Last December, the Roca Village Talks held a new edition. This initiative, presented by the Catalan journalist Bibiana Ballbè and in which a group of speakers speak on a specific topic, is part of the events commemorating the 25th anniversary of the famous shopping center, and was once again a success.
If the previous installments focused on the role of women in cinema and Artificial Intelligence, among others, last month's was dedicated to new references and featured the participation of Alex Tous, Tik Toker and content creator on Catalan; Eñaut, fashion designer; Alex Guimet, creative director; Lara Serrano, economist turned fashion designer; and Alèxia Pascual, singer and Eufòria finalist.
The event started with a very direct question to the guests and there were already disparate answers: do they consider themselves references? The most direct was Alex Tous, who denied it although he did acknowledge that his work "reaches and entertains people." For their part, the other four, in one way or another, did affirm that they feel like leaders, or at least their work is. "Many people call me brave and thank me for following my dream and encouraging other people to do it too," said Lara Serrano.
The one who was clear was Noelia Collado, Content Director of La Roca Village and representative of the brand for the occasion, who said that the five guests are a reference, and that the references are evolving: "There are many: in fashion it is Miuccia Prada, in cinema is Tarantino... it is plural.” For her part, Bibiana Ballbè launched the reflection that we must differentiate between icons and new references, which are those that make way for those who come after them.
Taking into account the main theme of the event, it was not surprising that the "digital environment" did not take long to appear, and especially programs or applications such as Instagram, Pinterest or Tik Tok, or websites such as Behance. Therefore, the next question was almost obligatory: how do they navigate social networks?
Alex Tous, with more than 180,000 followers on Tik Tok, explained that he tries not to abuse them, since he spends a lot of time inside creating content. For her part, Alèxia Pascual confessed that she felt anxiety and that they are a double-edged sword, because in them "you can find a lot of inspiration, but we are bombarded with very fast information, and artistically it overwhelms me: it doesn't allow me to find my own voice."
So, Bibiana Ballbè was quick and asked all the guests to check how many hours on average a day they used their cell phone, and there were few surprises. Pascual confessed to having an average of 6 hours and Tous 7. Eñaut, on the other hand, assured that he only uses it 3 hours a day while Alex Guimet, laughing, said that he consults it so little that he did not even know how to look for that information. “One of the next phases will be to bring digital assets to the physical. I am opting for that and that is why I use the networks little,” he added.
Despite Eñaut's opinion, it was clear that social networks are essential for new references. And, therefore, the following question also seemed very pertinent: is it essential to have many followers?"
For Alex Tous, content creator, it is something basic, although he also acknowledged that before he cared much more about views than now: "There were videos that I worked hard on and didn't work and others, which I recorded in a minute, had thousands of views. "One more proof that no one has the secret of viralization.
In the case of fashion, Eñaut explained that "creating a community" and having followers "trust your brand and your work" is important, but he considers the support received to be more notable, especially at the shows, than the number of followers. For this reason, Noelia Collado, representative of La Roca, added that social networks are “a communication tool, but not the only one.”
The singer Alèxia Pascual also gave her point of view and assured that she understands networks as a dilemma. "I have appeared on a television program and a public persona has been generated around me," she began. "Having followers is important, although that doesn't take away my real focus, which is making music," she continued. "The problem is that sometimes I focus too much on what I should upload instead of what I really want to upload," concluded the Eufòria finalist.
The event was coming to an end, and after having focused so much on the present and the future, Bibiana Ballbè decided to take a turn and look at the past, remembering that some of the great references in history were misunderstood in their time.
And it is something that the speakers recognized that they had also experienced. Eñaut, for example, said that when he started working on his brand he opted "for sustainability and the ethical part," and many told him that "he wasn't going to get anywhere." In parallel, Alèxia Pascual explained something similar, as she acknowledged that she always wanted to study performing arts and when she told those around her, "no one understood" why she wanted to "dedicate herself to that."
With these statements this new La Roca Village Talks talk ended, with the assurance that there will soon be a next session, in this case focused on brands that use Branded Content as their main communication tool.
