A category distant from the crowd.

São João, the most important festival in the northwest of Brazil, holds immense cultural significance and value. It's so important and popular that people used to say "Happy São João" (inspired by "Happy Christmas"). Some of the region's most essential codes come from São João.

But until then, beer brands only discussed the decontextualized cliches about São João, using stereotype codes of the region. The reason is that Brazilian agencies are located mainly in the southwest (São Paulo), creating for the northwest. It was like an NY agency developing strategies for the Angelenos or a French agency for the Britains.

A battle from David against Golias.

The lack of intimacy made the event a big fight for brands that could speak louder. Salience was the name of the game. Investing less than the other competitors, not only in the campaign but also in the experiential, Schin spoke softly and felt overlooked in its core area.

Research

I set an innovation methodology research with local and relevant insiders to go deeper. If I couldn't be there, I'd be there by the eyes of the party participants.

This new research method brought the project a quicker and faster gain of profound knowledge.

Every insider invited talked to a member with whom they had a close relationship. This other member should speak to other members in close relationships. The only task they had was to record and take pictures to send to us.

Thus, we got a rich experience of their São João experience.

Some quotes that inspired the insight:

Tension

Communication task

If Schin couldn't sponsor parties across the region, there was a clear cultural gap in the brand could play an important role:

He's not only the most influential singer in the northwest of Brazil, but he represents the entire culture of São João. Schin's campaign aimed to honor this cultural icon and revive the lost tradition of São João.

Orchestration through micro tensions.

Usually, a communication strategist's work finishes with defining the problem and message. If the presentation to the client is great, the baton is sent to creatives, and often, the tension gets weaker and weaker.

Following the whole creative process is crucial to the strategist's job. That guarantees that the solutions match the problems and helps create micro tensions based on the central tension defined in the brief.

We set to work the campaign in three main acts, each with its own unique focus and strategy to engage the audience and revive the lost cultural tradition of São João.