Victor Fonseca, Vice President of Licensing at Paramount Latin America, tells the details of the opening
The city of São Paulo will officially enter “Bikini Bottom” this Saturday (20), with the opening of the SpongeBob restaurant, a Nickelodeon cartoon that marked the childhood of children born in the 2000s.
“Bob Esponja — Burger & Restaurant”, the result of a partnership between the American pay television channel, Paramount and Fan&Food, will be located in Itaim Bibi, west of the metropolis, and will feature themed spaces throughout its more than a thousand meters squares divided into two floors, three food operations, a store and two kids spaces.
According to Victor Fonseca, vice-president of Licensing at Paramount Latin America, the idea of opening the restaurant in Brazil was guided by company data which showed that Brazil is one of the largest markets in the world when it comes to design.
“Our levels of awareness of the Nickelodeon and SpongeBob brands are very high, people who like the brand, trust it, parents, fans and consumers in general”, explained the executive.
To the propmarkhe tells more about the idea behind the restaurant and what customers can expect from the establishment.
How did the idea of bringing a SpongeBob restaurant to Brazil come about?
The idea for the restaurant came about as a result of the awareness that the character has in the Brazilian market. Brazil is one of the biggest markets in the world for SpongeBob, knowledge of the character is huge and there is a legion of fans of the character and the SpongeBob universe. Furthermore, based on the research we do, SpongeBob appears to have high levels of awareness and fans have stated that they would like to have a different experience with the cartoon. This guided the project.
Do you have any figures on the character’s impact in Brazil?
Certain numbers are confidential, but I can guarantee that our levels of awareness of the Nickelodeon and SpongeBob brand are very high, people who like the brand, trust it, parents, fans and consumers in general. This data made us convinced that it would be worth investing in the character to bring him into a thematic experience.
How will the launch communication strategy be carried out?
Communication is being done very much focused on social and digital media, where there is a huge engagement with the character’s pages, also Nickelodeon’s pages. In addition to an exclusive profile for the restaurant, in which, together with partner Fan&Food, we have built a strategy that is already yielding fantastic engagement, with an impressive increase in daily followers, which has been boosting all publicity.
SpongeBob is also known for his memes, so this made it much easier to enter this digital language and we have been able to promote the project, without losing the essence of the character, nor the fun way Nick and SpongeBob communicate.
What will be the actions for fans of the cartoon at the restaurant?
The restaurant is a space for everyone: for the family, for the fans, everyone can have fun. We will have different environments such as the Fast Food space, the SpongeBob House, which is the Fine Dining area with dishes designed by Chef Heaven Delhaye, the Holandês Voador Lounge, with snacks and drinks from a special menu, two Kids Spaces, with many toys and fun, and the SpongeBob Store with special items so that all fans can take a little bit of this universe home.
Are restaurant items coming from outside the country?
We have a very extensive network of licensees here in Brazil, there are more than 150 licensees who work with the character in different segments and categories. So the products are mostly being purchased locally from our official licensees.
Why did you choose Itaim Bibi?
First we chose São Paulo because it is the main city in Brazil and Latin America. Furthermore, São Paulo has a very developed gastronomy market and the Itaim neighborhood is a vibrant place, with business and nightlife and we were already thinking about a restaurant that could offer options for a diverse public, from an executive here in the region who come have lunch at Fine Dining, even a family that comes to have fun at the weekend.