My relationship with João Costa was at its peak. After The World’s First Smart Resort, we literally felt like we “owned the world”. There were no limits. We spent time in the office working for clients, surfing waves in Sagres, talking, at home, sharing that eternal moment that strengthened our friendship.

João brought several clients to B16 — I will never forget that. In that particular period, he brought two that made all the difference. One, in particular, started working with us that year and, almost ten years later, is still with us.

The first was Timing People. He had produced a corporate film for Ricardo Mariano at the end of 2016 and knew the client might be looking for more video content. We talked “a bit” — as he likes to say — and “kicked a few ideas around”. We came to the conclusion that there were opportunities to explore and that we could design a year-long video production proposal. Something consistent, addressing the company’s needs: attracting people interested in temporary work, inviting CV submissions, sharing updates and first-hand testimonials. Concrete, assertive ideas that would bring them business and results. It couldn’t be just any proposal. It had to be realistic. Tangible. Something that would get a “yes” right after the presentation. During our discussion, we came up with the idea of fictionalising a real case — an employee who had been hired through Timing and who could and would be willing to share their story.

I was in a personal situation that had everything going for it: about to become a father for the first time, in love and happy to be living near the Ria Formosa after years away, confident in the company’s path, motivated by the partnership with João, happy to be living in a little doll’s house in the centre of Faro…

On a random day, in less than two hours in my backyard, we did this:

I take immense pride in this improvisation, this ease, this way of working. These are the moments when we realise that the education our parents gave us works. The effort they made to let us study here or there pays off (and keeps paying off). It is in these real situations. This is a perfect example of that. Without overcomplicating things, the result emerged. Alberto’s video remains one of my favourite B16 pieces.

Alongside this, we produced two more mock-ups covering other areas of the company, though none as strong as this one. We prepared a cadence, a strategy, a 12-month communication plan and, to this day, I remember the look on Ricardo Mariano’s face – and his team’s – when they saw the result. They awarded the project on the spot.

It feels so good to present proposals that you know cannot be refused. It should always be like this. That is the dream. That is the ambition. It is in these small things that we understand B16’s differentiating factors in the market: improvisation with substance, ideas with cultural grounding, reality emerging from the smallest gesture, experience and maturity identifying needs at the right moment. And storytelling, which over time becomes the guiding thread behind almost everything that is done. This text is proof of that.

April and May 2017 continued to bring many activities and responsibilities. After the launch of The World’s First Smart Resort, Infralobo invited us to handle a full process of advertising across magazines and newspapers, email distribution to stakeholders, press releases, ad production, among other tasks. We followed the process during the phase when the news broke. We stayed close to the client.

I was personally invited to give a lecture at the University of the Algarve on marketing for companies. I was one of the speakers. I prepared a presentation based on three pillars: Me, Us, You. I prepared thoroughly, but delivered it informally. With love, confidence and pride.

It was at this lecture that I met Simão Gama, someone I have not yet had the opportunity to work with, but who greatly interests me due to his skills. It was he who introduced me to Pedro Bacalhau – an admirable person. But those are stories for later.

I remained close to my wife and tried, in every way, to accompany her through a pregnancy that was entering a more advanced stage. Olívia was due in August and Rute was already beginning to show a beautiful baby bump. At the same time, the dogs kept growing and demanding a lot of attention. We had to divide ourselves between the various places where we operated, and our home was close to everything. It was still easy to get around.

The second client João brought during that period – “the one” that, ten years later, is still with us – emerged in the middle of all this. Somewhere in the midst of something I no longer recall clearly, we received a phone call from someone responsible for the future communication department of the future MAR Shopping Algarve. The IKEA store had just opened in Loulé, and the adjacent complex needed a video to communicate the construction progress. It was a phone call that sent us into a state of total excitement. IKEA!

MAR Shopping Algarve? What is that? IKEA!

What do they want, exactly? IKEA!

I remember João’s face looking at me while I was on the phone. Serious. Slightly scared, but radiant. Responsible. Somewhat euphoric, yet composed. Perplexed. Almost shouting with joy, but trying to remain poised and measured.

IKEA!

Basically, they asked us for a quote to produce an internal communication video. The goal was to communicate internally to other INGKA Centres teams how the construction was progressing. The opening was scheduled for June, but delays meant that would not be possible – and the video addressed exactly that. INGKA Group oversees all shopping centres funded alongside IKEA stores. It is a global project that has proven successful, aiming to generate footfall for this globally recognised flat-pack furniture brand.

IKEA! If there was one brand I wanted to work with, it was certainly IKEA.

After the initial excitement from the call, we calmed down, sat down, talked and thought. We really wanted to work with them and did not want to miss the opportunity to prove our value. It was a test. We wanted to understand what could come from it. And, riding the momentum from the Timing project, we let creativity lead the way and took another bold step. We created a simple written proposal and sent it by email – but then we also produced a mini video using figurines to explain the concept we wanted to develop. A kind of mock-up. Another one. This time with toys! For IKEA!

Bold, certainly.

We moved into production and were faced with a massive site – even larger while still under construction. We built strong relationships with everyone we worked with directly. We spent several days wearing PPE (mandatory personal protective equipment). And we met Herman. It was beautiful.

The initial contact and proposal came at the beginning of May. Approval and production (in record time) followed by mid-month. Post-production and delivery were completed by the end of the month. We went ALL IN on this project. The result was outstanding – for us and for the client.

This video is completely confidential. I am taking a significant risk by making it public here. But I believe some things deserve to be seen. And this video is worth watching. We just need to ensure it does not spread uncontrollably. If you are interested in seeing it, send me an email at bruno@b16.pt with the subject: I Really Want to See This Video and I Promise Not to Share It. I will be more than happy to share it with you.

The result was so strong that we could not have imagined what would follow. The MAR Shopping Algarve team presented the video at an internal European forum, and the reaction was remarkable. While other, already operational centres presented videos explaining their activities, programming, infrastructure, strategies and results, MAR Shopping Algarve creatively and cheerfully communicated that it did not yet exist – because construction delays in Portugal are a reality. The impact was significant. Our video travelled the world. It was shared through internal communication channels as a benchmark for all INGKA Centres shopping centres. We even have a video testimonial from the Iberian Director confirming this. Our mission to surprise, delight and captivate the IKEA brand was accomplished.

But just as we were riding high, during a routine check-up, My Rute is admitted to Faro District Hospital…

STOP EVERYTHING.