After hearing a lot of talk about the Mini and Finduck project, the results are now entering the market.

This spring, the Mini style is on the move again with the Mini Bags line, after debuting in tandem at the Rome Film Festival and the Pitti Uomo show in Florence in October 2007.

First to come out will be the colorful small tote (part of the Car Profile line) and the Mini Lounge. Then in April, the Luggage range will exit with two unisex lines, Go Fast! and Check Out, inspired by the Mini’s glam profile.

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While I was in the marketing office today, I looked through Search, a magazine on works by architects, designers and emerging artists.
It has a very modern look even though it belongs to Search for Art published by Mandarina Duck, which won the “most innovative project” award in the Guggenheim Enterprise and Culture Awards of 2000!

Digging into an old database, I found a broom-shaped egg holder, a sheep-shaped backpack, a carpet-bed, images from metropolitan streets and colorful mural paintings.
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Let’s focus on a topic that’s being hotly discussed on our blog these days: the brand new Mandarina Duck cellular phone.

I haven’t had any news for you until now because I’ve been waiting for an official answer from Alcatel, the phone producer.
As well, we’ve been creating a specific web site where you can find all the information you need.

We’ve also created a preferential communication channel to respond to all of your questions.
Just send an email to info@mobile.mandarinaduck.com and you’ll be in direct contact with our customer care people.

I hope that I’ve given you all the means necessary to get your “Duck Phone“.
If you have any problems, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

I thank you for your patience.

Technorati Tags: mandarina duck, mobile, phone, Alcatel

A while ago, a blog reader had asked me about our advertising campaign from 1998 to 1999, which had impressed her very much. The image was of a just-married elderly couple coming out of a church, which had also been used as a store banner.
According to the blog reader, the ad communicated a positive brand image and emphasized people who had worked hard all their lives.

While I was going through the Mandarina Duck archives, I found these images of “2037: a future documentary”.
This campaign ran for three consecutive seasons and its mission was to talk about a not-too-distant future.

Show as slideshow

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The new Mandarina Duck Nissan Micra has just been released and it’s already sparked my interest as my car is starting to show its age.

Like all Nissans, the Micra has steering wheel controls for the radio, the automatic Blue Tooth hands free car kit and even an Ipod connection. Perfect! I’ll have no more distractions while driving and can take my favorite music with me everywhere without ruining my CDs.

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Although we’re a bit late with respect to the launch (8 October), I’m thrilled to announce that we have finally integrated the US and European e-commerce platforms.

It’s been a massive operation and we did it in 20 days after a full year of previous hard work. In fact, we’re exhausted. To help you understand the vast amount of work done, here’s some data:

-  two and half months of development;
- launched on American market on 1 July;
- available in five languages;
- more than 1,000 references managed;
- twenty-seven litres of coffee drunk.

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After three weeks of well-deserved vacation, coming back to work is more exciting than ever.

At Mandarina, the end of August brings the presentation of the spring/summer collection for the following year and the whole company is involved in a myriad of meetings (including clashes in the corridors). The scene is similar to that of Miranda’s arrival in “The Devil wears Prada“.

The biggest moment was the presentation of the collection to the entire company (branches included) - at the home of the Aterballetto dance company in Reggio Emilia - and the spectacular fashion show, of which I will describe the backstage activities.

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At Mandarina, there’s been a lot of fervent web activity lately! Everyone’s talking about websites, e-commerce, html codes, flash technology and databases! After our American landing, our new corporate website is being launched this Friday.

How many of you remember the first Mandarina website? It was so conceptual, meaningful and content-rich that our products were submersed. So, two years ago, we felt that our website should put greater emphasis on our products and our window on the world became a virtual showcase, a sort of electronic catalogue.

However, that’s not enough anymore. It’s essential that mandarinaduck.com has a well-defined, strong personality.

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I’m currently in Detroit to define the last details before launching our new US e-commerce Shop.
The project is really ambitious, we want to establish our brand in a huge market, much more competitive and “mature” than the Italian and European counterparts.

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My colleague Roberta works on Adv campaigns photo shootings. I asked her to tell me a bit about these moments.

A photo shooting really resembles a first date: nothing can be overlooked! Choose a dress, work on your make-up and think about the image you want to give.

First of all, an important decision: what to say and how. Discussions, proposals and long searches for new ideas are key for this.
Once the course is set, it’s time to form a team. Photographer, models, make-up specialist, stylist and, last but not least, a fit location.
Everything has to be perfect. Time is always short and there’s much to do.
When the day comes, the atmosphere is that of big events.

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