Sergio Spaccavento,Chief creative officer, Conversion E3 (digitouch group), Italy joined BRANDING jury of international advertising festival White Square 2021 and gave an exclusive interview to the Association of Communication and Marketing Agencies of Belarus (ACMA), the organizer of the festival.

Contest entries of White Square advertising festival will be evaluated by seven jury line-ups that are represented by real stars of global communication and marketing industry.

We interviewed unique personalities with outstanding level of professionalism, breadth of views and creative thinking that helped to meet an international fame in the sphere of marketing and advertising. Jury members of White Square 2021 hold numerous prestigious global creative awards, including more than 400 Cannes Lions in total.

We are happy to share the point of view and answers on important up-to-date questions of the industry.

-2020 has been challenging for the communication industry in every country around the globe. What professional experience or lesson that could be named as a discovery have you got? 

-First of all that the show must always go on, whatever the crisis that crosses the world, only ideas and actions can solve the problem. Today more than ever brands must be close to consumers, close and above all “useful”.

-In your opinion, what are the things in communications, advertising and creativity that stayed in the past forever, and what will remain unchanged for the projects to work properly & effective? 

-Communication is based on very simple rules that will never change. There must be a dialogue, you have to make people dream, excite them, interest them.

The self-referential information of a brand is of no interest to anyone, what people want is simplicity and to be heard. And today, thanks to technology, we can listen to them and translate their needs into advertising.

-Your projects again and again have been award-winning at international advertising festivals around the globe. Is there any formula for success, or is it like playing in a casino, when you don't know which bet will be the winning one?

-You have to start by doing a good job that is intellectually honest.

Doing fake projects or campaigns made only for festivals with unnecessary results do not help the brand to grow, and it is a way of doing unprofitable in the medium and long term. Every project can have value in its detail, so the most important advice I can give is to make a spectacular case history, with few information, the right music and a story that should be well told. Call it casehistoryteinment. Also there are many subcategories for each entry, always study the rules to enhance your project.

- Do you have a project in your portfolio that is particularly special to you, perhaps the one that was a prize-winning at ad festivals, or, vice verse, a project that stayed unnoticed despite its significant results? If so, why this project is so special to you? 

- Yes I have a project that is as beautiful as it is unfortunate. It's called The Bullshit face Project and it was signed by Reporters without borders. We used bull dung to paint portraits of some international politicians and to write down their public lies that were later debunked by a journalistic investigation work. The concept was: if they are free to say bullshit we must be free to tell the truth. Quite a controversial project that got only one national recognition although it was praised all over the world. 

- You are a jury member on the White Square Festival 2021, and you have already been a jury member on various international creativity festivals. Can you name one or more key evaluating criteria of entries for you and why? 

- I think the most relevant thing is the impact that every project has in the society and in the consumer's thinking. The results, not only the sales ones, are very important for our mission, changing habits deeply give a wider value to the brand. 

- This year the slogan of White Square 2021 is short: IT’S TIME! What would you advice to young agencies to become successful? Does the participation in festivals could help them to achieve their goals? What do they need to stand out from the other participants at the festival? 

- Nowadays it is much easier for small and young agencies to compete with big clients. There are no more small projects but only big ideas, because even in a simple dem there can be gold and it's important to see them valued and magnified by an award to attract talent and new clients. One piece of advice I would give is always invest in creativity and strategy, because quality pays off. 

- You represent Italian advertising industry at White Square Festival. Are there any specific features of advertising in your country, or should advertising be universal for any region/country? For example, can projects from your country be successful in Eastern Europe?

- On the one hand, thanks to technology, we can talk to niches of people to refine the most functional message and this works in their markets. On the other hand, ideas should not have geographical boundaries, when the insight is strong it can easily be exported successfully, but you have to be careful to have the knowledge of your audience.

We remind you that entries of White Square 2021 could be submitted into seven contests and 129 nominations and accepted online until May 17. Prepare your cases, upload them to site and win at the festival!