Lisboa: É Uma Vibe (Lisbon: It’s A Vibe)
I’m going to go ahead and assume that 2 Chainz was visiting Lisbon when he made that song. Ok…..maybe that’s a stretch, but seriously this city is literally vibrating with some of the best energy I’ve EVER been around. And I’m one of those hippy-dippy, “I need to feel the aura, the mojo, the vibe”… whatever you call it, to get a sense of whether I’ll like something. AND THIS PLACE GIVES ME ALLLL THE FEELS.
The best way for me to describe it is to actually borrow from my home office, Havas Chicago. We have 3 major tenants of what it means to be a Chi-town Havaser, they are: All In. Clever. Heart.
ALL IN
You can tell that every single person in the Lisbon Village is beaming with pride for their agency, clients and country. They proudly represent some of the biggest companies in Portugal.. a leading grocery store, a major bank and even the train system. I’m helping out on NOS, one of the leading telecom accounts in Portugal. About a year ago, NOS came to Havas and said they wanted to completely re-invent the brand. Havas answered in the most ALL IN way ever……creating Havas Different, a culturally relevant, hyper-village focused model designed to service NOS. The team re-invented the way they work, so that NOS and Havas can fulfill the collective vision and grow together. WOW!
CLEVER
As a strategist, I know that clever insights are both hard to come by, but also imperative to doing good work. My mentor, Joao (The Head of Strategy), and the other strategists in Lisbon have it down pat. The insights they bring to the table are simple, yet poignant and surprising, yet delivered in a way that makes you feel like you knew it all along. For example, when NOS tasked Havas to create a campaign for the Christmas season, the team came to the table with most clever insight around the most prominent fixture of the season, Santa. They asked themselves: if we live in 2018, where technology rules our lives….why are we still writing letters to Santa? So, they created a campaign all around the idea that Santa MUST have a phone number and NOS was going to bring it to you. Again, WOW! (smart insight jealousy rushes all over).
HEART
Upon arrival at the office, I was immediately greeted by Maria José (a beloved receptionist). She and the others taking a smoke break immediately flashed me smiles, grabbed me for a typical Portuguese double cheek kiss and proceeded to start teaching me Portuguese phrases I needed to know. After that, my mentor Joao took me around the office and introduced me to everyone….again👏🏽 every 👏🏽single 👏🏽person got up from their desks, gave me a double cheek kiss and was ready to teach me about their agency and culture. Before the day was up, I was invited to take a walk all around downtown, view the amazing sunset from the River and try a shot of Ginginha, a trademark drink in Portugal. They welcomed possibly the most stereotypical American, midwestern girl with open arms and big smiles. Again, WOW (tear of happiness streams down cheeks).
So, like I said, it’s truly a vibe here. It’s hard to put into words. I can’t even do it justice, but I’m OBSESSED and I can’t wait to see where it takes me.
