Our biggest challenge was releasing to the press the same show - Big Brother Brazil, the top reality show franchise worldwide - for the 15th time, and being able to shine a new light on a show already known all over Brazil. The press was publishing a series of negative reviews even before it started airing.

As we never revealed the contestants before the premiere, we couldn’t throw a press release to introduce these “ordinary” people. So how could we provoke a different reaction from the press and show them this season would be different?

We thought: why not invite journalists to the house to live this experience? We then invited the main TV opinion makers to experience a day at the BBB house, without computers, telephones, watches, or any contact with the outside world.

Seven days before BBB 15 premiered, a group of 18 journalists experienced the routine inside the house: they prepared sandwiches, washed the dishes, enjoyed the swimming pool, took showers, and even toasted with champagne and “woo-hoo” cheers. A press release took place with the show’s host and director through the TV, exactly like the show’s contestants interact with the outside world.

Everyone left the house impressed by what they experienced during a day at the house: the positive outcome can be seen on social networks, newspapers, blogs, and websites. At the end, the journalists received a kit with photos and a video of their participation on the “BBB Experience”.

A selected group of reporters and columnists – especially those who were harder on previous BBB seasons – was approached by the communication team with an invitation to get to know BBB15 house and live some of the confinement experience.

A week before the premiere, they entered the house and actually had the opportunity to experience some of the aspects of the confinement, which includes preparing their own meals, showering in front of the cameras, being denied the access to watches and cell phones, and talking, through the TV, with the show host.

After that, this selected group received photos and images showing their visit to the BBB15 house. The professionals who did not live in the city where the show is shot were brought by Globo, all expenses paid.

The result was a decrease in 80% of negative reviews published on the days leading up to the BBB15 premiere, in relation to the previous seasons of the show. Besides, this action yielded BBB15, in 13 days, an average of 10.3 newspaper pages, or 218,101 CPM.

In social media, the results were quite positive. Reporters and columnists posted reviews and photos of the action on their personal pages – and these postings were shared by their peers in the press, reaching an even higher amount of representations in both printed and digital media.

The cost was under one thousand dollars, which were used to transport some of the journalists and to provide food in the house.