Writing is the job I’ve done the longest and something that is, in some way or another, part of everything I do.
Starting with a blog called URBe back in 2003 (and still going strong), I ended up writing a weekly column for 5 years in Rio’s main newspaper (O Globo) and getting published in main outlets, such as Rolling Stone, Folha de S.Paulo, O Estado de São Paulo and foreign magazines such as URB, Spin and Vice.
I write mostly about music and digital culture, but not only, having done branding and communication positioning for brands as well. If I had to chose, the piece I wrote about baile funk for XLR8R is possibly the thing I wrote that I most proud of.
For Brazilian music legend Chico Buarque’s “Chico” release, I developed a digital launch campaign that revolved around a website called Chico Bastidores (Chico Backstage).
Using a code received when buying the album on the pre-sale, fans had full access to it’s daily content, including short videos, exclusive photos, interviews and first access to all songs on the album up to a month prior to the much anticipated release.
I also directed all the videos, including the documentary “Dia Voa” about the recordings. The project drove thousand of sales and generated a lot of press and buzz around “Chico”.
Music festivals are more about a vibe than the artists line up. So the challenge of the first-ever Queremos! Festival was how to communicate the vibe of a festival that has never happened before.
To solve this challenge, creative Pedro Garcia and I created the motto “Open the Mind” and commissioned a series of illustrations to depict the festival’s structure and line up with a cohesive visual.
120 fans were photographed by Lucas Bori and interviewed by me to talk about themes such as “Festival Vibes” and “The Power of Live”, as well as the bands they most wanted to see and other festival related stories.
The content was posted on Queremos! Festival social media and, more importantly, shared by the fans who participated in the campaign, increasing the reach exponentially.
Focused on Instagram, the effort generated over 400 published videos. The format varied from 1 minute long edits combining fan’s answers to 15 seconds bite size clips, customized for each fan to be posted on their own Instagram Stories.
The campaigns ran 20 days prior to the festival, boosting Queremos! social media engagement by over 500% and ticket sales by 25%.
Sharing my experiences is something I love to do and I’m glad to have spoken in prestigious events such as SxSW, TEDx, TechCrunch Disrupt, MIT, Cannes Lions Innovation and many others (click to check the talks).
Lately I’ve been editing a weekly podcast called RESUMIDO, which is a summary of the most interesting news and articles that crossed my path the previous week, condensed in 20 minutes.
In 2012 I was invited to update and reformat the cable tv channel music awards Prêmio Multishow. Reaching it’s 25th edition, the idea was to bring it up to speed with all the changes, both cultural and structurally, that happened in the industry in the past decade.By merging mainstream and indie Brazilian music, the show achieved record ratings and critics recognition. To get there a consultant team was formed, redefining everything, from categories and broadcast format, to creating a live panel with Brazil’s top music influencers debating live during the ceremony to pick the winners (also streamed to their website and broadcast on a secondary cable channel).
Integrating the voting process with social media, the online strategy was to create a build up to the awards and also offering a second screen activation during the program, leveraging all the artists fanbase to consistently generating trending topics on Twitter and other social networks.
I’m a co-founder of Queremos! where I served as the creative director and head of communication & digital strategy.
It all started as a group effort to bring shows back to Rio through crowdfunding. It then spiraled up to become a worldwide platform for fan-driven live events through WeDemand.
The biggest challenge was not only to foster a diverse community of engaged fans, but mostly to successfully create a culture, a new way to prometo shows, both for the industry and music lovers.
With over 2 million registered users and 200 shows in 6 different countries under it’s belt, the objetive was achieved. In the process, we worked with artists from such different niches as LCD Soundsystem, Alabama Shakes, James Blake, Tony Allen and The xx, as well as YouTube stars like Jack & Jack and The Dolan Twins.
WeDemand gives power to the fans to demand their favorite artists in their city, allowing the artist to create a direct channel with them, using the information to route tours, sell tickets and message them. When an event comes together using WeDemand, it amplifies fan-artist engagement and improves the overall live event experience for both fans and artists.
Because of the disruptive nature of the format, I was invite to speak at many prestigious events around the world, such as as SxSW, TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield (where Queremos! was one of the finalists), Cannes Lions Innovation (France), TEDx (Rio), the MIT (Boston) and many others.
Bruno Natal 