Beyond sponsorship

What connects the Rome Future Week—the first widespread event dedicated to the future, held in Rome—and an editorial project that aims to revolutionise the way we understand the world by telling “other stories of culture, technology, and society”? «We believe that those who are not afraid to explore other possible scenarios are our fellow travellers».

These (and other) are the words, Josephine Condemi, the editor-in-chief of Mangrovia, usedon the Rome Future Week blog to explain the significance of the media partnership that places this magazine alongside the important Roman event.

A truly “futuristic week” in Rome, from 16 to 22 September 2024, will see companies, professionals, universities, institutions, and organisations involved in hundreds of events across the city, discussing technology and mobility, economics and culture. «It’s a valuable opportunity to ponder together on the future we hope for and are building: do they look alike?»

Purpose before numbers

One of the most interesting aspects of Mangrovia since its inception has been the curiosity it has sparked within organisations, startups, companies, and events that share the vision, style, and goals of the editorial project.

The partnership between RFW and Mangrovia is exemplary of this “way of being together” among different organisations, based on “Purpose-Driven Marketing¹”: that is, marketing driven by the core reason for which organisations were founded. If two or more organisations collaborate because they share a vision of a horizon that inspires and motivates their actions, their relationship will be deep and will bring mutual benefits at many levels, both within the organisations themselves and in the networks in which they are immersed. A catalytic effect that, to use the words of Philip Kotler, the father of modern marketing, leads to the “regeneration of communities²”. It is on this level that the partnerships Mangrovia builds around its content and channels can be interpreted.

At the heart of these relationships is never just the pursuit of profit, which can be translated into the “sale” of the attention of Mangrovia’s readers and followers, but rather the desire to form an alliance between organisations based on the values that guide the projects.

A community with no compromises

This way of looking at editorial marketing and hence fundraising actions is nourished, first and foremost, by an attentive and uncompromising community of readers and listeners. One figure above all confirms this pact between the editorial team and its readers: the first few months of Mangrovia saw newsletter subscribers grow by about 200%, maintaining very high open and read rates. This confirms that the care of this product, especially when it arises from an editorial partnership, is of primary importance to those who follow the Mangrovia project.

What is a partnership and how does it begin

At Mangrovia, we define a partnership as a collaboration between the editorial project and one or more profit and non-profit organisations through the exchange of mutual value and around shared themes and issues. The guiding question is always: what value can we generate, and what value can we obtain?

The search for the answer triggers an internal reflection within the editorial team, guided by two main lines: what do we know how to do, and what we can do. The creation of editorial content (articles and podcasts) with an in-depth and interdisciplinary “style” using non-specialist language that can speak to international audiences represents the starting point for every partnership. At this point there is a second level of shared reflection involving the channels through which Mangrovia interacts with its community: the website, podcast distribution platforms, newsletters, and social media, such as Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Three levels of partnership

From the intertwining of these two lines—content and channels—three different possibilities can arise, to simplify.

1) Social Media Partnership

Editorial content is created ad hoc to be shared on social media with the aim of generating direct engagement on the partner’s channels and topics, starting from the involvement of Mangrovia’s community. The desirable outcomes of this form of partnership consist especially in the increase of a qualified audience and direct engagement on the partner’s digital social channels.

In addition to the specific editorial content created for social media, there is also the possibility of using banner ads on the website and in the newsletter, with the further option of a descriptive mention in the newsletter itself.

2) Content Partnership

In this case, the collaboration is structured around the creation of articles or podcasts. The partner is directly involved in the content creation process, understanding the editorial flow of scheduling and publication. The goal here is to move from the visibility and engagement achievable through the “Social Media Partnership” to a greater awareness and understanding of the themes and stories concerning the partner.

As in a scaled model, this form of collaboration adds to the “Social Media” partnership one or more longforms and/or podcasts built around a story, theme or topic of interest to the partner.

3) Editorial Partnership

The third form of collaboration, called “Editorial Partnership” is the most profound in terms of values, and thus the sharing of content, goals, and themes. 

Specifically, this form of collaboration is consolidated around the construction of a truly shared editorial plan. The process first involves identifying a guiding theme that unites the magazine and the partner, then aligning it with Mangrovia’s editorial schedule and determining the timing of the production and publication of the planned content.

Particular care is taken during the shared construction phase of the topics, with dialogue and in-depth discussion between the editorial team and the partner, including listening and mutual questioning until a meeting point is found that emerges from their respective starting positions. This deep collaboration in the partnership can also extend to contexts beyond Mangrovia’s traditional channels and may particularly involve the editorial team in specific live events, both in terms of moderation and the creation of specific content for events. The editorial partnership thus allows for the creation of a truly complete, comprehensive, and in-depth narrative of the partner’s themes and projects.

With Ogyre

The first content partnership developed by Mangrovia involved Ogyre, a benefit corporation and innovative startup focused on fishing for litter. The collaboration was the result of an active development action of the team who, after a process of analysis and research, contacted Ogyre and proposed the collaboration project.

The alignment on common goals and visions around the theme of sustainability was immediate and led to a content partnership focused on the theme of “Salt Water,” which Mangrovia addressed during July.

Specifically, Mangrovia created two specific editorial pieces, an article and an episode of Zenit, reporting on the phenomenon of litter fishing, its history, its relationship with communities, and the technologies involved.

The partnership, which also included the publication of a banner on the Mangrovia website for the entire month dedicated to salt water, was then promoted through Social Media channels and the Newsletter.

With Rome Future Week

The collaboration with Rome Future Week, on the other hand, stems from a vision of innovation as the key to understanding the future.

The partnership between Mangrovia and RFW originated from an interview conducted for the article The Data Needed to Listen to the City with Vittorio Loreto, director of the Sony Computer Science Laboratories, who is the scientific partner of the event.

A research centre, an editorial project, and an event that share a common purpose: on these bases, Mangrovia and Rome Future Week have defined and are developing a multi-level collaboration: a traditional media partnership, with Mangrovia committed to promoting the festival through its own channels, and a content partnership that will see the creation of editorial content dedicated to a specific event of the festival, from 16 to 22 September 2024.

For The Next Real

A third example of a partnership where Mangrovia acts as a connector of meaning and stories is the one being developed for the “The Next Real” series: a programme of exhibitions, talks, and workshops on the themes of art, artificial intelligence, and societies, taking place in Bologna from September 2024 to June 2025.

In this case, the key element in understanding this collaboration is not only the sharing of a common purpose between the partner and the magazine but also the journalistic independence on which every editorial collaboration is built.

“The Next Real” is, in fact, a project created by Sineglossa, which is also the organisation entrusted with the editorial direction of Mangrovia. In building the partnership, the editorial team’s commitment was particularly focused on defining the parameters of editorial independence that will ensure the highest possible objectivity in the creation of content, and thus the quality of the articles and podcasts that Mangrovia will produce on the series throughout the period.

So, what now?

The various possibilities for partnership that can be built with Mangrovia, whether more or less in-depth, stem from the shared awareness that the more voices (and skills) find harmony, the greater the result that can be achieved.
So, are you interested in building a partnership? Contact us.

---

1. To learn more about “Purpose-driven marketing”, see Kotler, P. (2019, January 24). Brand activism and the Future of Branding — Philip Kotler. Philip Kotler. https://www.pkotler.org/blog/2019/1/24/brand-activism-and-the-future-of-branding ↩︎
2. For more on Kotler’s vision, see Kotler, P. (2023, August 3). REGENERATION: The Future of community in a permacrisis world — Philip Kotler. Philip Kotler. https://www.pkotler.org/blog/2023/8/3/regeneration-the-future-of-community-in-a-permacrisis-world ↩︎