A hot June 2nd—one of those sweltering days that marks the beginning of the Madrilenian summer. More than 50 colleagues from the world of marketing and publicity, hailing from distinct and diverse countries like the US, UK, Italy, France, Austria, Switzerland, Mexico, and Turkey. In the air, the same thought, the same energy: to begin the annual Dialogue International forum that we spend the entire year waiting for.
Eagerness to return to our partners (among whom we have the luck and the honor to take part as the only Spanish and Mexican agency), emotion to share our latest experiences, and curiosity and strength to face new challenges. This is, without doubt, Dialogue, the network of independent creative agencies that has overtaken Madrid with its enterprising spirit.
They were three intense but extremely rewarding days ( the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of June), during which we gathered in the downtown Hotel Me Reina Victoria. It was a pleasure to drink in that atmosphere. From Art Directors and Managers, to Account Executives, ‘creatives’ and copywriters—everyone was united under the same goal: to strengthen the partnerships among the agencies that compose the network and, no less important, to enjoy the unbeatable scenery and activity that our capital offers us—sun and good vibes were abundant.
This year, as a novelty, awards have been given to the best campaigns produced by the network. Twenty-two have been the case studies presented, among which, these have been the winners:
1. Gold (OYKU, KA-DER):
2. Silver (JANDL, Plameniok):
3. Bronze (GRENADE & SPARKS, Kindy Show Set):
If my description of what Dialogue is has piqued your curiosity, let me first begin begin by disclosing some of the keys enabling this network to exist for over 25 years.
Back in the year 2006, the city of Malta was chosen to host the first annual forum. Since then, more and more agencies have joined the project. The incorporation of countries like France and the UK was the first stage of the meteoric expansion of the forum. Social Noise was a member of the second phase of growth, accompanied by the Italian agency Cookies. Of course, the road does not end here. The network is currently in a plenary movement to incorporate new members who share our spirit, because the fact is that together we are much more creative, entrepreneurial, and competitive.
By now it is evident that we live in an age dominated by tremendous multinational competition, which makes it increasingly necessary for us to unite, as agencies, to offer our clients tailored solutions, capable of facing a globalized market, but full of care and creativity.
And this is, surely, one of the lines that best defines the network. As Frédéric Faivre, president of Dialogue, told us over those days in Madrid, “one of the keys of Dialogue is that it always opens a window to brands so that they can develop in new areas, languages, and markets.”
I conclude this post by thanking each and every one of the participants for their presence at the forum, and of course, their respective agencies:
Cookies (Italy)
E, T & H (Switzerland)
Evision (Denmark)
Eshareh (Iran)
Expansion (Belgium)
Gravity (US and UK)
Grenade & Sparks (France and US)
Hartinger (Austria)
Jandl (Slovakia)
Navigator (Sweden)
Orange (Greece)
Öykü (Turkey)
Social Noise (Mexico and Spain)
Valve (Finland)
War (UK)
By the way, mark your calendars. We will see each other in Austria for the next annual forum!