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.

A Christmas message of hope from Colombia

How can the Colombian Army motivate guerilla fighters to demobilize... and find their way back home?

Take a look at a beautiful campaign being aired called 'Operation Christmas'. Colombian Special Forces infiltrated in the Macarena Mountains and set up a 25m Christmas tree with 2,000 lights that lights up by motion sensors. Other trees were set up in nine other rebel zones.

Christmas certainly has different meanings in different parts of the World.

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Toddy's Moooooovement of truth

Last year, we launched a very successful campaign for our Toddy® business in Brazil called "Toddy the flavor of truth". Brand loyalists love how Toddy has always been about authenticity... a certain unpretencious coolness. Brazilian millenials identify with the brand's iconic cows and their very Brazilian-style irreverence. The campaign idea is rather simple. You either say the truth or you get a moooooooo from the cows. You're either real, authentic, cool or you get a moooooo.

Hundreds of different moooos are being posted in social networks and forums by people all over the country. It has become a fun way to protest against anything that's not real.


The campaign was created by PeraltaStrawberryFrog.

Here are the two latest spots which start airing this weekend. Come join the mooooovement.

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The Nothing Movement in Rhode Island

Jeanette Palmer and I worked on a few packaging graphic projects for 7UP and H2OH! a few years ago when she was with Raison Pure New York. She now lives in Providence, Rhode Island and works for a local agency called NAIL. She sent me a link with an amazing cultural movement called Nothing her agency has created for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.

A beautiful example of how the power of creative can work for a greater cause. This is the type of campaign that would work very well in developing countries, like here in Brazil.

I love everything about it.

Click here to visit the movement's website

What's happening during school recess?

If you want to know what's hot among kids, check out what's going on during recess in any school around the country.  Nowadays, the hottest property in Brazil (and what I've been reading in many countries around the World) is the FIFA 2010 World Cup Official Sticker Album.  In the past two weeks, I've been myself driving to the neighborhood newstand to buy more stickers for my two daughters... who aren't really soccer fans.  They tell me everyone at school (and even the teachers) is collecting the cards.  This is a fascinating cultural movement.

Why is this so hot?  Ok, I know that we're 45 days away from the coolest sports event in the World (I personally can't wait!), but why are kids so obsessed to collect these cards?  My personal feeling is the following...

There's a certain thrill of exchanging cards with other kids

There's a tangible feeling of opening the envelopes, sticking the cards, seeing the album being complete that beats the many virtual experiences these kids have after school in front of the computer

There's a sense of belonging, that kids all over the world are doing the same

What can we learn from this experience that can apply to the brand experiences we provide?

Toddy on Facebook

Toddy - one of Brazil's coolest brands among millennials - is now on Facebook where fans can see in real-time how three cutting-edge Brazilian graffitti artists (Cusco, Carla Barth, Estudio Alice) are collaborating on the cow that is part of the Sao Paulo Cow Parade exhibit.  

Check it out.

Pepsi Refresh Project - start submitting ideas tomorrow

For those who haven't seen it, the Pepsi Refresh Project in the U.S. market is an amazing example of socially-responsible marketing. Pepsi is giving away millions in grants each month to fund great ideas.

Tomorrow, Jan. 13 is the day people can start submitting their projects of how to make the world a better place. Log on and participate. As a PepsiCo employee, I feel very proud of this type of initiative that pretty much reconceptualizes the role brands can have in the world we live in.

Spread the word.

A beautiful story of the power of nature

In parts of Brazil, some electric posts are still made of wood instead of the more commonly seen concrete ones. In Rondonia - one of the Brazilian states part of the Amazon region - a Yellow Ipê (also known as a Tabebuia Tree and is a considered a symbol of Brazil) was cut down a few years ago to become an electric post.  

To everyone's surprise, the tree didn't give up, started to grow roots and blossomed.  The power company installed a concrete post next to it removing all the electrical cables from the tree.  

A wonderful story that proves the power of nature.  Social media is now turning the story into a movement in favor preserving trees.

Read more about the Yellow Ipê in Wikipedia.

Let's make it fun!

I saw this video last night, which is part of the Fun Theory cultural movement in Europe - a VW initiative - and it made me think of how the power of fun could change the way schools educate kids or even how companies sell their products.

As marketers, how can we add a little more fun in the way we sell... engaging consumers in a whole new way?

For those of us who live recycling... this is a killer idea.
Absolutely Brilliant!!!

Rio... Cidade Maravilhosa

Congratulations Rio 2016!

The video produced by the Rio 2016 Olympic Committee captures the spirit of our... cidade maravilhosa...

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A Movement to save the neighborhood café

One of the best stories I heard last week was about how neighbors got together to save a Brooklyn café from bankruptcy.  The café, called Vox Pop, is not an ordinary coffee shop but a place where people are motivated to express their opinions, have a latte, read a community paper or listen to live music.

Click here to listen to the CNN story...

It's fascinating to see how tough times opens the doors to new ideas... including a bit of communal capitalism.

Appreciation for eating local

This week, my Family and I are spending vacation in Connecticut (which is why I have been less active with my blogging).  It's great to see how the community supportive agriculture and the local food movement is growing and becoming mainstream.  The other night we had dinner at The Dressing Room, an absolutely magnificent restaurant that they position as 'homegrown', located next to the Newport Playhouse.  All ingredients used are from local farms and producers.

 

The next day, we went to The Hickories Farm in Ridgefield for blueberry picking. For our daughters, it's wonderful that they can pick fruits, take them home and help mom bake a pie.  It helps them have a greater appreciation for how things go from farm to table.

At Whole Foods, there are banners throughout the store showcasing some of their local suppliers  signed "food from around here".

It's clear that there is a growing segment of the population who love the idea of eating local food. People who are interested in supporting their local farmers and communities.  People who are looking for the simple tastes and aromas of more natural and organic eating.... close to home. Wasn't this how our grandparents used to do?  

It will be interesting to see how food marketers will leverage this trend at a broader scale.

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!

World's Largest Football Gaming Tournament

It's absolutely fascinating to see the powerful evolution of online gaming and its potential as a marketing platform. A great example of how gaming can be built into a global experience is the FIFA Interactive World Cup 2009. 

Next week here in São Paulo, gamers will take part in a qualifying event at the Museu do Futebol trying to secure a place among at the FIWC09 Grand Final in Spain. Similar to the real FIFA World Cup, the FIWC 09 Online Qualification will be split as follows:

UEFA - The top 5 ranked players
CONCACAF - The top 2 ranked players
CONMEBOL - The top 2 ranked players
AFC - The top 2 ranked players
CAF - The top 1 ranked player
OCEANIA - The top 1 ranked player

Only one lucky gammer will be awarded the title of FIFA Interactive World Player 2009, earning a host of prizes from EA and PlayStation. Adding to the magic, he will attend the FIFA World Player Gala 2009 receiving a trophy from some of the World's greatest players. Pretty cool!

Toy Art haven in South Beach

Walking in South Beach this afternoon, I walked into Kidrobot, this fantastic store featuring the coolest collection of toy arts. In Sao Paulo, you find interesting toys here and there but I haven't seen such a great collection in one venue like this before. Back at th hotel, I went online to learn more about it. I found out the concept was created by designer Paul Budnitz in 2002. There are store in New York, San Francisco, Toronto, London and the Miami store I visited.

The website says that...
"Kidrobot merges urban street trends, fashion, and pop art to produce limited edition, collectible toys and apparel. Kidrobot products feature unique collaborations with top international artists with backgrounds as diverse as graffiti, fine art, fashion, industrial design, graphic design, illustration, and music."

Worth visting next time you go to South Beach...

Dinner with Tom Szaky

Last night, I had dinner with Tom Szaky, founder of TerraCycle - a business model created while he was in Princeton - that is completely redefining the concept of recycling. Cool guy with cool ideas. Tom is leading an amazing green revolution, enlisting consumer brigades all over America to collect used soda bottles, plastic bags and candy wrappers and transforming this garbage into amazing products, from fertilizers to messenger bags to backpacks.

Last year, Inc. Magazine called Terracyle
'The Coolest Little Start-Up in America'.












Tom Szaky's fascinating TerraCycle story is truly inspirational. Click below to see an overview I found on YouTube. It will certainly make you look at garbage in whole new way.

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.

Time to learn from an online movement that has made History

Last week, I spent some time with a few members of our marketing team going over the Barak Obama for America website. We are in the middle of reviewing a prototype of a cool online collaboration project and I thought it would be instructive to learn from the Obama movement. Wow, did we get a lot of inspiring lessons. Valuable lessons on how to focus on the message in simple direct terms with no distractions, as well as how they created actionable online resources to allow everyday people to spark the movement within their local community. Brilliantly done. 

A few days later, our account executive at AlmapBBDO told me the agency is finalizing a comprehensive review of the entire campaign to share with clients and create of forum for discussion on how businesses like ours can learn from this historic movement and fine tune our communication strategies. Although the campaign is over, it's amazing to see how the Obama Movement has changed they way the market will look at the internet as a powerful force of engagement and collaboration. 

Lessons from a Cultural Movement that understood like never before, that it's all about YOU.

Jimmy Wales in Sao Paulo

Yesterday, I had the wonderful opportunity to listen to Jimmy Wales, the brilliant mind behind one of the most powerful forces in user-generated content. His Wikipedia (which I can't live without), and its vision of the 'sum of all human knowledge' is a non-profit movement that mobilizes hundreds of thousands of people around the globe who collaborate to create the library for the age of knowledge. The story of the movement he has created is inspiring and perfectly aligned with a time in which people are empowered, more than ever, to create like never before.

The speech took place in São Paulo as part of the HSM Expo Management week and sponsored by Telefonica.

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.