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For anyone who does not know it, Indie Music Fest is a festival held in Floresta Mágica, in Baltar, Paredes. It promotes independent music and brings together different generations of artists and festivalgoers.

It is not as well known as the other festivals we have visited, but we liked the lineup and felt it had potential for another campaign.

First, understand the ground

We decided to go on 4 and 5 September. We left Braga in the afternoon and arrived in Baltar around 5pm. We went straight to the festival area to understand the space. It was the first time in Baltar and at the festival for both me and Leo.

The grounds looked cool. A band was rehearsing, but apart from that, it was still mostly tents and stages being set up.

Once we knew the space and saw there was not much chance to campaign yet, we tried to understand where everyone was. Since it was hot, we thought people might have gone for a swim at Piscina Verde, in Paredes, one of the pools partnered with the festival.

The pool looks great and sits inside the city park, in a very beautiful area I recommend visiting. But the space is enclosed and there was no movement at the entrance. So we relaxed for a bit and saved our energy to go all in at night.

The area around the Paredes city park, right next to the pool. Piscina Verde, in the Paredes city park. A pause for a swim and to save energy for the night.

After the pool, we checked out the Paredes train station to see if there was potential to campaign with people arriving from Porto.

After a strategic stop at McDonald's, we went back to the grounds and found the ideal spot right at the entrance.

Sizing up another possible campaign spot: where people from Porto arrive. Leo at our spot, right at the festival entrance. Our classic campaign kit: cooler and posters.

Play the cards we have

We decided to settle in and start the campaign. That night, there was not much movement at the entrance, especially from groups of young people. We saw more local people, older, on that classic after-dinner walk, and also a lot of children. It was not exactly the audience we were looking for with the campaign.

It is always a mix of emotions: there is the expectation, and then there is reality. Because the festival had camping, we thought it would attract more groups. The idea was to meet them at the start of the festival, so they could create a group on BananaSplit and manage their expenses with us. But not that many groups passed by us.

We played the cards we had. And with fewer people passing by, we could give each person more attention and stay talking for longer.

At the end, we went inside to understand the space better, listen to a few concerts, and eat a sandwich at the festival.

The campaign in full flow: people downloading the app and Leo in conversation. The sandwich at the end of the campaign. A deserved rest.

We also ended up meeting Claudio, the artist and fashion designer behind The Magic Colors, who makes t-shirts with fabric paint. We asked him for two for us. Very cool.

Tens despesas? Mete no Banana. T-shirt made by Claudio, from The Magic Colors. The new t-shirts and a photo to keep.

By the second conversation, we are familiar

The next day, we only went back at night. It ended up being even quieter than the previous day.

Being present across several days also helps strengthen the relationships we start building. In the first interaction with someone, we are strangers. In the second, we are already familiar. And that makes all the difference.

A good curiosity: we met people again who had already heard about us from friends who had been with us during the Paredes de Coura campaign. Here at Indie, they had the chance to meet us in person. That was very cool.

Across the two days, we managed to speak with more than 80 people, 72 of whom answered our survey.

We had the privilege of meeting very interesting people: a group of young people from Paredes who gave us good tips, marketing people, developers.

Leo and a group of young people with good ideas to share. The Indie night.

And Clarisse and Liliana, two entrepreneurs who identified with our fight to build something incredible. They have a very interesting interior design project, Bohemia Interiors, which I hope to visit soon.

I am leaving here a few images from Bohemia Interiors' Instagram. And if you are interested, pay them a visit, they are very kind.

One of the furniture pieces. Image: Bohemia Interiors. Light-toned interiors with wood. Image: Bohemia Interiors. Furniture sketches. Image: Bohemia Interiors.

And to the guy with the tattoos, who has had at least one done at every edition of Indie Music Fest: if you are reading this, can we convince you to get our logo at the next festival? (laughs)

It matters to leave the screen

The good thing about a festival is that it is not just about promoting BananaSplit, it is about leaving the screen and meeting people. We hear their stories. And believe me, around a festival there is no shortage of good stories.

We share good moments. That is what we want BananaSplit to represent. If we can amplify anything, let it be the good moments.

Anyway, I am going back to work, because the bills are not done yet.