ABANCA is an entity from Galicia (a region of northern Spain with great marine wealth) that is highly committed to its people and to caring for its environment, including its coasts.

Every year, thousands of fishing nets are abandoned and end up sinking in the sea. Called "ghost nets", they threaten all kinds of marine species, and they invade and pollute the world's oceans.

LIVING NETS was created to protect the marine ecosystem, raise awareness of the importance of the sea, one of the most precious assets of Galicia, and support young athletes.

LIVING NETS, from the bottom of the sea to the middle of the pitch.

Inspired by craftsmanship and recycling, we joined hundreds of experienced net weavers (artisans who for years have hand-stitched fishing nets) from the Galician towns of Malpica and Ponteceso to, by combining tradition and innovation, retrieve tons of ghost nets and give them a new life.

The experts in this ancient craft have woven approximately 1,500m2 of nets taken from the sea, a large amount of waste that, thanks to this project, is no longer polluting the waters and has become "LIVING NETS" for use in six sports disciplines, including football, handball, kayak, polo and hockey. The nets were allocated to 39 children's and youth clubs that are sponsored by ABANCA.

Today's customers demand more from banks than financial services, they want VALUES. In a market where products are very similar to each other, it is essential to stand out through BRAND IMAGE.

The strategy relied on:

- Highlighting ABANCA's COMMITMENT to Galician society and its environment and demonstrating its LOCAL KNOWLEDGE of the region: its needs, problems and traditions.

- COMMUNICATING WITH FACTS its commitment to sustainability in every form (environmental, social, etc.).

- DEMONSTRATING ENGAGEMENT. Although ABANCA continues to grow and expand, we had to convey that we are still a local neighborhood bank for people.

To carry out this initiative, which combines tradition, innovation and recycling, the net weavers manually repaired all these nets recovered from the bottom of the sea and transformed them by hand into LIVING NETS. These nets are now used in different sports disciplines - football, volleyball, tennis, basketball and more - so that the youth sports teams that ABANCA already sponsors throughout Galicia can use them.

Action plan:

1. Net weavers

a. In-person presentation session.

b. In-person training (4 sessions).

2. Sports clubs:

a. In-person presentation session.

b. LIVING NETS Welcome Pack.

c. Communication toolkit for each club's social media.

3. Society:

a. TV spot.

b. Press.

c. Outdoors with MUPIs and bus shelters.

d. Press conference.

e. Conversation timeline on social media.

The LIVING NETS project has achieved two types of results:

1. Sustainability

a. 3,000 kg of ghost nets have been recovered.

b. 1,500 m2 of LIVING NETS have been woven.

c. 2,700 LIVING NETS have been installed in 39 sports clubs.

2. Brand Image

a. More than 62,000 young athletes, 352,000 spectators and over 1,072,000 people have been impacted through outreach efforts.

b. The brand tracking shows an increase of 4% points in the attribute “the entity works for sustainability”.

The project has been so well received that the same model has been replicated in other regions where ABANCA operates, such as the Basque Country and Asturias.