Handmade still has its charm

At a time when anything remotely cool seems to have a technology label on it, it's quite surprising to see entrepreneurs placing a bet on the charm of handmade.  A friend of mine who is very much an early adopter for interesting stuff was wearing a pair of Palens Wood Sunglasses the other day.  She told me about how she found this little workshop in Barcelona with local guys who found a market niche and are producing with a sustainable approach, using social media to make their story heard.

Cool story.

Small contribution to the soccer-related economy

Just a little over 2 months before planet earth stops to watch 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Behind  this global event is an amazing multi-billion dollar business.  In a year like this, it's only natural that my soccer consumption dramatically increases.  I have been going to the stadium at least twice a week and  I just made a very small contribution to the soccer-related economy by buying a professional fussball table from a company called RS Barcelona.  The online buying experience was great, allowing a variety of customization options.  We settled for a white table, black pitch with the players representing defending World Cup Champions Spain against my legendary Brazil National Team (no other choice would do).  The only detail missing was that I wanted to have the name of the players hand-painted on the back of the jerseys, a detail I would have paid an extra to have.

Enjoying evening fun while the World Cup doesn't start...

24 Hours Cashless

I finally spent 24 hours without using cash, paying everthing with my smartphone through our new BBVA Wallet app.   Cab fare, lunch bill, vending machine for afternoon break, supermarket after evening gym.... I did it.... 24 hours without cash or cards.

Nothing like a competition to accelerate the adoption of new habits.  At the bank, we launched a competion among our Spain-based employees.  The top 20 people who use our mobile app by Apr.30 will receive tickets for the final phase of LigaBBVA.  For me, I'm more motivated by the bragging rights, so I've been using my smartphone anywhere I can find a contactless terminal.  Today I was #15 in the ranking....

The Guggenheim Effect

Every Bilbao local I met over the three days I spent in this amazing Basque city spoke to me about the Guggenheim effect - the powerful transformation the city went through after the '97 opening of The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao by Frank Gehry.  Urban revitalization powered by architecture, art and vision.  Great architecture has the power of creating a canvas for human achievement, boost tourism, attract investment, provide a community with a renewed sense of pride and help transform the world around it, provoking an economic ripple effect.  I guess that is what's happening here along the Nervion River.

How can architecture touch other aspects of our lives?
What type of transformation can architecture fuel within public schools, universities, corporations?

A year from now, we're moving to a new corporate campus outside Madrid designed by Herzog and de Meuron.  It will be very exciting to see how the new space will inspire new ways-of-working, collaboration, innovation, as we build our digital banking future.

I just added Bilbao to my list of special places...

My Instagram photo of the museum taken at sunset...

In Chile, our first Facebook banking app

Need to consciously pause during downtime

This morning, during my bus commute to the office I was stuck to my ipad reading the Financial Times headlines, an article on mobile shopping in Brazil's Exame, checked calendar and inbox to prepare for day, sent a LinkedIn message to a friend in Rio who started a new job.  By the time I left the elevator on my floor, I was half way through a fantastic EY global consumer banking survey.  A quick burger for lunch reading sports news on marca.com and checking our very own ligaBBVA.com.  

From screen to screen.  

I realize I need to consciously pause during downtime to reconnect with what's around me.  After I spoke to a co-worker about this, he sent me a YouTube link of a Coke campaign called Social Media Guard, that is based exactly on that insight.  

So, this weekend I going to play golf, mostly likely under rain... mobile/ipad free.
Mobile devices are wonderful and I love them but let's connect to the real world.

Banking App designed for Social Media

We're very excited with the launch of our very first banking application specially designed for Facebook and its called BBVA Link.  Initially launched in Chile so we can learn from the process.

Here'e the tutorial in Spanish that explains the main functionalities.

Having lunch today with LinkedIn

I had lunch today with LinkedIn executives Laetitia Maur and Henry Clifford-Jones.  I'm a huge fan of LinkedIn's positioning in social media and here at the office we're learning and testing ways to reach and leverage the power of this global professional community.  I found this video on Laetitia's profile that pretty much sums up our conversations today...

BBVA Wallet Digital Campaign

I very excited that we're launching this weekend in Spain our new BBVA Wallet Digital Campaign  - an app that allows BBVA mobile banking customers to pay with their smartphone at any venue with a contactless terminal.  I've been using the service for the past five weeks and I enjoy the freedom of just using my iPhone at my local supermarket, Starbucks, cab or movie theater.  I've also had to explain the service to a few merchants, which gives me the opportunity to see their positive feedback.

So far, it's fascinating to see the pace of adoption.  Hundreds of customers are downloading the app on a daily basis.  The technology in mobile banking is one of the most exciting things in my marketing role at BBVA.  More to come...

Celebrating 5 Million LigaBBVA Facebook Fans !

One of the most exciting social media initiatives we manage here at BBVA is the LigaBBVA Facebook Community.  We have a dedicated team that works day in day out informing fans from around the World everything that goes on in, what many soccer fans will say, is the best league.

Well, today we're celebrating 5 Million Fans, a fantastic global community with one thing in common.... a passion for LigaBBVA.

Finally using my smartphone as a debit card... and doing some research along the way

In the past two weeks, I've been using our most recent innovation - BBVA Wallet - as a substitute for my debit card at the drugstore in front of our office building here in Madrid, to the local Starbucks, to the tapas place I sometimes go for lunch.

The other night walking back from the gym I stopped at our neighborhood supermarket El Corte Inglés.  As I pulled out my phone to pay for the bill, the guy working at the cash register started talking to me about how he was also a BBVA customer and that he downloaded the app as well and was testing the service.  I immediately took the opportunity to do a little personal research asking him all sorts of questions about payment behavior at the check out.  Now I want to talk to him every once in a while to see how people are reacting to the new service.  Being someone who interacts with so many shoppers during the day, without knowing it, Pablo has become a wonderful resource for me to better understand customer behavior when it comes to mobile banking adoption.

I'm very excited with this launch, initially in Spain and working this week on the campaign created by DDB.

BBVA #2 Branded content on YouTube in Spain in 2013

Our BBVA Anywhere Banking Campaign - featuring NBA Stars Kevis Durant and James Harden and LigaBBVA Stars Iker Casillas and Andres Iniesta - is the second most watched branded content on YouTube in Spain in 2013 according to El Publicista

http://www.elpublicista.es/frontend/elpublicista/base.php

Sacrificing personal space, overemphasizing common areas

London, last leg of our year-end Family holiday.  Yesterday, we arrived at the Citizen M Hotel Bankside.  Cool check-in process all automated, borrowing a chapter from curb side check-ins at airports or ATMs.

What I thought was very interesting was the pod bedroom concept, which I had already experienced at the Pod 51 Hotel in NYC.  More and more, I seem to see a trend in urban boutique hotels that are sacrificing personal space and overemphasizing on the lounge experience that fuses canteen-style dinning, bar, working stations with Mac computers, with a fantastic attention to design that feels very socially inviting. It reminds me of how Virgin Atlantic re-conceptualized airport lounges decades ago and created a new industry standard.

I wonder if this hotel movement has any correlation with so many news articles I've been reading on how families are leaving suburbia for smaller living space in more centrally-located urban locations to be closer to work and study but also taking advantage of many urban renovation projects.  Speaking to friends from around the World, I keep hearing that many don't actually need such a large house in a place that requires commuting by car everyday, taking out the SUV just for latte.  High street versus suburban mall.  Running through century-old parks versus treadmill in the two-car garage.

This is exactly what happened to our Family this year.  We moved from a large house in a Sao Paulo suburb to an apartment with half the living space in Madrid's downtown that allows us to walk to the wonderful Retiro Park, Mercado de La Paz or the Prado Museum.  Sacrificing personal space to be able to live close to fabulous common areas.

It's another example of Adam Morgan's 'Sacrifice and Overcommit' principle from his book Eat Big Fish.  Make sure you obsessively focus on the things you really value, or in business, on the things you can execute better than anyone else and de-emphasize the rest.

Coming to think of it, what a nice thought as we move into 2014.  London is always so inspiring...

Nintendo Audio Guides at the Louvre

Yesterday at the Louvre Museum in Paris, it was interesting to see how the Nintendo brand is exploring new applications like audio guides for museum visitors.

What brand showed up on my ski holiday?

I'm enjoying our family ski holiday in Baqueira-Beret, Spain.  It was fun to see one of my favorite brands sponsoring the resort's main ski gondola.  Just a smart and playful way for Audi to communicate its Quattro technology to a target demographic that loves mountains.

...but well dressed

During Christmas shopping this week, I found this store window that in just a few words says a lot.  As we gradually move out of an economic crisis and people look at 2014 with a lot more optimism.... a little sentence that reminds as that a bit of fashion is always good.

Happy Holidays!

Turkey's iGaranti on The Most Contagious 2013 List

By far the coolest and most comprehensive mobile banking application I saw this year was Turkey's iGaranti, launched with 23 financial functions into one very powerful app.  So, I wasn't surprised (yet extremely happy) to see that it was featured in The Most Contagious 2013 List.

Garanti in Turkey, is one of those banks that is leading a true revolution in digital banking.

Mashable's 10 Startups to Watch in 2014

Our DDB Spain Planning Director, Samanta Júdez, is one of those wired and very passionate professionals who's constantly telling me about trends and topics I should keep an eye on.  This week, she sent me a link on Mashable's 10 Stratups to Watch in 2014.  It's interesting to see how there are a few mobile banking apps that made this year's list.

Happy holidays!

Partnering with the World's #1 Restaurant

Today, I'm here in Mexico City to communicate BBVA's partnership with El Celler de Can Roca - 2013 Best Restaurant in the World.  Next year, will will take the three Roca Brothers, Joan, Josep and Jordi, plus 20 of their staff members, to tour Lima, Bogotá, Medellin, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Houston and New York providing unique dining experiences to our clients.

During the tour, the Roca Brothers will be working with local producers to identify ingredients that can be added to their future menus.  We will also work with local culinary schools to find talent that will work on the tour and spend four months in training at the original restaurant located in Girona, Spain.

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity of dining at El Celler de can Roca and it was breathtaking, a wonderful combination of phenomenal food and engaging storytelling from Joan on the whybofneach dish, to Josep on the selection of wines, to Jordi on his desert creations....  an experience like no other.

There's a lot in common between private/corporate banking with the world of fine cuisine:  customer experience, attention to details, constant reinvention, catering to specific needs.  This is the beginning of an exciting new platform for the bank, adding to our global sponsorships of LigaBBVA and NBA.

Corporate Responsibility Initiative "Yo Soy Empleo"

This week, we're airing here in Spain a new campaign communicating one of BBVA's key corporate responsibility initiatives, called Yo Soy Empleo - a program that rewards small businesses with € 3000 for each new hire.  The objective is to generate 10,000 new jobs in Spain.  

This campaign, created by DDB Spain, brings together a few of the employees and business managers who benefit from the program to share their personal stories.

TEDx Day in Madrid!

I'm spending the day listening to inspiring stories at TEDx Cibeles.

I loved a presentation by Swedish Designers Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin on their breakthrough Invisible Helmet.  I had a chance of talking to them afterwards.  A wonderfully well-exectuted idea based on a relevant consumer need... and it saves lives. The beautiful intersection of design, technology, fashion, innovative thinking and impotantly, execution.

Pure inspiration.

Things that you no longer need because you have a smartphone

Check out Buzz Feeds's list of things you don't need because of smartphones.  Strange but not surprising that banks are not on the list.  It makes me realize that there A lot of cool mobile banking applications that we're working on that need to be launched, communicated and disseminated to change perceptions.

Our new BBVA Compass Campaign airing in Houston and Phoenix

Our BBVA Compass Anywhere Banking campaign, with NBA Stars Kevin Durant and James Harden currently airing in the Houston and Phoenix markets... heating up the 2014/15 Season.

BBVA's First Global Campaign - BBVA Anywhere Banking

After four months of hard work,  we've launched BBVA's first Global Advertising Campaign under the 'Anywhere Banking' concept with NBA Stars James Harden, Kevin Durant and LigaBBVA Stars Iker Casillas, Andres Iniesta.

Anywhere Banking is BBVA's new platform featuring a wide range of financial services designed to make people's lives easier, available anytime, anywhere on mobile phones, tablet, computer devices or in ATMs around the World.

The campaign, created by DDB Spain and produced by Madrid-based Tesauro, is based on the insight that great athletes do amazing things look easy.  It's on air in Spain, Portugal, U.S. and in a few days in Turkey.

I hope you enjoy it.

Computerworld: It's time digital banking teams took games seriously

Who said online banking can't be fun?  Interesting article in Compterworld on the rise of gamefication as a way to enegage online/mobile banking customers.  The article mentions BBVA Game, a wonderful initiative led by one of the most inspiring marketing guys in the Company, Bernardo Crespo.

Computerworld Malaysia - BLOG: It's time digital banking teams took games seriously

Omnichannel: The New Normal for Retail Banks

Interesting article in Banking Technology, by Alison Wilkes, on a subject we've been discussing a lot these past months....

Omnichannel: the new normal for retail banks

Making Of - BBVA's First Global TV Campaign

This has been an exciting week here at the office. As we prepare for the launch of BBVA's first global advertising campaign later this month, we released this Making Of Video to the press here in Spain. The buzz generated by the local TVs, online and in the press show a lot of interest for our campaign which brings together LigaBBVA Stars Andres Iniesta and Iker Casillas and NBA Stars James Harden and Kevin Durant. More news on Sept. the 20th...

Transformations in society require more innovation in banking

New video on how transformations in society are forcing companies around the World to put more focus on innovation. Here at BBVA, we're committed in continuously developing innovative banking products and services for a new way of banking. More to come...

LigaBBVA is the most followed banking Twitter account

Here at BBVA, we're celebrating a milestone in our LigaBBVA social media strategy:
1 Million Twitter followers! 

Read article published in Visible Banking by Christophe Langlois, who tracks 3,000+ Twitter accounts in the financial space (banks, insurance, cards, payments) and reports that the LigaBBVA is currently the most followed banking Twitter account in the World.

Three great examples of the farmer to table movement

Everytime I travel, I try to visit a local market.  Since the beginning of the summer vacation, my wife and I have been to three wonderful markets in the past ten days.  Mercado de San Anton in Madrid, Marche de Vieux Port in Quebec and the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto (video below).  With the growth of the farmer to table movement all around the World, cities are renovating, celebrating and converting their markets into cultural centers.  It's a great way to get a pulse on a city's culinary vibe.  There's always something new to learn from talking to local vendors.