When elDiario.es entrusted us, together with Ciertas Producciones with its 10th Anniversary Festival, we could feel the butterflies in our stomachs. It was a mixture of responsibility, angst and stage fright. The newspaper is one that we trust, whose editorial priorities are of interest to us, and whose journalists we respect.

 We began by establishing a strategic basis on which to define our vision of the festival experience brand presence and staging, ways of drawing new audiences, generating membership loyalty and drawing in new members, ideas for collaboration with sponsors and participative activities for the public. We acted as communication and image consultants, and also as the coordinators and producers of the entire festival.

 The programme of talks and interviews was taken care of by elDiario.es. And what a programme! With such excellent content, it was a true challenge to be up to the task. And this was the main reason that it was all worthwhile. It was an opportunity to create a great meeting place for the community with outstanding personalities from the spheres of activism, science, politics, feminism, journalism and culture, including Jane Goodall and Noam Chomsky!

Celebrating the festival in a public space stood as an invitation for passers-by and others who were curious. Because elDiario.es is an open publication sustained by its membership and can be read free of charge, the festival could be no less. A city plaza was its natural venue, a place where townspeople meet, mingle and participate.

 The festival had a hybrid format and sought a balance between in person and on-line experiences.  We did the streaming for all of the activities on stage while we blended it with the city of Valencia which we understood to be part of the experience. The best of all were the Valencian collaborators who became involved in the project from the get-go and provided a veritable local vision and dimension, particularly the design and architecture studios Carpe Studio and Makea Tu Vida.

 We decided on an interactive data display as one of the pillars of the experience to interact with the public in a fun way based on data credibility, a commitment to the truth and rigorous journalism.

 The staging we chose meshed serious journalism with a festive atmosphere. We worked on ways of conveying the elDiario.es brand to the festival, such as the creation of the festival’s own signage where one could stop and take a seat and participate in the conversation and listen.

 We developed content for children like the Fake Show mini-journalist workshop, which we did with Mos Teatre. Children learned about independent journalism, fake news and how to think critically when receiving news.

 We also worked on creating the festival’s own brand, its claim and its identity. We used the communication campaign as a way to draw new audiences with a message that went beyond its community to generate membership fidelity by involving them in the first phase of the campaign.

 It was three thrilling, electrifying days where, as much as we planned and prepared, anything could happen. And if what did come to pass in Valencia was beautiful, it is thanks to the team we had and the joyous, respectful atmosphere that we were all able to generate together. There should only be more festivals like that!