, , ,

From “Dale Alegría” to “Nadie Crece Solo” REDNI’s Voice

How a creative strategy for a cause campaign can grow into a national movement.

Since 2023, I’ve served as Creative Director at Norlop VML, leading the communication strategy for Fundación REDNI — Ecuador’s most active civil society organization fighting chronic child malnutrition (CCM). What started as a campaign brief became a brand-building project: campaign after campaign, year after year, piece after piece.

This post is an honest account of that work: what we thought, what we decided, what we achieved, and what comes next.

The Problem You Have to Solve Before the Campaign

Chronic child malnutrition affects 19.3% of children under 2 years old in Ecuador. It’s a devastating figure that, despite its scale, rarely generates public urgency. The challenge was never just to inform — it was to make the issue feel impossible to ignore, even in a country saturated with political crisis and daily noise.

That’s what defines the creative work with REDNI from day one: not making advertising. Making relevance.

“The challenge was never just to inform — it was to make chronic child malnutrition feel impossible to ignore.”

Chapter 1: Dale Alegría (2023–2025)

When I joined the project, REDNI needed a concept that humanized the cause without falling into guilt-driven messaging or poverty aesthetics. The concept “Dale Alegría” (Give Joy) bet on exactly the opposite: warmth, hope, and concrete action during the first 1,000 days of life.

The campaign was built around the core pillars of CCM prevention: breastfeeding, nutritious food, safe water, medical care, and early stimulation. Every piece — reels, carousels, videos, cinemagraphs — translated technical information into emotionally resonant, accessible messages.

For two years, “Dale Alegría” was REDNI’s public voice. The results speak for themselves:

That last number is the one that matters most. A communication strategy that contributed, alongside broader sector action, to an actual reduction in child malnutrition.

The campaign was submitted to the Effie Awards 2025 — the world’s most prestigious marketing effectiveness awards — as a case study of real-world impact.

The key learning from post-testing? High recall, high empathy, but lower direct brand association with REDNI itself. That gave us the exact direction for the next step.

Chapter 2: Nadie Crece Solo (2026)

For the new phase, the brief was clear: keep the warmth of “Dale Alegría” but elevate REDNI’s role. We needed an idea that wasn’t just a campaign — it had to be a national declaration. Something that would turn a cause into a movement.

The concept I proposed with the Norlop VML team was “Nadie Crece Solo” — Nobody Grows Alone.

“Nobody Grows Alone” is not an advertising claim. It’s a universal truth that captures the very essence of REDNI: building networks that support child development.

The idea starts from a deep and universal truth: a child doesn’t grow on their own. They grow with care, affection, food, education, and community. That concept connects directly to REDNI’s DNA — Red para la Nutrición Infantil (Network for Child Nutrition) — and turns it into narrative.

The campaign was approved and officially launched on April 28, 2025, in Guayaquil, at a press conference with representatives from the private sector, media, and strategic allies.

The Idea I’m Most Proud Of: The Community Murals

Within the “Nadie Crece Solo” strategy, I proposed an activation that, for me, represents what cause communication should be: bringing art to the territory.

The idea: 10 community murals in the communities most affected by CCM in Ecuador. Not billboards. Not banners. Murals. Urban art that turns each community into part of the campaign. That makes the invisible visible. That tells every family living there: this problem matters to us, and this neighborhood is part of the solution.

It’s advertising that doesn’t look like advertising. It’s presence that can’t be ignored. And it’s coherent with the central idea: nobody grows alone — not a child, not a community.

What Was Really Built Over These Years

Beyond the individual pieces and results, what satisfies me most about this work is having contributed to the sustained construction of a brand. REDNI today has a recognizable voice, allies that join year after year, and a presence in the national conversation it didn’t have before.

The number of companies and institutions that have joined the cause grew consistently throughout this period. The campaign evolved from being one foundation’s communication into a national awareness platform.

That doesn’t happen with a single brilliant piece. It happens with sustained strategy, conceptual coherence, and the will to build something bigger than a campaign.

“The best cause advertising doesn’t feel like advertising. It feels like something that should have always existed.”

I continue working on this type of project: purpose-driven brands, cause communication, creative strategy that connects with real audiences. If you have a similar challenge, you know where to find me.

#PersonalBrand #CreativeDirector #REDNI #NobodyGrowsAlone #DaleAlegria #CauseCommunication #Ecuador #ChildMalnutrition

Madrid, 2026

Leave a comment