MITHANDIRWhatsApp AI agent for festival entries: from 60 to 750 agencies
WhatsApp AI agent for festival entries: FePI went from 60 to 750 participating agencies. It keeps every chat going and hands pricing over to a person.
The case on video, explained.
Go to the questions ↓From 60 agencies to 750
FePI, the International Independent Advertising Festival, went from 60 participating agencies to 750. It did it with a WhatsApp AI agent for festival entries: it kept the chats with agencies going, country by country, and passed each coordinator the ones close to deciding. It's run by the Fundación Comunicar, in Santa Fe, Argentina, and turned 20 in 2026. It lives on agencies entering their work before a date, and whoever comes late stays out.
One deadline and one chat at a time
Selling was done by a small team of coordinators, by hand, one agency at a time. One person can keep only so many chats open. Past that number, the agency that already replied is left waiting, and the one that asked to be contacted in August gets forgotten. And it happens right as the deadline nears.
- Agencia Ejemplo «Tell me what it's about» No reply
- Estudio Ejemplo «Send me everything» No reply
- Productora de Ejemplo «Write to me in August» No reply
- Creativos Ejemplo «How much is a package?» No reply
They had all replied. None of them was a “no”.
First, who not to write to
At a festival for independents, inviting an agency from a multinational network is a mistake people talk about. And what comes off the internet includes everything: web design, SEO, merchandising. Before each send, the list is checked against agencies that can't take part and those already entered, and it's cleaned up together with the festival's team. Tap the filters.
- Agencia Ejemplo Took part in a past edition
- Grupo Global Ejemplo Part of a network Can't take part
- Estudio Ejemplo Independent, replied once
- Regalos Ejemplo Merchandising Other trade
- Webs Ejemplo Web design and SEO Other trade
- Productora de Ejemplo Independent, flagged by the festival
- Creativos Ejemplo Entry submitted Already in
Each reply calls for something different
The agent learned from the team's real sales chats and the scripts they use for each type of agency. “We have no focus right now” gets a follow-up question and a return later. “Send me everything” gets the information in order, not a PDF dump. And whoever asks the price is already interested, so they go straight to a person.
Send me everything and we'll see.
Let me sort it out for you: which categories suit you, how to take part and which dates apply. What work do you have from this year?
What happens nextThe chat carries on in its own thread. The general message never reaches them again.
We have no focus on festivals right now.
I understand. Is it about timing, or about having work to enter?
What happens nextThe reason gets noted, and the chat picks up again in a few weeks.
How much is a package of three?
Your coordinator will give you the details. So she doesn't have to ask again: which pieces do you have, and in what field?
What happens nextIt goes to a coordinator with that detail, and she gets a Telegram alert. The agent never gives a figure.
I don't know if we can take part, we're a small agency.
FePI is exactly for agencies like yours! If you'd like, I can suggest a call with someone from the team.
What happens nextIt proposes times and a person confirms. It never tells anyone they don't qualify.
From first visit to deadline
Four weeks after the first visit there was a pilot running. After that, each stretch corrected the one before. Tap each point.
The team explains how it sells and gives us its sales chats, its contact lists and its scripts.
The first messages go out, to a few agencies, with the team watching the panel.
It starts with agencies that took part before, by country. What came off the internet waits until it's cleaned up.
Meta flags the message volume. The pace comes down and the templates get reviewed.
It goes to agencies that replied at some point and those the festival flagged, each in its local time. Not the whole list: WhatsApp throttles the messages.
The festival moves the deadline from September 9 to 22, at the request of several agencies.
What the agent doesn't do
Agencies talk to each other, and a festival lives on its reputation. The festival itself asked for these rules, and the team has the levers at hand: pause the agent, take over a chat or mark it resolved.
- No pricesNo fees, no discounts: a coordinator handles it, knowing which currency to use.
- Never says “you don't qualify”If there's interest, it offers a call.
- Goes quiet once assignedOnce a person takes the chat, it stops writing.
- Doesn't confirm meetingsIt proposes times; the coordinator confirms.
The jump
Coordinators stopped writing one by one and moved on to the agencies that had already asked.
participating agenciesAnswer and we’ll tell you if this works for your company.
We review it quickly. If it’s a fit, we set up a meeting.
5 questions, under a minute. We'll tell you where entries slip away before your deadline.
Your case looks a lot like the festival's
Pick a time and in 30 minutes we'll show you how your campaign would look before your next deadline.
Looking for open times…
Alfonso already has your answers and will write to set a time.
We couldn't save your answers. Send them over WhatsApp and we'll reply all the same:
Send on WhatsAppThere's something worth looking at
We'll write to you within 24 hours with two or three ideas for your case.
We couldn't save your answers. Send them over WhatsApp and we'll reply all the same:
Send on WhatsAppThanks for answering
Here's the full case, in case it helps later on.
We couldn't save your answers. Send them over WhatsApp and we'll reply all the same:
Send on WhatsAppWork out how many hours a week go into keeping conversations going by hand. 8 questions, a minute and a half.
Those hours can be won back before your next deadline
Pick a time and we'll go through your numbers together, with a campaign built on your own list.
Looking for open times…
Alfonso already has your answers and will write to set a time.
We couldn't save your answers. Send them over WhatsApp and we'll reply all the same:
Send on WhatsAppYour numbers already tell us a lot
We'll write within 24 hours with a ramp-up plan: how many conversations a day and in what order.
We couldn't save your answers. Send them over WhatsApp and we'll reply all the same:
Send on WhatsAppThanks for running the numbers
Here's the full case for when the next season comes around.
We couldn't save your answers. Send them over WhatsApp and we'll reply all the same:
Send on WhatsAppRather talk now? Message us on WhatsApp
