Luis Santos had an unusual idea, which combined with his degree in marketing and experience in managing brand image in social networks, the project helped create the "portuguese sayings" which translates literally to English Portuguese idioms printed on clothing. A national brand is already a success internationally.
How did you come out with this idea for the project "Portuguese sayings"?
Luis Santos: On September 23rd, 2012, at the time was unemployed, the idea of translating Portuguese sayings to English literally came as I remember my childhood, when I began to learn the language, me and my friends used to do this as a joke, because we thought it was fun. Then I decided to put images associated with sayings on facebook, combining the knowledge I have of social networks, since I worked in that area. The aim was for people to share and make more suggestions.
Later, there were some issues related to copyright, in terms of the images.
LS: It was not a problem of copyright, but as I wanted my project to be unique and I would present it at TEDx, they warned me about this issue. It is after all an international company and conversations are broadcast around the world, it was suitable that such problems did not arise. At first the project was illustrated with images found on the internet and I did not know whether they had or not copyrighted, so I decided to embark on a new path, create a unique image for the "sayings".
After that arises the partnership with the two designers?
LS: The partnership arose from the desire to have original illustrations. Diana Barreiro is one of the first people who worked with me, is my friend and illustrator, then she did two drawings for ''I am as good as corn" and "are you're armed in a racing mackerel" that were later use for the sale of t-shirts. Cristina Nunes, is another face of this partnership, which also illustrates a few phrases, including "you can take the little horse out of the rain" and "I don't play in service" and both have been very successful.
And the shirts, robes and tunics?
LS: When I created the page, after a while, the fans began asking when I decided to launch a brand of t-shirts because they liked the phrases and wanted to "use" them. I started thinking about this subject and created the online store, then, did the partnership with the designers. We made a deal, they earn a percentage on the sale of sweaters that they illustrated.
What has been the feedback after you throw the collections online?
LS: The feedback regarding the shop itself has been positive, people like, but now with the economic crisis say they are a bit expensive. Initially, the online store was not prepared to sell to everyone; they could only buy the products at a national level. As I had many requests for Portuguese emigrants I adapted it and now I get requests from Belgium, England, and USA. The "portuguese sayings" are already spread all over the globe.
I know that nationally there were some comments from people who did not appreciate this translation of the Portuguese expressions.
LS: Yes indeed, there were people who said that the level of translation was poor, that I've done everything, I realized that there was nothing that was stupid. The Portuguese love to be bench coach, what should be, or not to be. But it is not wrong what I put there, it is on purpose. So far, however, the feedback is always positive and there no much fuss, for example, people who are learning Portuguese find the project very interesting, eventually realize what each expression means in Portuguese, because, in each " saying "I put the explanation in English. If I put the phrase "this is for English to see" nobody understands where does it mean that expression, I explain the context and how we use it and for those people it is important to know why, helps them understand the language. A Portuguese-English teacher in Macau has commend me for the project, as well as a student in an American university who told me that on campus now they use the expression, "unshit yourself".
Which is most successful in terms of sales?
LS: The "unshit yourself" what is the most successful so far and just to get an idea of likes on facebook, had 8200 and in terms of sharing hit the 4500 and has 160 comments. It was something so incredible.
Do you have any idea in terms of gender, who's buying more, girls or boys?
LS: There are many girls that buy my t-shirts and boys too.
Can you define your customer type?
LS: As for the target and then end up buying in terms of gender, there are more female fans than male, are in the ratio of 58% of hers and 41% of them. In terms of ages are between 18 and 34 years of age and are mostly from Portugal, but there is a large community in the UK, which makes sense because more Portuguese are immigrating to this country.
Have you thought about the future in terms of where you can apply the concept of "portuguese sayings"?
LS: This kind of expressions are associated with the tiles, I thought I'd use them and imprint the sentences to be able to sell. I have had other merchandising ideas, such as mugs and mouse pads. For now, I bet in sweaters, t-shirts and tunics.
* Gajo todo bom it means cute guy in Portuguese, check the photo!!
