In force since August 1st, 2010, Spain's first-ever law recognizing the positioning of products as part of audiovisual content states that the said practice may never be employed in such a way that might alter the normal development of a narrative, meaning that the product(s) or service(s) in question must simply form part of the décor, scenery and/or logical context of the real or fictional content of a program. Also not permitted is any verbal mention or direct allusions to any promotions relating to the product(s) or service(s) in question or the enjoyment of them by potential consumers.

Likewise, there was another key development this year with respect to understanding the Spanish legal framework vis-à-vis advertising: Beginning on August 1st, it was decided that RTVE (Spain's public television-radio conglomerate) would no longer include any advertising on its broadcasts. Then, on September 30, 2011, the Government announced it was cutting RTVE's budget by €200m. Since then, unable to count on advertising revenues, RTVE's management has had to come up with new formulas for producing less expensive programming of equal quality based on the sponsorship of cultural and sporting events of general interest.

This reality is the essence of Conectando España, the first rural documentary series aired in Prime Time on TVE (Spanish leader channel). It's an original format designed to prove how better rural 3G connectivity can actually become a Vodafone commitment, how to lend a hand to the Spanish people by simply inspiring new alternatives for personal and professional growth in non-urban settings. These are the lives of the people who come on the programme every week, where dreams are possible in large measures, thanks to the communications that flow from the Vodafone services and products that guarantee connectivity. This content, a weekly 50-minute show (x13 programmes) is presented through a wide-ranging multi-media campaigns. Each episode of 'Conectando España' is an on-going open invitation to dialogue on social networks since viewers are channeled to the Website 'Conectando Emprendedores' (Connecting Entrepreneurs), a community that demonstrates and transmits Vodafone commitments through brand sharing content.

Conectando España became the best-ever TVE-produced release in our country and is the ratings leader in its time slot with some 3 million viewers (best weekly share). The loyalty figures are over 41% higher than the channel's average. The show has earned 4 trending topics and gained over 5.000 followers/fans, making it the most 'social' RTVE show (100% 'like' rating on both Twitter and Facebook).

Conectandoemprendedores.com

The online community is near to getting 200 new entrepreneurial projects uploaded. Above all, after this initiative, Vodafone approved a plan for 3.000 new 3G base stations in rural parts of the country.