9Colonne Digital Trust Project
This year's project work is developed with 9Colonne, a national news agency founded in 1996 and directed by Paolo Pagliaro. Working in teams, you will act as a small strategy and content studio and design a new digital product that strengthens 9Colonne's digital reputation.
Your task: create a brand for a digital product that enhances the digital reputation of the 9Colonne agency.
The main subject is the truth: what it is, why it matters, how we can tell whether what we read or watch is true, and what academics and philosophers have said about it.
The project at a glance
- Challenge: create a recurring digital format for 9Colonne focused on trustworthy information, fact-checking and debunking misinformation.
- Client / partner: 9Colonne, national news agency.
- Project owner: Paolo Pagliaro, Director of 9Colonne.
- The concept must be scalable: not one isolated piece of content, but a repeatable product with a name, a clear promise, a recognisable structure, content rules and a distribution logic.
Choose one primary format
- Podcast / audio format
- Short-form video series / video pills
- Written digital format: article series, newsletter feature or web-native editorial format
A hybrid idea is allowed only if one primary format is clearly defined.
What the project must achieve
- Strengthen 9Colonne as a reliable, transparent and contemporary information brand.
- Make fact-checking and verification understandable, without becoming academic or heavy.
- Give a specific audience a clear reason to choose, follow and share the product.
- Build a coherent identity across content, tone of voice, visual or audio codes and touchpoints.
- Use owned, earned and paid channels coherently to launch and grow the format.
- Define measurable indicators for awareness, engagement, trust, use and reputation.
- Use AI critically and transparently, with human verification of all factual claims.
Mandatory workstreams
- Brand & digital reputation audit of 9Colonne and its key competitors.
- Audience & stakeholder insight: priority audience, stakeholder map and one evidence-based persona.
- Value proposition & positioning: the problem solved, the point of difference and the role within the 9Colonne brand.
- Product identification system: name, tagline, tone of voice and identity codes.
- Editorial system: content pillars, recurring structure, frequency and a verification protocol.
- Prototype / pilot: one credible pilot of real, evaluable editorial content.
- Channel & launch strategy: owned, earned and paid ecosystem, launch sequence, creators or partners.
- Monitoring & reputation plan: KPIs, correction policy and detection of reputation risks.
Prototype: minimum requirements
| Format | Minimum pilot | What must also be shown |
|---|
| Podcast | 4- to 6-minute pilot | Cover/thumbnail, recurring structure, intro/outro concept, episode description, source/evidence sheet |
| Video pills | Two 45- to 75-second vertical videos, or one 2- to 3-minute pilot | Visual system, captions and on-screen source cues, opening hook, closing CTA, source/evidence sheet |
| Written digital | 800- to 1,100-word pilot article or web-native piece | Headline system, page mock-up, fact boxes or source cues, three social launch adaptations, source/evidence sheet |
Verification is part of the product
Break the central claim into checkable statements, prefer primary sources and cross-check important claims. Make dates, context and provenance explicit. AI output is never a source: always check it independently.
Final deliverables
- Strategy deck: maximum 30 slides, excluding appendix and source list.
- Prototype / pilot in the selected format.
- Evidence sheet with the claims and sources used in the pilot.
- One-page AI use statement: tools used, purpose, what was generated or assisted, and how outputs were checked.
- Final source list / webography.
Final presentation
Each team has 10 minutes, plus up to 3 minutes of Q&A. Lead with the problem and the insight, show the prototype early, and be ready to explain why your concept is right for 9Colonne. Every team member must have a visible role.
Starting resources: 9colonne.it (Chi siamo, Codice etico, homepage and current formats). It is a starting point, not the full research base.
Questions? Write to s.romagnoli2@lumsa.it.