What would you do to promote your business in a city of 11 million people if you couldn't advertise?  That's the question on the minds of marketers these days in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where the city is nearly two years into "Sua Cidade Limpa," the Clean City Law that banned outdoor advertising and placed restrictive guidelines on store signage. 

 

Watching a presentation by Marc Gobe at GlobalShop last month, it appears that the answer to that question lies, in part, on a renewed focus on the live experience.  Gobe and his team recently returned from a study of Sao Paulo, where they documented cafes competing through compelling architecture and experience, convenience stores merchandising products as art, and businesses using street art to enhance their identity.  Imagination and creativity appear to be taking center stage, igniting live communications in some of the most unexpected places.

 

It's been clear for some time that live communications have been gaining ground in the shifting marketing mix of brands today.  I wonder if this great experiment in Sao Paulo will become a showcase for the power and emotion possible in live communications, leading the way worldwide for the continued expansion of experience as a marketing vehicle?  Let me know what you think.  I'll be keeping an eye on this one.