El Sol. El Festival Iberoamericano de la Comunicación Publicitaria

What El Sol. El Festival Iberoamericano de la Comunicación Publicitaria does

El Sol — El Festival Iberoamericano de la Comunicación Publicitaria is an annual advertising creativity festival founded in 1986 in Marbella, Spain, and currently running its 40th edition. It is organized by ACP (Asociación de la Comunicación Publicitaria), a non-profit association registered in Spain (CIF G-80748726), and is recognized by WARC as one of the top 15 reference festivals globally. The festival awards competitive categories spanning Film, Print, Outdoor, Audio, Media, Digital & Mobile, Integrated Campaigns, Innovation, Branded Content, Production-Craft, Public Relations, Brand Activation, Sustainable Development, Health, and Transforming Creativity, distributing Bronze, Silver, Gold, Grand Prix, and Sol de Platino trophies. Supporting programs include the Young Creatives student competition for Iberoamerican universities and the See It Be It female talent initiative run in partnership with UnaDeDos and Más Mujeres Creativas.

The underlying technology stack is conventional: an official website (elsolfestival.com) for information and registration, the El Sol TV streaming platform (elsolfestival.tv) for content distribution, and a self-serve backoffice system (backoffice.elsolfestival.com) for global campaign submissions. No proprietary AI/ML capabilities are disclosed.

Revenue is generated through four streams: campaign submission fees from agencies (not publicly disclosed), trophy sales (€340 for Gold/Silver/Bronze, €530 for Platinum Sol), festival tickets for the 1,600+ professionals who attend annually, and sponsorships from institutional partners led by Turismo de Andalucía with European Funds co-financing, alongside Freepik and InOut Travel. The festival operates with a small core team of 1-10 employees under Director Miguel Olivares (appointed 2022), and relocated its venue to Málaga in 2023 under a three-year hosting agreement with Málaga Procultura.

Name

El Sol. El Festival Iberoamericano de la Comunicación Publicitaria

Legal name

ACP (Asociación de la Comunicación Publicitaria)

Website

https://elsolfestival.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

El Sol is a non-profit Iberoamerican advertising creativity festival founded in 1986, organized by Spain's ACP association, that awards annual competitive campaigns across 17+ categories to agencies and brands across 14 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advertising Awards Festival

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Training, Workshops & Certification Events (MPAGAGAJ)

Keywords

• Advertising awards festival
• Creative competitions
• Industry events
• Brand recognition
• Creative industry networking

Headquarters

HQ city

Madrid , España

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Campaign Entry Fees: Agencies and brands pay fees to submit campaigns to various competition categories at the festival.
2. Trophy Sales: Sale of physical trophies (Sol de Oro, Sol de Plata, Sol de Bronce, Sol de Platino) to winners. Prices range from 340€ for Gold/Silver/Bronze to 530€ for Platinum.
3. Festival Tickets: Attendance passes for professionals to attend conferences, screenings, and awards ceremony.
4. Sponsorship: Sponsorships from organizations like Turismo de Andalucía, Freepik, InOut Travel, and others supporting the festival.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

El Sol is an Iberoamerican advertising creativity festival that operates an annual awards competition for agencies and brands across 17+ categories (Film, Print, Outdoor, Audio, Media, Digital & Mobile, Integrated Campaigns, Innovation, Branded Content, Production-Craft, PR, Brand Activation, Sustainable Development, Transforming Creativity, Health). Entries are evaluated by juries and winners receive Bronze, Silver, Gold, Grand Prix, and Platinum Sun trophies. The festival also runs supporting programs including the Young Creatives student competition and the See It Be It female-talent initiative.

Product overview

El Sol is an Iberoamerican advertising communication festival operating primarily as an annual awards competition. The core offering consists of competitive award categories (Film, Audio, Print, Outdoor, Digital, Integrated Campaigns, Innovation, Branded Content, Production, PR, Media, Brand Activation, Sustainable Development, Health, Transforming Creativity) distributing Bronze, Silver, Gold, Grand Prix, and Platinum Sol trophies. Supporting platforms include El Sol TV for streaming content, an online store for trophy purchases, and a registration backoffice system. The festival also runs supplementary programs including the Young Creatives student competition and See It Be It female talent initiative.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• El Sol TV: Online platform for streaming festival content and conferences

Products and services

• El Sol Festival Awards Competition
• El Sol TV Streaming Platform
• Festival Store (Tienda)
• Young Creatives Competition (Jóvenes Creativos)
• Sustainable Development Award Section
• Transforming Creativity Section (Creatividad Transformadora)
• See It Be It (SIBI) Program
• Online Registration System (Backoffice)

Quantifiable outcome

• 19% increase in inscriptions for 37th edition
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship, support and minor.

• Ayuntamiento de MálagacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 June 2023City government supporting the festival through venue access, outdoor exhibitions on Calle Larios, and city promotion as creative/digital hub.
• Turismo de AndalucíaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrincipal sponsor of the 37th edition. Junta de Andalucía's tourism department co-financed by European Funds, promoting Andalusia as a tourist destination and supporting meetings/congress segment. Enables festival hosting in Málaga.
• FreepikcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSpanish image bank sponsoring festival and conducting conference on AI impact in creativity and advertising communication.
• InOut TravelsupportOthersOfficial travel and accommodation partner for the festival. Contact: [email protected]; handles logistics for attendees.
• TRUE PRsupportGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial press/PR agency for the festival. Contact: Paula Cabrera at [email protected].
• APCP (Asociación de Productoras del Cine Publicitario)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for AdNight historical reel projections, showcasing best advertising productions from festival history.
• UnaDeDoscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation promoting female talent in advertising. Co-organizer of See It Be It (SIBI) program at El Sol, with support from Más Mujeres Creativas and SCOPEN. Brings 8 creative professionals (6 from Spanish UnaDeDos agencies, 2 from Mexico/Chile).
• Más Mujeres CreativascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation promoting female creative talent, collaborating with UnaDeDos on See It Be It program.
• SCOPENsupportOthersConsulting firm providing industry research. Source of advertiser valuation rankings cited by the festival.
• UnLimited SpaincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation promoting systemic change in business culture. Co-creator of Sustainable Development section with two categories: Empresa con Impacto and Propósito de Marca.
• Círculo Creativo de MéxicominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMexican creative circle contributing international talent to See It Be It program alongside APAP.
• APAPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPeruvian advertising association partnering on See It Be It to connect Latin American creative talent.
• Anunciantes (Asociación de Anunciantes)supportChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAssociation of Advertisers listed as collaborating organization on festival collaborations page.
• BlinkogroupminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as collaborating organization on official partnerships page.
• MC SaatchiminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as collaborating organization on official partnerships page.
• MetropolitanaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as collaborating organization on official partnerships page.
• Kobal SolucionesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as collaborating organization on official partnerships page.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity: The flagship global advertising creativity festival, benchmarked via the same WARC ranking as El Sol. While El Sol focuses on Iberoamerica, Cannes Lions is the global reference that Iberoamerican agencies also target; their See It Be It program is mirrored directly by El Sol's SIBI initiative.
• London International Awards (LIA): Global advertising awards recognizing creativity across media, digital, branding and craft. Comparable to El Sol in providing tiered creative awards and a recognized palmares for agency clients.
• New York Festivals Advertising Awards: International creative advertising awards with tiered recognition across categories including film, digital, outdoor and PR. Comparable as a global juried awards festival competing for the same agency creative submissions.
• Clio Awards: Long-established international advertising awards competition that also evaluates creative campaigns across film, digital, print and media. Comparable to El Sol as a tiered award platform with Bronze/Silver/Gold/Grand Prix structure and global agency participation.
• D&AD Awards: Prestigious UK-based creative awards festival recognizing advertising and design excellence worldwide. Comparable to El Sol in operating as a juried creativity awards festival with a historical palmares and tiered recognition levels.
• The One Show: Annual advertising awards run by The One Club for Creativity, covering film, interactive, print and integrated categories. Comparable to El Sol in being a juried creative competition that Iberoamerican and global agencies enter.

Direct peers

• Premios Eficacia: Spain-focused marketing effectiveness awards described by El Sol itself as alongside El Sol as one of the most valued festivals by Spanish advertisers (Scopen). Comparable as a Spanish advertising awards event with agency and brand participation.
• FIAP (Festival Iberoamericano de la Publicidad): A direct Iberoamerican-region creative advertising festival historically organized by the same community of agencies and advertisers that submit to El Sol. Most directly comparable as a competing Iberoamerican creativity awards platform.

Regional players

• Achilles Awards: An Iberoamerican-region advertising creativity event (Achilles). Comparable to El Sol as a Latin creative awards event with overlapping Iberoamerican agency audience and Bronze/Silver/Gold tiered award structure.
• Wave Festival (Rio de Janeiro): Brazil-based creative advertising festival focused on Latin American creativity. Regionally comparable to El Sol as a Latin creative awards event targeting overlapping agency communities, though anchored in Brazil rather than Spain.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/el-sol-el-festival-iberoamericano-de-la-comunicaci%C3%B3n-publicitaria

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about El Sol. El Festival Iberoamericano de la Comunicación Publicitaria