Açaí is one of the most nutritional superfoods in the Amazon. Grown on the açaí palm in the rainforest and wild harvested by hand, this purple berry has long been a staple of indigenous diets. From its inception, Sambazon has strived to give back to its community of farmers and protect the biodiversity of the Amazon, while providing this delicious health food to the world. By creating a vertical supply chain of certified organic and fair-trade açaí, Sambazon has been able to achieve all three.

In 2014, Brazil hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2014. In celebration of the world’s most popular sport, Sambazon engaged MyCom to promote a photo recipe contest as well as create and customize UI integrations to support contestant voting.

Contestants were urged to submit a beautiful photograph of a recipe that they created featuring Sambazon açaí. The recipe needed to be inspired by the gastronomy of one of the 32 countries competing in the World Cup. MyCom built a content submission platform, which enabled contestants to upload their recipes and photos and allowed contestants’ friends and supporters to vote for their culinary creation. We also developed a promotional video, created a custom voting application, and leveraged paid and organic marketing to promote participation.

Contestants submitted over 500 submissions and drove brand engagement by encouraging their friends and family to vote for them. This resulted in 67,000 new Facebook likes, 103,000 Tweets and re-Tweets, and a 5% lift in brand recall. Sambazon had the use of this free user-generated content, which they were able to leverage in their marketing and brand communications. As a result, the health-food brand received multiple inquiries from retailers interested in selling their products, including Whole Foods and other leading retail chains where Sambazon is now sold.

• Creation of a customized contestant voting platform
• Over 500 recipes and images submitted
• 67,000 new Facebook likes
• 103,000 Twitter engagements
• 5% lift in brand recall
• Extensive free user-generated content
• Multiple inquiries from retailers interested in carrying the brand