TED had become one of the world’s most respected platforms for ideas, but in Argentina its audience remained relatively small.
The challenge wasn’t the quality of the content.
It was the distance between the ideas and everyday culture.
Rather than asking more people to come to TED, we asked how TED could naturally become part of conversations happening outside the auditorium.
We created Grupo TEDx, a real cumbia band.
The musicians attended TEDx events, listened to every talk and transformed those ideas into catchy cumbia songs.
Instead of promoting the conference, we allowed the conference to travel through one of Latin America’s most popular cultural formats.
The band released music, performed live across the country and eventually was invited to perform at TEDGlobal South in Rio de Janeiro, after the idea caught the attention of TED’s international leadership. Bruno Giussani, TED’s European Director and TEDGlobal curator, called to invite the band, and Chris Anderson also supported bringing the concept to the global stage. Sometimes the best way to spread an idea isn’t another talk. It’s a song people can’t stop singing.
