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.

Software that reduces cyberbullying

Bullying and cyberbullying are important themes being discussed in our daughter's schools. Themes that my wife and I are particularly concerned about, like any parent. So, I was happy to read about a company called Crisp Thinking that has come up with software called Crisp that polices cyberbullying activities and other bad actors online.

Below an interview with Adam Hildreth, a British entrepreneur, one of the company's founders.

Trident campaign nominated for Cannes

I'm very excited that I'm scheduled to go to the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity next month. As I look through the work being nominated this year, I was happy to see Trident White campaign called 'Sniper'. This is an awesome example of the use of big screen cinematography techniques to speak about a product benefit in a very subtle and non-conventional way. The suspense is amazing.

Campaign created by JWT Puerto Rico and directed by Luis Gerard and Jaime Costa as Director of Photography.

Congratualtions to the gums & candies team here at Kraft Foods... great work!

Oreo Celebrating Mother's Day

There are a few brands that are able to strike an emotional chord among consumers of all ages. Oreo is certainly one of those brands with its 'twist, lick & dunk' ritual that has sparked child-like delight and family connections for generations. The more I study this brand, the more I become passionate about it.

Here's the Oreo campaign that was the most effective Mother's Day ad to break in the U.S. this year according to Ace Metrix. The ad, which scored an Ace Score of 628, compared to a norm of 522, took a 55-point lead over the next two favorite ads from Procter & Gamble and Verizon.

The beauty is in its simplicity.

Enjoying great packaging work after a perfect weekend in Rio de Janeiro

We spent a wonderful weekend in Rio de Janeiro. Saturday was practically a perfect day: Lounging at the Copacabana Palace pool, running on the sands of Copacabana Beach with my daughters, late lunch at Astor, walking on the Ipanema boardwalk at sunset, ice-cream at Mil Frutas (which I've loved since we lived in Rio in the mid 90's), a stop at a great bookstore called Livraria da Travessa and ending the day with a passionfruit caipirinha with Cachaça Lua Cheia by the pool. If yesterday had a soundtrack it would have been 'Acanjú' by Bebel Gilberto.

At Livraria da Travessa I ended up buying a book called "The Package Design Book". I've always had a passion for packaging, both the power of graphic design and the beauty of great structural packaging. It will certainly be fun reading for the flight back to São Paulo. I'll post some of the highlights in a separate post.

National Geographic Store in London

I was in London this week and after the our meetings were over, I was able to rush out and catch the amazing vibe in the streets as people from around the World were celebrating the royal wedding. On my walk back to the hotel I went into the National Geographic London Store. I had read about it but this was my first time visiting one.

Stretching a brand into a completely different category is not an easy task. I was delighted to see what a wonderful retail and café experience they were able to create. I have always been a huge fan of Nat Geo's media properties and my daughters enjoy National Geographic Kids which I bring back from my trips.

London is such a fascinating city in so many ways. I particularly find it a great place to see different retail concepts.... always something new to explore.

Looking for more family moments...

As the father of two children, I find my self looking for more ways to create family moments. With our 12-year-old's increasing interest in technology and my business traveling, finding ways to connect has become particularly important for me and is a feeling that, in certain ways, is influencing my shopping considerations.

So, I was very happy when I received an e-mail from our younger daughter while I was in Miami this week asking me to go to Williams-Sonoma (which unfortunately we don't have in Brazil) to look into a gift she was suggesting for Mother's Day. She had gone online, found a product called Zoku Quick Pop Maker she thought her mom would like and saw some tutorial videos on all the cool ways to make popsicles. It sounded like a good project for the family on a Sunday morning. So, sure enough I went to the store and bought the equipment and a recipe book.

This morning, un-boxing, reading through the instructions with them and planning tomorrow's first production was already very fun. Simple family connctions.... those are the priceless moments I'm looking for these days.

Cannes Lions 2011

Yupeee! Today I received confirmation of my 2011 Cannes registration.

Can't wait to spend a week immersed in stimulating brand campaigns from around the world.

Traveling with Kids

One of the most rewarding experiences for my wife and I is traveling with our daughters. We all learn on so many different levels and I believe we're providing our girls a wonderful window to the World. This year, we are focusing more on Brazil. We loved the Bonito (Mato Grosso do Sul) and its amazing biodiversity and now we have trips planned for Tiradentes, Rio and the magnificent Iguaçú Falls.

One of our good friends from Coral Gables is planning to visit all 50 U.S. States with her five kids. I can't wait to follow her adventures and learn from her experience on a blog she's planning to write. On my flight to Mexico, I read a great article on Condé Nast Traveller called Perrin Report: The A to Z Guide to Traveling with Kids with so fun tips on how to make the most of your next Family vacation.

Our 9-year old snorkeling in the crystal-clear waters of Rio Sucuri - Bonito, Brazil

When it comes to where your brand is made... do you care?

Connecting flight in Lima. Newstand at the airport. Picking up some reading material on my way back to Sao Paulo. The Wired Magazine cover catches my attention and the question makes me think. Are we going to see a rise in consumers mobilizing to hold brands more accountable for all aspects of the supply chain?























The flip side of that is a Maytag print campaign I saw a few weeks ago in USA Today. The message was "Better Build With American Pride... designed, engineered and assembled in the U.S.A." The tagline is also quite powerful: "Maytag - What's Inside Matters". There's also logo "From Ohio to You".

Is there a trend emerging?

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.

Entertainment vs Improv

Wednesday night I went to the American Airlines Arena in Miami to watch the Miami Heat play Orlando Magic. It has been years since I've been to an NBA game. I'm not a huge fan of basketball, but I have to admit it's an amazing super entertaining sports event. Everything was so well scripted. Its all comes together beautifully: the announcer, the suspense, the lighting, the music, the fans, even how sponsorships blend well to the spectacle.

When I think of Latin-American soccer, the differences are abysmal. While American sports follow a wonderful choreography, the beautiful game in my part of the World is performed with so much improvisation. While Brazil slowly gets geared up for FIFA World Cup 2014, there's a lot that can be learned from watching a live NBA game.

Cool campaign from Land Rover on the iPad

Land Rover's advertising campaign within The Daily Ipad application is one of the best things I've seen in this new space. This is a brand that is leading the way in this new brave iPad world when it comes to creating messages that are cool, engaging and entertaining. I love it.

One-stop shop for urban essentials in Buenos Aires

I love cities that invite people to walk and explore. New York, London, Paris, Barcelona, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Buenos Aires. Unfortunately, my São Paulo doesn't quite make the list. The beauty about these cities is that by walking you feel the city vibe and get the pulse of what's happening on the streets.

From a trade perspective, cities with large pedestrian areas tend to be a wonderful playground for marketing people. I was in Buenos Aires a few weeks ago and it's probably one of the best place in terms of kiosks. Kiosks are the perfect stop to get a candy bar, refresh, get a copy of Clarín one of best coverages of soccer, buy credits for a mobile phone or go online. It's pretty much a one-stop shop for urban essentials. No place in the world, are kiosks so well developed like in Buenos Aires. Next time, you're in town, check them out.

Reading on my way back from Jakarta

I just got back this morning from a week in Jakarta at a global marketing meeting. On one of the afternoons, we went on a trade visit. It's always fascinating to visit stores in a different market than your own. Just observing how the trade is organized, listening to a local salesperson and just observing consumer dynamics is one of those experiences that you always learn from.

Not surprisingly, the traditional trade in Jakarta is very similar to what we find throughout Latin America. Small mom & pop stores with extremely limited space, many products being sold in single-serve sachets. In our case, the importance of securing space on the counter making our brands as accessible as possible, avoiding people having to ask for your products.

It was a long trip flying back to São Paulo, so I used the time on flights to read Buyology - Truth and Lies About Why We Buy - by Martin Lindstrom. When the book first came out, I was a little skeptical. I decided I needed to read the book to form an opinion about the intersection between neuroscience and marketing. A rather intriguing and controversial subject. The author carried out extensive research using brains scans to try and find patterns on what actually triggers people to make purchasing decisions.

I particularly enjoyed chapter 5 on the power of rituals, where we cites examples like Oreo's classic 'twist, lick & dunk', Corona with lime and Guinness' phenomenal 'good things come for those who wait' strategy.

A long wait for TinTin on the big screen re-created by two of the World's greatest

As a die-hard fan of The Adventures of TinTin - magically created by Belgian artist Georges Rémi (1907-1983) who wrote under the name Hergé - I just can't wait for the release of the feature film 'TinTin in The Secret of the Unicorn' being produced by two of the World's greatest: Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson. What a dream team to bring to the big screen one of the best comic strips of all times. Combining Classics have this amazing quality of timelessness, becoming part of pop culture without trying to be. Exactly what brands try so hard to do and so few succeed.

I introduced TinTin to my daughters a few years back, we read and watched all the DVDs. They became huge fans as well. The film is scheduled to hit theaters in Dec.'11... a long wait that will certainly be worth it!

Here are a few images released by Empire Magazine...

The joy of stats

Messages have a greater possibility of resonating when they are based on hard data and delivered with a touch of theater. Some people have that talent. I really enjoyed the video below “200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes” from the BBC 4 Series "The Joy of Stats" hosted by Swedish Professor Hans Rosling graphically illustrating global development over the past 200 years.

We're only scratching the surface of how new media has the power of transforming education and impacting millions of people around the world. Fascinating times.

Disconnecting to reconnect while following the river's flow

To celebrate the new year, my wife chose an unusual destination: Bonito - one of Brazil's many eco-tourism havens. If you haven't read about it in National Geographic or Lonely Planet, this place is worth checking out. Hard to describe and certainly hard to forget. Bonito is a region cut by beautiful rivers of crystal-clear waters due to the high concentration of limestone. Rivers with romantic names like Rio Formoso, Mimoso and Rio da Prata, with amazing waterfalls and a wildlife that makes you feel like you're on a Discovery Channel show. In the five days we were there, we spotted macaws, alligators, armadillos, capuchin monkeys and a 3-meter anaconda, which we saw while snorkeling close to the source of Rio Formoso.

One of the things that amazed me is how the entire community seems to be dedicated to promoting a sustainable eco-tourism model. As a marketer, I love to see when a destination carves a well-defined position. Speaking to tour operators, the owner of our B&B or to the many guides who showed us around, there was always a genuine concern around preservation. Bonito seems to be moving in the right direction.

In this remote location, it wasn't easy to get a mobile connection, which was just wonderful. We ended up disconnected and yet very connected as a Family. One of the guides who took us snorkeling down the Rio Sucuri, told me that he tends to ask those coming from the big cities to just relax and let yourself follow the river's flow. What a wonderful way to start a year....

I found this video on eco-tourism produced by the Brazilian Government we some images of Bonito.

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Is this the coolest iPad magazine around?

Richard Brandson's much anticipated iPad Magazine 'Project' lives up it the hype. I really enjoyed the content, the visual effects and how it was conceived to use many of the wonderful features of new technology. I've been downloading many publications in the past months but I have to admit this one was a joy to read.

I particularly enjoyed the article "3D Tour of Secret Tokyo - The Inside Track to Japan's Mega-City from Five Key Creatives". It made me think of how this is the perfect type of application for people who love to travel like myself.

The next issue will be in the App Store Jan. 7th.

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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Making it easier for people to read in poorly-lit places

Recently, I've been having difficulty reading small print in poorly-lit places, specially in the evenings when I feel my eyes tired after a long day wearing contacts. This happens often at restaurants with menus, reading the ingredient list of a product at a supermarket (which I do a lot of) and it happened a few weeks ago trying to read a newspaper on a late flight from Mexico City to Lima (which I know I'll be doing a lot of in my new assignment).

With a radical change of demographics in many markets around the World, what I'm going through is probably becoming a growing trend. This certainly opens the door to marketing opportunities in products and certainly in services. One of Brazil's top-selling newspapers, Folha de São Paulo, was recently redesigned with larger easier-to-read fonts. Last week-end, my wife and I were in Buenos Aires having dinner at Sushi Club Palermo and the waitress seeing that we were struggling trying to read the options, came out with a back-lit menu. Sushi Yuku, a new restaurant in Blumenau created by my good friend Juliano Mendes, was Brazil's first restaurant to use iPads as menus.

With a bright screen, great photography and adjustable fonts, the iPad is not only great for re-thinking the restaurant experience, but it also makes it easier to be able to read on a night flight or in bed with the lights off. I love it.

Time Out São Paulo is here!

Good news for travelers from around the World who are interested in exploring my São Paulo.... Time Out São Paulo - English language edition - has just been launched.

For those who are familiar with Time Out London or New York, will certainly be happy that we now have a fun essential guide for locals and visitors who want to find out where to eat, the best gigs, cool places to shop, the city's exciting cultural scene or where to find the best caipirinha. I guess we all need some time out to explore this fascinating (but often intimidating) city.

This is what Publisher Silvio Gianni said in the editorial "....Time Out São Paulo will provide an increasingly valuable service, presenting everything that's interesting and attractive on the city's cultural scene. We have challenges ahead, as the World Cup 2014 and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro draw closer, bringing with them more tourists, more business and more entertainment, in a virtuous circle in which the media has a key role. This launch is our small contribution to the final internationalisation of our city. São Paulo is amazing and it deserves to be in the spotlight."

A week working out on the Kinesis Wall

I spent this week in Mexico City. Early morning, everyday before an exciting business agenda, I hit the hotel gym and worked out on this fabulous equipment called the Kinesis Wall. I loved it.

The corporate website says that the equipment incorporates stretching and workout routines that imitate natural movements such as lifting, bending down and reaching out. After a week using the Kinesis, which looks like it was designed by some cool Scandinavian design boutique, I felt absolutely great.... toned, energized and without the sensation of tense muscules I often feel at traditional gyms.

Monocle on Sao Paulo

Walking back to my London hotel to pick up my things, I pass by the Monocle Shop (24 George St. a few steps off Marylebone High Street). I've always been a fan of the magazine but had no idea they had a store. I bought the Nov.'10 edition which comes with a 24-page city survey on Sao Paulo - a guide covering business, design, architecture, culture, media, retail and why Sao Paulo has become one of the great cities of the world.

I'll have some fun reading for the flight back home.

Books for Cooks

This morning, before heading off to Heathrow, I went to Books for Cooks (4 Blenheim Crescent in Notting Hill) to pick up a few books my wife asked me to buy. This has always been one of my favorite retail concepts (London is such a great place to see new ideas in retail).

The people behind Books for Cooks describe themselves as "A Cookbook shop crammed with thousands of tasty titles and equipped with a squashy sofa for cookbook junkies in need of a long read. In this shop we really do cook the books - cookbooks are put to the test in our cafe at the back of the shop, while cookery classes take place in the demonstration kitchen upstairs."

If you're into cooking, this is a place you have to visit.

Click here to read the Books for Cooks story.

Listening to Contagious in London

Spending an amazingly stimulating week in London. As part of the programming, we had a great opportunity to meet with Jessica Greenwood from Contagious - a fusion between magazine, think tank and consultancy - speak about a few of the trends that are shaping the fascinating and ever-changing marketing/advertising/digital landscape and how some brands are breaking through the clutter and connecting in different ways. An hour that blew me away. She was brilliant.

Is this the coolest parking garage?

Back to Lincoln Road in Miami Beach this mroning and we ended up parking at 1111 Lincoln Road Parking Garage. What a surprise. Everything about this inspiring structure of concrete and steel cables is outstanding. It's fascinating to see how great design tends to have universal appeal. The kids we had in the car were like 'wow, this is the prettiest parking garage!'

I was super curious to find out more about the project so, later in the day, I went online to find out it was designed by the Swiss architecture firm Herzog and de Meuron, This is the same firm behind the National Stadium at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, known as the 'Bird's Nest' and London's ultra-cool Tate Modern.

If it's possible to reconceptualize something as mundane as a parking garage and create something extraordinary, it's only proof how transformational architecture and design can be.

Next time I'm in Miami, I guess I'll need to rent a Tesla Roadster...

I know this day is coming....

Don't you just love it when advertising strikes an emotional chord? When there is a powerful insight that leads to great brand storytelling. It happened to me the other day with this Subaru spot called "Baby Driver".

As a father of two little girls, this campaign is certainly making a connection with other people who are in my same lifestage. A nice little reminder that yes, this day is coming...

Using design to re-invent the fast food experience

You have to give credit to McDonald's for constantly looking for ways to re-invent the fast food exeperience. Reason why I enjoyed reading FastCompany's article "Making Over McDonald's" as part of the special edition Masters of Design 2010. The article talks about how the burger icon has been using the power of design to recreate the mcexperience.

If you also agree that design is one of the most fascinating forces behind marketing, it's worth the read.

Giving customers what they really need

Apple Store Lincoln Road, Miami Beach - Today 11:00am. I walk in determined to buy a MacBook Pro. I had done all my research online back in Brazil, which I usually do, so I knew 'exactly' what I wanted in terms of hardware configuration. A salesperson comes by and starts asking all sorts of questions about my family's computer habits and makes a completely different recommendation. I end up paying US$ 700 less than my original order. I swipe my debit card on the spot, no lines, no hastle. They guy finds out I like photography and gives me cool tips in terms of storage, photo compression and file sharing resources. No hard sell. Pure bliss.

In a world where we're so used to so many annoying salespeople pushing high-ticket products or features you don't want just to guarantee a higher commission, from insurance brokers to car rentals, today's experience was awesome. An experience that only reinforces my love for the Apple brand and makes me coming back.

Giving customers what they need even though that means selling for less than the person had budgeted for is an amazing lesson... that will certainly pay off later on in terms of loyalty.