian-language version of this story for yourself, on the Tg.com website. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to give yourself a dose of luxury by visiting Versace... "new site in arrival" (?).
Italy's state lottery company, Lottomatica, will spend € 50 million in advertising its games this year, says the trade publication Mediaforum. The announcement was made at a press conference as Lottomatica laid out its business plan for the period 2005-2007. Emphasis will be put on exploiting the potential of existing games, although the tone will be a little les 'institutional' than that of previous campaigns, the most recent of which was produced by Italy's leading independent advertising agency, Armando Testa. Other agencies to have worked on recent Lottomatica campaigns include Young & Rubicam Rome. As always, this article is longer than its translation and you're welcome to read the rest of it for yourself, in Italian, by following the link below (left) to the Mediaforum website. To visit Lottomatica and try to win a million or two, follow the link below (right).
26.10.04
Italians are very proud of the 'Made in Italy' mark applied to locally-produced products that have become successful overseas, so much so that the term - in its English form - has been adopted into the Italian language. A judgment made by the court of appeal in Veneto, however, has brought into question the terms authenticity. The court overturned the seizure of goods from a local company which, although stamped with the phrase 'Made in Italy', were in fact produced in Romania. Even if the actual origin of goods is not indicated, the judge ruled, what counts is the address of the company's head office. The decision, says the newspaper Il Gazzettino, is likely to cause a stir in that it legitimises the practice of other companies who produce in non-EEC countries to reduce costs. The original decision to seize the goods had been made by customs officers in Padova. Click on the link below (left) to read this story for yourself, in Italian, on the website of Il Gazzettino. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit madeinitaly.com where, by entering the barcode of any product you have bought, you are supposed to be able to check whether it is authentic. This latest judgment, though, means you won't be able to take the verdict entirely as proof.
26.10.04
Rai, Italy's state-owned broadcasting company and which often features on this page as a reflection of how often it, itself, makes news (rather than reporting it) is to be part-privatised early next year. This week, its director general Flavio Cattaneo has been speaking to the press about how he sees the corporation developing, post-privatisation. Cattaneo maintains that there are no plans to sell off individual radio or TV channels. Instead, he believes, Rai should be looking to grow. He does not, he says, believe in a marginalised public service broadcaster but one that can serve the public while reacting to market forces. According to the newspaper Corriere della Sera, Cattaneo believes any outside finance should come purely from a stock market flotation (a figure of 20% has been spoken of) rather than from fixed partners, as this could lead to a power struggle. "There are currently no companies, including our direct competitor Mediaset, who can bring a 'plus' to Rai", he says. As to whether the part-privatisation could lead to an increase in the competitive pressures faced by Rai and its taking on more advertising, this would, it appears, be practically impossible, given that both it and Mediaset - the leading sales house for private Italian TV channels mostly owned by Silvio Berlusconi - have been ajudged to have broadcast too many ads each year between 1998 and 2003 and are now (in theory) facing fines of as much as 5% of turnover. Click on the link below (left) to read a longer version of this story, in Italian, on the website of Corriere della Sera. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to connect to the Rai website or here to see the article - also in Corriere della Sera and also in Italian - about the excess of broadcast advertising.
20.10.04
Rai, Italy's state broadcasting company, is readying the launch of a new channel designed to 'transform Italian televisions from passive electrical appliances into an instrument for learning and exchanging information', says the local advertising industry newsletter Pubblicità Italia. Called 'Rai Utile' ('Rai Useful') and set to be made accessible from October 25th, the service will allow Italians interactive access to a range of government information and services. The service was presented at a press conference this week by Italy's communications minister, Maurizio Gasparri. It takes in 5 main areas: consumer life, family, environment, society and leisure time. Daily news bulletins will be broadcast covering the main developments occurring in these areas in which the public administration plays a part and every half hour contact will be made with the fire and forest protection services, to report on events and incidents. Separately to this development, it has been announced that 20% of Rai wil be floated on the stock exchange in March or April next year. Click on the link below (left) to read a longer version of the Rai Utile story, in Italian, on the website of Pubblicità Italia. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to connect to the Rai website or here to go directly to the page on which Rai, in its press release, promises that Rai Utile really will turn Italians' homes into 'intelligent houses'.
Own label accounted for 12.4% of all sales of grocery products and household goods in Italy over the first 8 months of 2004, according to the retail audit company AC Nielsen, says the local advertising newsletter Pubblicità Italia. Speaking to an audience of more than 300 on Monday of this week, Nielsen retail director Stefano Fina told attendees that, overall, grocery sales had risen only marginally during the period (+ 1.3%), much less than the rate of increase recorded during the same period in 2003. Sales of own label products, on the other hand, rose by 14.3% during the period, to claim a market share of 12.4%. This, Fina said, confirmed other data suggesting that penetration of 'trade brands' was increasing among the Italian public. "97% of Italian families", Roberto Borghini, Nielsen consumer insight manager, added, "have bought a private label product at least once and 63% of these could be classified as habitual buyers. These people, he says, should not just be considered to be drawn from a group who agree with statements such as "I have to shop more carefully these days". Rather, Borghini says, they form part of a growing group of buyers who consciously choose own label because they consider such products to be of a quality comparable to that of manufacturer brands. Click on the link below (left) to read a longer version of this story, in Italian, on the website of Pubblicità Italia, the Italian advertising newsletter. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit AC Nielsen's Italian website.
Mediaset, Italy's leading advertising sales house, has accused the Italian press - with very rare exceptions - of having given a completely distorted view of the decision by the country's braodcast authorities in relation to the transmission of 'minispots' - or very short advertisements - during football matches while play is in progress. According to Mediaset, the 'Authority' recognised the legitimacy of broadcasting 'minispots' during the transmission of sporting events, thus bringing to an end a long sequence of debates and disputes. Up till now, however, the coverage given to the matter in the press could lead some observers, Mediaset says, to conclude that the practice remained illegal. No stopping order, Mediaset maintains, has been placed on the practice of airing 'minispots', and all the authorities have actually done is to define at which points during a sporting event they can be used. Click on the link below (left) to read a longer version of this story, in Italian, on the website of Prima Comunicazione, the Italian media and communications newsletter. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit Mediaset's own website.
01.10.04
Drinking a quick espresso in one of Italy's thousands of bars and cafes is a customary ritual for millions of Italians, says the news agency Ansa, but it costs those living in the north of the country a lot more than it does those in southern regions. Also, and not just because of price, it's a habit that fewer and fewer consumers are following. The price difference has recently been calculated by a survey conducted by the trade association Fipe-Confcommercio, Ansa says, showing that drinking a coffee in Milan or Turin is likely to set you back, on average, 87 cents, while in Rome you are more likely to pay 77 and in Naples 70 (Confcommercio has similarly calculated the prices for other popular drinks, such as beer, tea and water). At national level, prices in Italy compare favourably to other European countries, with only Portuguese bar owners charging less for a cup of espresso. Nevertheless, the habit of drinking coffee in the bar seems to be in serious decline. In the past 10 years, Ansa says, sales have fallen by 20% - in the last year alone, decreasing by 11%. Why? Click here to be taken to a longer version of this article, in English, prepared by From Europe With Love. Alternatively, click on the link below (left) to read a longer version of this story, in Italian, on the Ansa website, or click on the link below (right) to see Ansa's article, again in Italian, detailing the decline in the coffee habit.
Viewing figures for this year's Miss Italy competition have been, frankly, disappointing. Beaten on Wednesday by the match played in football's Champion's League by Juventus of Turin, the programme earned no more than a 26% viewer share, 5% less than just one year ago. Not drastic, perhaps, but enough, it seems, to bring changes for next year. From 2005, the country's leading channel, Rai, is considering giving Miss Italy an on-air presence lasting from June to August, says the newspaper Il Gazzettino, and is not even ruling out broadcasting the show and its lead-up in a reality-style format. According to Paolo De Andreis, of Ria Uno ('Rai 1'), the company is thinking of setting up a slot at around 8.30pm every evening in summer, at around 8.30pm. The presenters, he says, should be young, breaking stars, perhaps even an ex-Miss Italy, "but pretty". The plan, Il Gazzetto says, is still at the study stage. And, Rai is at pains to maintain, it has nothing to do with viewing figures. That may be true, but the fact is that 5 million fewer viewers watched the two programmes devoted to this year's competition than had done in 2003. Click on the link below (left) to read a longer version of this story, in Italian, taken from the newspaper Il Messaggero but reproduced on the website of Italy's consumer association, Codacons (ignore the frog, it's only reminding you to subscribe to the association. Alternatively, and completely gratuitously, click on the link below (right) to see a picture of - and an interview with - 'Miss Italia' 2003, Francesca Chillemi, from Sicily.
16.09.04
Since the introduction of the euro, Italians have been complaining about 'il carovita'.. that is, the extent to which prices have risen for reasons, they believe, that cannot be justified. Numerous protests have been put in place, the latest of them a 'strike', promoted by the national consumers' organisation, Codacons. And, if Codacons is to be believed, with some success. The 'strike' called on September 16th, Codacons says, was observed by 49% of Italians. That's an optimistically high number, but one that the association is prepared to back up with detailed statistics. Around 30 million consumers, it says, altered their buying behaviour in some way, based on the responses gained from surveys conducted outside supermarkets and shopping centres on both the 9th and the the 16th of this month. Full participation ranged, Codacons says, from 35% in Reggio Calabria to 65% in Catania, with strongest response registered in the south of the country. This compares to a similar so-called 'car strike', which resulted in a reduction of more like 20% (what do you expect if you call a strike on a day when it rains). According to Codacons, the most-affected outlets were supermarkets, clothing stores and shoe shops. Click on the link below (left) to read a longer version of this story, in Italian, on the Codacons website. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit a site showing real-life protests by Italian consumers to the rising cost of living.
07.09.04
Merloni, the famous Italian maker of household electrical and white goods, is to change its name to Indesit Company from the beginning of next year, writes the local advertising and marketing magazine Daily Media, and run an international campaign to introduce the company's new identity. The decision was announced, Daily Media says, at Merloni's annual general meeting this week. The new name has been chosen in order to ensure the company's communications are more 'immediate and effective' and is the result of a strategic review conducted in conjunction with the branding agency, Enterprise Ig. In addition, Daily Media says, Indesit was selected as it is the group's most international brand and the one that best expresses the values Merloni wants to project: youthfulness, simplicity of use, dynamism and reliability. Indesit was the first major acquisition by Merloni when it embarked on its expansion drive in 1987, after which further purchases followed, such as Stinol in Russia and Hotpoint in the UK. Enterprise Ig is still working on the group's new positioning, Daily Media reports, before moving on to address the question of an advertising campaign in October/November, the agency for which has yet to be selected. Click on the link below (left) to read a longer version of this story, in Italian, on the website of Daily Media. Alternatively, click on the link below (right) to visit the Merloni website, where the group's traditional identity remains, for the moment, intact but where you will also see - in the countdown clock displayed on the home page, that just 142 days remain until the new name is applied. If you want to read the company's own, English-language press release, just click here.
Elsewhere on this page, you can read about accusations that RAI, Italy's state broadcaster, is guilty of having incorporated illicit promotional references into its programming. Now the country's leading consumer association, Codacons, has gained access to files and recordings which, it says, evidence the full extent of the company's transgression. Codacons says it was granted access to material held by the communications regulator, l'Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni, for a full 3 hours, during which it was able to examine prime time programming such as 'Quello che il calcio' (a popular programme about football), 'Torna sabato' (a Saturday evening variety show) and the news bulletin, Tg1. It discovered, it says, "numerous instances of occult advertising, which violate the rules relating to on-air promotion". Calls are now being made for the makers of the programmes and top management at Rai to be punished.
In 'Torna sabato', again in December 2003, Codacons says, and again in relation to the author Bruno Vespa, "more than entertainment, the programme seemed to be a shop window to promote Vespa's latest work, alongside the latest cinematic 'masterpiece', Christmas in India". The same film, Codacons says, was heavily featured in the news programme Tg1, on December 22nd. A subsequent programme, on January 6th, gave excessive space to Grana Padano and Franciacorta. Click on the link below (left) to read this article for yourself, in French, on the Codacons website (ignore the little frog that floats across the screen - it's there to remind Italians to pay their subscription to the association). Click on the link below (right) to visit Rai.
Italia 1, the TV station, has taken the logical step with its decision to link what it says are Italians' two principal passions of the moment - reality TV shows and football - in a new programme, 'Campioni, il sogno' ('Champions, the dream'). The new format, dreamt up by Pier Silvio Berlusconi, vice-president of the Mediaset group, will follow the on- and off-field adventures and exploits of a real-life football team, Cervia, whose players have been specially selected by way of casting. It is the first, says the newspaper La Repubblica, of a row of new reality-TV formats promised for the autumn season by Mediaset. The show will have two sponsors each week, the first of which are Bolton Alimentare and Gioielli Morellato, while Vodafone will maintain a presence throughout the series. Sky Sport is expected to show all the team's games live, La Repubblica says. Such is the interest in the subject matter, however, that Italia 1 has been able to attract other sponsors, too. Adidas, for example, will be supplying all Cervia's equipment needs, with both it and Vodafone having signed deals which will see their logos feature on the team's shirts throughout the season. Official suppliers, of which there are 12, include Birra Moretti, the beer company, Powerade, Pringles and Grana Padano. But that's not all. The programme's backers have, it seems, explored every conceivable commercial avenue to gain the maximum possible advantage from the exposure the programme's minor-league team will receive. Giochi Preziosi, a toy company, has bought the rights to produce a table-top version of the game, La Repubblica says, while Panini, famous for its collectable stickers, will be publishing a special edition dedicated to the team. Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller this article for yourself, in Italian, on the website of La Repubblica. And Cervia? Click on the link below (right) to be taken to a tourist site extolling the virtues of this town, that dates from Roman times.
24.08.04
"With Sky Italia, we have the opportunity to create a new BSkyB", Rupert Murdoch, head of New Corp., proudly announced on the station's launch just one year ago. And while that dream may yet be some way off, the initial signs are good, says the French newspaper Le Figaro. The platform, born from a merger of two existing services, Stream and Telepiù, is adding around 80,000 new subscribers each month, 95% of whom are signing up for at least one premium package. A total of 2.8 million subscribers are currently on the books, with average revenue per subscriber amounting to 40 euros per month. Given that an initial total of 3 million was set, Le Figaro says, the new operator has all the makings of a 'success story', at least for now. But that could be about to change. In June, Mediaset, the private TV group controlled by Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, announced its intention to transmit pay-per-view (PPV) football matches on digital terrestrial television. Introduced to Italy at the beginning of 2004, PPV has also known some success, with 400,000 households currently owning a digital decoder able to receive the transmissions. In offering its new programming, Mediaset claims to have invested 100 million euros to buy up the rights to show home matches of eight clubs in Italy's prestigious 'Serie A' league, among them AC Milan and Juventus. The product, Le Figaro says, is currently at the test stage, but Mediaset hopes to sell the matches to subscribers at a price of between 2 and 3 euros per game, from the start of the 2004-2005 season. And if it is successful with football, the company says, it may apply the model to films. "Mediaset, which was playing at being good friends with Rupert Murdoch, has finally understood that News Corp. represents a danger to it", one Italian media observer tells the paper. Mediaset's announcement prompted a number of other operators - including Rai, Telecom Italia and Fastweb - to announce that they, too, has plans to offer PPV football, in some cases via ADSL telephone lines, with Telecom Italia already entitled to show games played by Palermo. For Sky Italia, says Le Figaro, the announcement represented something of a bomb. Like its big brother BSkyB, the company has based its entire operating principle on exclusivity, whether in sport or the world of cinema but with an emphasis on the world of football. Thus, from 2005, Sky Italia is going to have to face up to competition. When you take into account the contribution made by football to the growth of the pay-TV sector in Italy, says Le Figaro, one has to doubt the ability of Sky to remain as attractive an offer as it currently is to football-mad Italian viewers. At Sky Italia, the mood remains upbeat. "The arrival of new entrants doesn't scare us", a company spokesman tells the paper. "Out group, News Corp., is used to operating in very competitive markets. Moreover, we will continue to be the only ones to offer a complete, comprehensive pay-TV offer." Nevertheless, the company does seem resigned to some degree of failure, as the same source tells Le Figaro that; "for various reasons, principally linked to competition issues, it will be difficult to maintain true exclusivity on the Italian market." The end of a dream? The chosen model for building Sky Italia seems to be about to run out of steam, says Le Figaro. Observers in the UK have already noted that BSkyB's ability to attract new viewers is waning and the company's share price has been hit as a result, despite a relatively robust operating performance. Sky Italia isn't quoted on the stock market, local management is at pains to point out, and so won't be hit in the same way, but there are other clouds on the horizon, too, notes Le Figaro. That very Italian problem of 'pirate viewers', for example, has recently exploded once again. The codes of cards held by ex-viewers of Telepiù, it appears, has been 'cracked', with pirate cards now circulating widely, especially in Naples, the 'capital' of piracy. As a result, Sky Italia recently decided to change 1.9 million decoders at a cost of 150 million euros - exactly the amount the company is expected to rack up in losses for the first 6 months of 2005. Nevertheless, the company sees it as a necessary move. "By changing our decoders", a spokesman tells Le Figaro, "we hope to put an end once and for all to the problem of pirate viewing". Click on the link below (left) to read this article for yourself, in French, on the website of Le Figaro. Click on the link below (right) to visit Sky Italia or here to go directly to the subscriptions page, where you can currently get the basic package, including installation, for 39 euros instead of the usual 169. Tempted?
10.08.04
It's a bitter blow for a country which has traditionally thrown up images of sun, sea and mandolins serenading young lovers, says the online news site TGcom, but, while the 'latin lover' might at one time have been a national symbol, it seems that, these days, he (or she) is a dying breed. That, at least, is one of the conclusions of a psychological study commissioned by H3G, the Italian arm of Hutchison's international '3' network. Basing itself on the responses of 1,200 survey participants, H3G says that today's young Italians are characterised by shyness and insecurity, find it difficult to socialise and often prefer to remain alone. "Faced with a society which promotes unattainable models of perfection increasingly removed from reality", says Dottora Salomoni, who conducted the study for H3G, "young people sit petrified on the beaches, short of courage and self confidence". Though on the one hand, Dottora Salomoni says, young Italians still want to make friends, on the other there seem to be so many seemingly insurmountable obstacles that get in the way. 23%, the study suggests, are afraid of being rebutted, while 20% fear not being appreciated physically, whether as a result of the weight they have put on over the winter months of for the pallid colour of their skin. 15% feel inadequate, not knowing how to maintain a conversation or to stand out when exposed to the competitive surroundings of the holiday resort. Click on the link below (left) to read a longer version of this article for yourself, in Italian, on the website of TGCom and including suggested remedies for this youthful insecurity, such as videodating. Click on the link below (right) to visit H3G's Italian website.
While it might seem that everything closes down during the week of 'Ferragosto' - the period during the August holiday season which coincides with the date of Italy's traditional harvest festival - it is not strictly true, according to figres released by the country's chamber of commerce association, Confcommercio. True, there is a slight fall in the number of bars and restaurants expected to be open this year, but most of Italy's super- and hypermarkets will be staying open this year, as will 70% of smaller food shops, Confcommercio says, 80% of bakeries and over 50% of butchers. Motorists don't need to worry too much about running out of petrol on their way to the shops, it adds, with 50% of urban and rural service stations expected to remain open and 100% of those located on the country's highways, or 'autostrade'. Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this article for yourself, in Italian, on Confcommercio's website. Click on the link below (right) to visit the website of Italian Food and read a much fuller description of what Ferragosto is
13.08.04
Risking depression and, on average, five kilos fatter by the time they come back from holidays. That, according to a team of experts speaking to the Italian news agency Ansa, is the portrait of the typical Italian at this time of year. The finding comes from a study conducted by Fructan, which spoke to nutritionist and dietary experts about the physical and psychological consequences of the lifestyle adopted by Italians between July and September. Although they may put themselves on a diet to make sure they fit into their swimsuit, Fructan found, once on the beach, Italians are quick to return to excessful ways as regards food and drink. For many, holidays are a synonym for health, yet eight out of ten experts spoken to by Fructan report that their countrymen arrive 'unprepared' at the holiday season. In what way? Mostly, it seems, as regards food. 32% of experts questioned point to the way eating habits become completely disrupted, with a further 21% agreeing that dietary 'transgression' becomes the norm during the holiday season. 57% point to the 'revolution' that holidays represent in terms of people's biorhythms. Add to this the fact that many holiday makers simply cease physical activity at this time of year, while others who have been inactive for 11 months out of 12 simply spring into inappropriate exercise and what emerges is almost a recipe for disaster. "Sport while on holiday risks producing a real boomerang effect", Anna Maria Castellazzi, a nutritionist at the University of Pavia, tells Ansa. Castellazzi advises her countrymen to avoid sports which require short periods of intense activity and favour those which are less intense, but last longer. Click on the link below (left) to read a much longer version of this article for yourself, in Italian, on the Ansa website. Click on the link below (right) to visit the website of Fructan which, as its main business is the marketing of 'healthy' foods, may have something of a vested interest in the direction and results of its study.
Don't necessarily expect anyone to pick up that phone in Milan or Turin next week. Acccording to the Italian news agency, Ansa, 15 million Italians will be on the move this weekend, either leaving for or returning from holidays. That's more or less one-quarter of the entire Italian population, Ansa says. According to data obtained from the traffic observatory Osservatorio di Milano, 9 million people will be heading off on their holidays in the last weekend in June, with a further 4 million returning home after completing their annual break. In addition, 2 million will be on the move to take advantage of a weekend break. According to the observatory, Rome will be the city experiencing the greatest 'exodus', with 450,000 departures, followed by Milan, Turin and Genova. The elevated number, due to the fact that 90% of factories and 50% of offices in the northern cities will be closing for their summer break, is, in fact, 5% fewer than those estimated to have been travelling during the same weekend last year. Click on the link below (left) to read a fuller version of this article for yourself, in Italian, on the Ansa website. Click on the link below (right) to visit the website of GoItaly, where you can read some useful information about how to negotiate your way through 15 million drivers on Italian roads, should you happen to be in the area.
23.07.04
Diesel is opening the door to a world of mystery, adventure and imagination in its new 'Dreams' campaign, produced by the Dutch agency KesselsKramer, writes the Italian ad industry newsletter Pubblicità Italia. Designed to showcase the Italian clothing brand's autumn/winter collection, the new campaign will break in Italy in August and September, newspapers and magazines, Pubblicità Italia says. The work takes in around 30 different treatments, each of which also serves as the inspiration for a three-minute film short, Diesel Italia marketing director Antonella Rossi tells Pubblicità Italia. These, she continues, have been produced by 30 different film makers selected by Diesel's media department and will be made available via Diesel's global website. The media mix, Pubblicità
Italia says, does not as yet include TV, although that possibility has not been expressly
ruled out. As regards investment, Rossi tells Pubblicità Italia that Dielse will be
increasing its communications budget by a 'double-digit' percentage during 2004, in line
with sales. These, during 2003, amounted to more than €700 million.
21.07.04
Italian food makers are wary of a proposed law currently under discussion at the country's agriculture commission which would make it obligatory to indicate the origin of each and every ingredient contained in food products on their packaging, writes the trade association Federalimentare. The law, says Luigi Rossi di Montelera, president of Federalimentare, "risks wiping out the whole of the 'made in Italy' food story, that ensemble of skill and creativity which is something far wider than just the simple idea that such products should be made from ingredients produced in Italy." Italy, he adds, either does not produce or does not produce in sufficient quantity the raw materials used in flagship 'Made in Italy' products, such as coffee, cocoa, cereals, olive oil etc.. Rossi di Montelera says he does not understand the Italian government's resistance to making changes to the law and that his association will now be taking its opposition to the proposed legislation, which results from an EU directive, and to the Italian government's acceptance of it, to Brussels. Click on the link below (left) to read this article for yourself, in Italian, on the website of Federalimentare. Click on the link below (right) to visit the website of one of those symbolic 'Made in Italy' food brands, Lavazza, but beware, it's a little 'busy'.
The average Italian family spent €119 more per month during 2003 than it did in 2002, according to the annual review of expenditure prepared by tha national statistical service, Istat. The increase, whicih corresponds to 5.4%, took average monthly spending per family up to €2,313, says the industry association ConfCommercio. Around 4% of the rise can be attributed to inflation, ConfCommercio says, which helps to explain why, although expenditure went up, actual consumption remained more or less unchanged. "One cannot say that there has been an increase in propensity to purchase", says Istat. As before, spending by families in northern Italian cities was higher than that further to the south. Families in cities such as Milan and Turin spent, on average, €2,538 per month during 2003, compared to €2,466 for families in the centre of the country and €1,892 in the 'Mezzogiorno' southern region. Click on the link below (left) to read this article for yourself, in Italian, on the website of ConfCommercio. Click on the link below (right) to visit the website of Italy's national statistical service, Istat.
A strike called by Italian consumer organisations for the country's mobile phone users to desist from using their p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
