The Food Truck Movement

Food trucks are becoming quite a movement in cities around the World. One of my childhood memories, growing up in Virginia and Ohio, was the ice cream truck that showed up in my neighborhood after school. There was something irresistible about the bell ringing and kids lining up to choose their favorite flavors.

It's interesting to see how some brands are riding this new food truck wave. One example is the Oscar Mayer brand which is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Wienermobile vehicle in New York City by unveiling the first Wienermobile Food Truck, in partnership with celebrity chef Tyler Florence to christen the new vehicle and continue the Good Mood Mission by making a $50,000 donation to Feeding America.














People gathered in Times Square for a chance to see the Wienermobile Food Truck, get a free Oscar Mayer Selects Beef Frank and enjoy special toppings created by Tyler. The new Wienermobile Food Truck will be giving consumers a chance to taste Oscar Mayer Selects Beef Franks throughout this summer.

A book was recently published called "Food Trucks - Dispatches and Recipes from the Best Kitchens on Wheels" , written by Heather Shouse, with reviews of the many food trucks that you can find in North America.

I'm very curious to see if gourmet food trucks are starting to show up in Latin American cities.

No more excuses to pack light... The Westin & New Balace get it right

I just love it when a company clearly identifies a relevant insight and creates a useful product or service. I'm constantly travelling on business and for someone like me there's always a conflict between packing light and staying fit. I want to be ready to work out when I'm at a hotel but packing athletic shoes is a hassle.

This week I stayed at The Westin Santa Fe in Mexico City. I was surprised to see that the hotel chain partnered with New Balance allowing guests to borrow shoes and apparel during their stay. Going online, I found out that there's more to it:

Westin guests will also benefit from travel-specific fitness content and added-value experiences provided by New Balance. New Balance Fitness Ambassador and Exercise TV celebrity trainer Holly Perkins will develop exclusive in-room fitness and equipment-free content that includes stretching and strengthening workouts, cardio and yoga. The program includes “Wellness in Travel” tips from Holly on nutrition and creative ways to combat jet lag and healthy living. In addition, New Balance is working with individual Westin properties to enhance its current three- and five-mile local area running maps. As part of the partnership, participating properties will provide guests traveling to a city for a major athletic event, such as a marathon, with wellness amenities, including turn-down gifts with “performance/fuel” goodies for the race and “good luck” wake-up calls.

That's a great example of a brand identifying a powerful insight, creating a service that connects with a very specific target: business travellers.

Next week, I have to travel to Mexico City again. I'm packing light and staying at the Westin.

Another cool augmented reality idea... from Doritos in Brazil

After the tremendous success we've been having with Doritos Sweet Chili and our augmented reality packaging, our digital agency CuboCC came up with another cool idea.  This time, they asked us if we wanted to put together the world's largest augmented reality event.  Why not?

Take a look at the video and see who appeared on top of the PepsiCo office building the other day?

Learning from the Seda Co-Creation Project

Last week we invited Erik Galardi - Unilever Brazil's Marketing Director Haircare - to talk to our internal team on how he is carrying out a major brand transformation for Seda.  The presentation was absolutely awesome, one of the best marketing stories I heard recently.  Seda is Brazil`s leading shampoo but has been losing relevance to smaller high-end brands which led to the Seda Co-Creation Project.  They partnered with seven hair specialists from around the world to develop a new generation of products.  Another great case of collaboration, packaging design, content generation and experiential marketing.  

Ruffles at the Jonas Brothers Concert

Two of our brands, Ruffles® and Toddy®, sponsored the Jonas Brothers Concert here in São Paulo this past Sunday.  

In a jam-packed stadium with 60,000 fans, it was an awesome opportunity for us to launch our new limited edition Ruffles Do Seu Jeito ('Ruffles Your Way') - which comes in a flavor for girls and one for guys.  The guy version is a big wave potato chip with a masculine BBQ Ribs flavor and the girl version is a thin-sliced potato chip with a soft cream cheese flavor.  

The in-stadium brand activation was carried out by the Future Group.  The promoters were instructed to hand out samples according to the positioning.  Next to me, there was a girl asking to sample the guy BBQ flavor.  The answer she got was:  "Bring a male friend and you'll get your sample" which was a great way to promote interaction among the crowd.

Here are two pictures I took of consumers sampling the product.  I had fun playing photographer...

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....

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).

Developing a social occasion for snacks

Tomorrow, we're launching a new Doritos® advertising campaign in Brazil:

"Wanna share something with friends, share Doritos."  

Consumer studies with Brazilian millenials show that getting together with friends is one of their favorite things in life. Special moments after school hanging out with their best friends or on the week-ends before partying, those are the moments they cherish the most.  However, when it comes to snacking habits, the main consumption occasion is alone in front of a TV set.  There's a huge opportunity to develop a social snacking occasion among friends.  Doritos, being such a cool brand among millenials, has all the credentials to be the brand that Brazilians grab when they're snacking among friends.

The TV campaign, created by AlmapBBDO and produced by Rodolfo Vanni from Cia.de Cinema, uses funny situations that remind us that not everything should be shared with friends... if you wanna share something, share a Doritos.  We're also using two magazines that connect well with our target group:  Rolling Stones and Trip.  

The campaign has a very strong online component with a hot site created by cool digital agency CuboCC, a destination where teens are invited to upload pictures or videos of embarrassing situations they wouldn't want to share with their friends (or would they?). The five most voted situations will receive a year's supply of the world's most famous tortilla chip and a box with a special edition of Doritos with their picture on the bag (perfect for bragging rights). Take a look at www.doritos.com.br.

In the following weeks, more great news on Doritos...

Start with substance

Marketers all over America are finding ways to leverage Obama's presidential inauguration next week. A media event that is being compared to the Super Bowl. I was very happy to read that the Marketing Team at Quaker Oats in the U.S. is promoting its "Start with Substance" campaign with the mission of donating a bowl of oatmeal to 1 million poor families across the country.

A beautiful initiative in an historic moment of hope.  Click here to learn more.

Celebrating 55 Years of Quaker in Brazil

This year, Quaker® is celebrating 55 years since the brand started its Brazilian operation in Porto Alegre. Erika Salgado and Sarah Buchwitz leading Brazil's Quaker Brand Team - two of our young marketing talents - are having an awesome year. The business is growing double digit mainly driven by a strong professional marketing effort communicating the heart health benefits of oats and by a beautifully-produced TV campaign, called "Quaker The Grain of Goodness" (covered a few months ago on this blog), which is driving record sales.

To celebrate Quaker's rich heritage in this country, we're launching comemorative cans with the a vintage look on the backpanel....

The Quaker Team also produced a short video telling the brand's story which has been used to educate employees and customers on the beauty of the Quaker heritage.  The brand story is also being told through recipes. The team has compiled 55 recipes made with oats and how this special grain has influenced food culture from the 50's to today. 

Getting teens to send a message to the World

This month, we're also rolling out an ambitious project for our Ruffles® Brand - Brazil's best-selling potato chip. It's called the Ruffles "Fala Aê! Tour" (translates as 'speak up'), a bus with two studios onboard that will be touring the country inviting teens to send a 15" message to the world. The bus will be uploading these teen videos to a YouTube channel and the Ruffles website. Ambitious because our intention is to create the world's largest teen manfistation to be broadcast online.

Our brand activation agency, the Future Group, has done a great job creating a fun studio experience. Through a touchscreen monitor, teens can choose among different virtual backgrounds and also select props (like hats, sunglasses...) to get into the spirit before recording.

This summer activation is part of the brand's communication platform "Make noise, eat ruffles". For the Ruffles, 'noise' has both a product and an emotional association. Noise linked to the chip's hard bite and noise that comes from teens making their voices heard.

Toddy summer activation with a touch of 'pimp my ride'

A while back on this blog we talked about one of the brands we have in our portfolio in Brazil called Toddy® - Brazil's iconic chocolate milk powder. The brand has been tremendously successful over the past years with a campaign that uses irreverent cows sparking a strong connection with Brazilian millenials. Because the consumption of chocolate milk is predominantly in the breakfast occasion, we decided we needed some creative thinking to take the brand beyond the kitchen table.

How could we expand the brand experience to cool places where our teen target hangs out in a way that was relevant and engaging?

The answer has been the Toddy Shake Tour, a mobile unit we have been testing throughout the year where consumers can experience the product in a variety of amazing shakes. For the upcoming Brazilian summer season, which pretty much starts after Christmas, we're coming out with the Toddy Shake Van. Imagine a 'pimp-my-ride'-style '71 VW Van completely decked out with cool wheels, flat-screen TVs and a hydraulic ceiling that creates a mini diner with the best chocolates shakes in town. Consumers can choose chocolate shakes with a touch of coconut, with bits of cookies, passion fruit or açaí (an energetic local berry).

The concept was created by the Future Group, a São Paulo-based brand activation agency we have been using for experiential marketing in collaboration with the Toddy Brand Team led by Claudia Pires and Victoria Gabrielli.

Our Toddy Van will be touring beaches along the coast of Rio and São Paulo, throughout the summer. We will also be taking the experience to orphanages and social projects in association with local NGO's.

World's Largest Doritos making more headlines

Our World's Largest Doritos bag is making headlines around the globe. We tracked online buzz from Spain, France, Argentina, Venezuela and today I was happy to see the story make it to Advertising Age. 

Big bag... big news.

For Brazilian consumers hungry to taste the world

This month, our snacks marketing team is coming out with a repositioning for our STAX® line - potato chips in plastic tubes for convenient on-the-go consumption. We have been in the market in Brazil with STAX® since late 2006 with three basic flavors: original, sour cream & onion and cheddar cheese.  We were in search of a brand idea that could help us better differentiate ourselves, as well as, a creative platform that can allow us to better execute at the point of sale.

The new positioning is STAX® For those hungry to taste the world - taking consumers on a journey of flavors from different parts of the world. As Brazil starts playing a growing role in the global scene, young adults have a natural curiosity for what's beyond our borders. In fact, traveling is high on the dream list of our core target group. Tapping into a an amazing portfolio of authentic flavors that have been developed in other International operations, we researched and identified four flavors that resonate well with local consumers (in addition to the original flavor for those who just love a traditional potato chip).  This the new flavor line-up:

Thailand - Sweet Thai Chilli

Argentina - Barbecue

England - Sour Cream & Onion

America - Cheddar cheese

The repositioning work was led by Roberto Angelino, Carla Araujo and her marketing team Alexandre Chiavegatti and Carol Gormezano. The packaging graphics was developed by Cornerstone - a NY-based design firm that has opened a studio in São Paulo. On the back panel, you can find cultural and gastronomic tips from each flavor destination. 

Free Starbucks coffee on election day

I thought the Starbucks initiative giving out a free 12oz coffee to those who vote, brilliant. The TV spot first aired during Saturday Night Live and poses some questions like: 

"What if we all cared enough to vote? Not just 54% of us, but 100% of us? Come into Starbucks on Nov. 4, tell us you voted, and we'll proudly give you a tall cup of brewed coffee on us." 

I also love the tagline: "You & Starbucks. It's bigger than coffee" which gives the brand a renewed sense of purpose. The campaign, which feels more like a movement, marks Starbuck's first entry into national TV advertising.

A little gesture that celebrates this historic moment. 

The World's Largest Doritos

Weeks ago our Doritos Brand Team, Alexandre Chiavegatti and Carol Gormezano, told me about a social network community of Doritos-lovers who were asking for a 5kg bag. So, we decided to make it happen.
















This past week dozens of giant bags were sent to members of the community as you can see in this first video.



The growth of social networks is fascinating and the challenge for marketers is how to leverage this universe in a non-intrusive way.

The team decided to have a little more fun and ended up producing a 3m bag with over 132kg of Doritos - obviously the largest in the world. The massive bag was presented at one of the coolest teen events, it went for a ride all over town in the back of pick-up truck and it was hauled up a five-story building. The buzz from both initiatives has been amazing.

In just a few days, over 11,000 mentions in blogs/twitters/sites and over 44,000 people saw the giant Doritos video we posted on YouTube.

This is the video of the giant Doritos...

"

Getting Doritos out of the bag and into cool places

Our Teen Snacks team, led by Carla Araujo, Alexandre Chiavegatti, Carol Gormezano and Oliver Schrikel created an on-premise initiative that takes the Doritos® brand into bars and restaurants, called Doritos® Lovers. In a true collaboration effort with students from a local culinary school and a few restaurants, recipes were created, awarded and are now being introduced in menus throughout town. Pizza Hut® has been involved in the project from its inception and now offers a crunchy pizza with Doritos. Salad Creations® has also introduced a recipe created by student Luciana Perez called Doritos Lovers Salad.

One of Sao Paulo's most traditional bars, Bar do Juarez®, is selling cheese rolls with Doritos toppings. Koi®, a cool chain of japanese restaurants just introduced a Uramaki Doritos Lovers.

Grain of Goodness

A cultural movement usually starts small and eventually grows over time. In the case of Quaker here in Brazil we are starting a movement that starts with a simple idea... that oats can bring goodness to people's lives. The goodness that comes from lower blood cholesterol levels, from improving intestinal health, from helping to slow the rate of digestion curbing appetite. When people feel good about themselves, they feel good about others and that feeling spreads.

The campaign is called Quaker Oats – the grain of goodness.

Interacting with Alexandre Peralta and his passionate team at StrawberryFrog on this assignment has been a memorable experience. The challenge we initially faced was to maintain a balance between the functional story of oats while maintaining a tone that could resonate at a deeper emotional level. It's interesting that the Quaker brand has been in Brazil for 55 years and there's still tremendous opportunity to teach people the benefits of including oats in their daily diet. The brand carries a rich heritage and a powerful image of health & wellness. A brand that inspires a tremendous amount of trust among Brazilians. However, not everyone understands how complete this little grain actually is. One way to help educate people on the benefits of oats will be through this very simple print ad. On one side you have the word seed. On the other page the word harvest, listing the functional benefits of oats. A wonderful reminder that a powerful message can be made with just a few words.



















One thing that makes us very excited about this campaign is that our agency has been able to translate the benefits of oats into one word that we believe can spark a movement, engage and hopefully motivate people to include oats for a more natural and healthier lifestyle. And that word is goodness. Goodness will be at the center of everything we do… from the way the brand breathes, to the causes it embraces.

Take a look at the first TV spot. The voice over talks about the goodness that comes inside out… and the goodness that comes from outside in. Oats can be incorporated in a person's diet in a variety of different ways. That's why we are showing scenes of oatmeal porridge, oats blended with fruits to make shakes, oats on top of a bowl of açaí (a very Brazilian dish that became popular on the beaches in Rio) or even sprinkled over saladas.



As we start planning to ignite our Quaker oats movement, our team would love to hear your comments.














We're fortunate to count on an awesome Quaker Team in Brazil led by Adriana Ribeiro, with Erika Salgado, Sarah Buchwitz, Rodrigo Viselli and Priscilla Cheutchuk. A team of goodness.

Pre-Super Bowl buzz

Doritos® is back creating pre-Super Bowl buzz with its third edition of the 'Crash The Super Bowl' campaign.  Doritos innovated two years ago with a consumer-generated format that shook the industry and started a trend.  At the time, consumers were invited to submit 30" ads.  Two spots, were chosen online and aired during the big game.  This time around Doritos is offering a $1 million prize for a creative mind that is able to produce a Doritos TV spot good enough to top a viewer poll at the next Super Bowl.  I absolutely love how my colleagues at Frito-Lay are leading the Doritos Brand.  A bold, creative and completely consumer-centric marketing approach to a very cool brand.  Awesome work.