Facebook and Youtube marketing in Brazil: the Guaraná Antarctica case study

While Dietrich Mateschitz in 1984 was patenting Red Bull – the beverage which has twisted the soft drink market in the whole World – Guaranà Antartica was celebrating his 63rd birthday. Today it’s 91, but this Brazilian energy drink doesn’t show his age.

You can tell a at a glance if you look at their communication: compelling viral-videos, a high brand personality and a community management that truly has something to teach. In particular because they’re standing at the top level in a market that will probably give the rules to the whole world in the next decades: the Brazilian one.

As everybody knows, Red Bull has changed the rules: they created from scratch an entire dietary industry (the energy drink) and it didn’t make a single wrong move regarding the communication strategy, dictating a new packaging standard, getting hold of the sport’s world, from the extreme sports to the Formula 1. Moreover, it has some extraordinary figures: from the 3 billion of cans sold every year to the 26 million fans on Facebook (thanks also to one of the best landing tabs ever  – at least from my point of view).

Yet, let’s go back to the Guaraná Antarctica: despite it doesn’t have a worldwide clout, they’re doing not bad at all. As many of the competitors, they took advantage from the energy-drink blaze of glory in order to get a good positioning as a beverage that keeps active body and mind (if you only think to the payoff “Energia que contagia”: The contagious energy). And as every competitor, they’ve been able to gain the health fanatics group by creating a ZERO line (with Ronaldo as testimonial).

Being sold in several countries between Americas and Europe, it is living a great growth moment particularly in the USA and UK, where you can find it in all Tesco’s stores. Today, it is one of the 15 best-selling soft drinks in the World; and in Brazil they are positioned just after the biggest fish: Coca-Cola.

Which they did not hesitate to attack in the past, straight and directly I would say! This TV commercial, a bit outworn, shows a journalist who visits a Guaranà plantation. In the end he states: “And now please ask to Coca Cola to show you their coke plantations…”. A bit unfair, but marketing is marketing, isn’t it?

Another commercial, made in 2006, was playing hard by mentioning the link between the beverage and the Brazilian country, dragging into the enemy of the all-times (at least regarding the football fields): Diego Armando Maradona, living a nightmare because of an abuse of consumption of the product. Definitely a must-see:

It is an emotional appealing brand among youngsters, and this reflects on the type of communication chosen. Not only the tone, the testimonials and sponsorships, but also the channels: suffice is to think about many guerrilla and ambient marketing case studies that the brand has shaped up lately.

Youtube presence

But, they did the best (specially for an international target) by starting making stuffs on the internet. Recently they have made a brilliant YouTube video: a well-made burlesque of the well known Parkour practice. The right tone, a balanced presence of the product and about 1 million of (well-earned) views.

The YouTube Channel activity is remarkable, despite not yet structured properly: one channel for different “series” and 23 thousand subscribers. Far away from some of the “YouTube oracles” (for instance: the 450 thousand of Will it blend?, or Orabrush and their 180 thousands subscribers), but it is still a good figure. Even though, considering the 10 million total views, they might have better capitalized the opportunities of continuous interaction.

I’d like to make a note to a series called Caçadores de Energia (Energy Hunters) – something between a reality show and a fiction. Two guys stroll around Brazil in order to convince a friend not to leave the country: they show the resources, assets , the spirit and the energy for whose Brazilians are well-known (strong link with the energy-drink theme). This call to action is addressed to youngsters and of course spreads among Social Media platforms: the young girl who wants to leave the country (Natalia Cardoso) has 1.000 followers on Twitter, where most of the conversation around this project is developing.

Facebook Presence

For what concern the presence on the main social networks, Guaranà Antarctica is behaving pretty well: 3,6 million fans – and strongly growing – on Facebook and several interesting other activities. The testimonials (like football players Ronaldo and Lucas, or the pop star Claudia Leitte) are well-integrated in the apps creativity (for instance the personalized soccer e-cards) and in the fans management. Like when all the Facebook fans had the chance to send to the company some messages and receive back some personalized videos.

The attention towards the community is very strong: the wall interaction is well fed, with a series of content both generic and targeted to the products usage (for instance the combination with the right food).

Among the best initiatives, I’d mentions  the one for which they decided to set up in the brand’s page profile picture the photo of the fan who, that day, is celebrating his birthday. A best practice, probably inspired from forerunners like Dunkin’ Donuts Fan Of the week.

And then, there is the Twitter channel – with more than 100 thousand followers – lined up to the whole brand style communication: recalls to the sport’s world, product-oriented content, high liaison with the testimonials (@ClaudiaLeitte has more than 4 million of fans, just to mention one).

Ok, we’re done.

Uhm.. hold on a sec.. I feel there’s something missing… Oh, yeah: Orkut was the main social network in Brazil, wasn’t it? And what has become of it?

Apparently, Guaranà Antartica is looking towards the future, and they’re doing what other international brands do with their integrated communication: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. That’s all folks.

There’s something more: in December 2011 Facebook overtook Orkut in terms of Brazilian users, tripling the log-ins in a year and getting over the 36 million users peak. While the Google’s social network is not reaching the 34 million and a half visitors, Facebook is looking to the Brazilian market as one of the most interesting in the nearest future, with a thrilling growth of about 300%.

The choice of Brazil as the country where the Football WorldCup 2014 and the Olimpic Games of 2016 will take place, is confirming one thing: the country is becoming a first-level economic power and a more and more important player among all industries. Including, obviously, the Social Media platforms utilization – from both the users and the brands side.

Therefore, it won’t no longer be just about the blue color of Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin we are used to: I really think the future of the Social Web will have a lot of yellow-green tonality. Exactly as a Guaraná Antarctica can.

Guido Ghedin