Where's my Mini?

Last February, I heard that BMW had finally decided to officially open Mini Cooper dealerships in Brazil.  So even before the official launch, I made a down payment to secure my name on the waiting list and went to the online configurator to build my dream model.  A friend of mine and I shared a 48-hour test drive of a beautiful horizon blue Mini Cooper S which was a lot of fun.  I was told that my car would arrive in March.  A few weeks ago, I went to the opening of Sao Paulo's first show room but I'm still waiting for my very own Mini.  Last time I called, they told me it is scheduled to arrive late May.

The waiting has made me think that there's a huge opportunity for an import auto brand to provide an online personalized service where a buyer could visually see the different phases of the process.  The Mini brand is all about customization, from different choices of alloy tires to roof designs, mirror caps and bonnet stripes.  To reinforce this positioning, wouldn't it be cool to see images of your Mini being prepared for shipment, being loaded on the cargo ship, views of the journey, the unloading at the Port of Santos?   

It would certainly be a powerful marketing concept. 

World Digital Library

The Unesco has launched its World Digital Library that allows free access to amazing content from institutions like the Library of Congress, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Qatar Foundation and Yale University Library.

Go to www.wdl.org to check it out.

Spreading the Doritos Lovers story....

We can't get over the amazing buzz being generated by our new Doritos Sweet Chili launch and the use of augmented reality on pack (which we covered in a previous post). We're still filling the distribution pipeline and it has been great to see the amount of traffic to the website with people uploading pictures of them in a front of their webcams 'unleashing' the Doritos Lover.

To explain the concept and help spread the Doritos Lovers story, this film was produced....

Cebiche could just be the new sushi

In the gourmet world, Peru is a rising star.  From the Peruvian influence of NOBU to the amazing work of celebrity chef Gaston Acurio, this is a cuisine that is making headwaves all over the globe.  The good news for me, is that Sao Paulo now has a newcomer to its vibrant restaurant scene and it's called: La Mar Cebicheria Peruana.    

My wife and I were invited to its soft opening and wow....  the cebiche is insane!

For those who still have doubts that cebiche is the new sushi, this place is definetely worth a visit.

Two new spots for Doritos

Two new 30" spots in our Doritos campaign in Brazil.

The strategic objective is to reinforce Doritos as Brazil's favorite snack to share among friends. The cohort we're targeting our millennials. The campaign shows situations where someone 'shares' a rather embarrassing situation among friends. In one case, a girl recognizes who she thinks is a celebrity in a mall or a guy who shows off his tuned up car in the parking lot of a conveniene store. The campaign theme is "Wanna share something with firends, share a Doritos."

Spicing up Doritos in Brazil

This weekend a fantastic spicy new Doritos flavor will be hitting stores all over Brazil:

Sweet Chili.

We're super excited with this new flavor for a number of reasons. First, because for many years we have been only selling the classic nacho cheese - our fastest-growing snack - and we took extra care to develop a second flavor that would deliver an awesome product experience to Doritos fans. We tested and re-tested dozens of flavors and sweet chili was the clear winner, a perfect combination of hot chili pepper with a gentle sweet secondary note.

Another reason for our excitement has to do with Doritos Sweet Chili's packaging. For this project we're working with one of Brazil's coolest creative shops, Cubo CC. We immediately fell in love with their graphic work using characters from the world of toy art, which are being called 'Doritos Lovers', over a pure silver background that will certainly stand out at the point of sale.

The great story is that these 'Doritos Lovers' come alive once consumers place the packaging in front of a web cam. The technology used is augmented reality. On the back of each package, there's a symbol on the upper right-hand corner that needs to be placed in front a web cam to release the Doritos Lovers. This is the first-time ever in Brazil that this technology is used on a the package of a consumer product.

Take a look at the video tutorial that shows how the release-your-doritos-lovers works....

The new online experience for both Doritos and the new flavor launch was also developed by Cubo CC and is, by far, the best online work in our portfolio. Click here to take a look.

Another interesting aspect of this initiative is that the entire process was co-developed and each step validated by a Millennial Online Collaboration Panel we have with 40 university students located in four different regions of the country. Through a social-network style application, we maintain a weekly interaction with these collaborators checking everything from brand activation concept ideas, choice of flavors, language that resonates with the target, to what is hot in the world of graphics. The result is a higher probability to make a strong emotional connection with Brazilian millennials (certainly the most difficult demographic to be relevant to).

To make all this happen we have, what I call, our Doritos marketing dream team: Roberto Angelino, Carla Araujo (who will now lead the kids snacking team), Alexandre Chiavegati and Carol Gormezano (who love everything digital). To add more spice to the team, we're bringing in Marta Oliveira, who has done a fantastic job with our other millennial brand Toddy. In R&D, we have Sergio Julio, who brings the product concepts to life. A true dream team.

Here in Brazil.... we're in love with Doritos!

Two cases on Cross-Marketing

For those interested in cross-marketing, a TV program was aired this week on TV Ideal - a cable channel targeting the Brazilian marketing and advertising community.  Two cases were featured on the show, Toyota Hilux which teamed up with the National Geographic Channel to develop cool editorial content on an expedition across the Amazon and a recent experience we are having at PepsiCo with Sensacoes Ao Forno with a touch of Gallo Olive Oil.

Click here to watch the TV program (in Portuguese).