Madonna visited Brazil in 2012. The singer’s power of engagement was the starting point for the creation of the project KEEP WALKING, BRAZIL, with street artists, a museum and the biggest Brazilian newspaper and portal. The pop star was globally sponsored by JOHNNIE WALKER.

The challenge was to have JOHNNIE WALKER and its slogan KEEP WALKING appear beside Madonna to acknowledge, celebrate and inspire the progress of Brazil and the Brazilians.

Different stakeholders were engaged. Graffiti artists were invited by MIS (Museu da Imagem e do Som) for workshops with the artist Binho Ribeiro, Giovanni Bianco – Madonna’s Creative Director - and created artworks inspired in Madonna.

From over 80 artists who applied, 30 were chosen. The artworks were exhibited in the museum and submitted to votes from 1.6 million of the brand’s fans on Facebook who created a short list with 10 artworks, presented to Madonna.

The pop star chose one to be the cover of her single and welcomed the artwork author to her dressing room before her concert, while 150,000 copies of the remix were distributed by Folha de S. Paulo, Brazil’s biggest newspaper.

The project achieved R$ 6.2 million in positive spontaneous media, 200% more than the KPI.

Brainstormed in January 2012, the project was launched in August. After the BIG IDEA created in Brazil, the project was approved by Madonna’s team. Then, an intense work for engaging Museu da Imagem e do Som, a museum owned by the Sao Paulo State Government, and the artist Binho Ribeiro, started.

The applications resonated nationwide. After this, week after week, the evolution of the artists was followed by the public. The personal story of each artist participating – from a bike delivery boy to an architect – fed the storytelling. One month before Madonna arrived to Brazil, the artwork exhibit was opened and the voting started on Facebook.

On the final stretch of the project, the PR team got an editorial partnership from the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo and the web portal UOL, the biggest in Brazil, to distribute the single.

The PR campaign achieved important results in line with its goal. In less than three months, 355 articles were published, a total of R$ 6.2 million in spontaneous media, 200% more than the KPI established by the client. More than 86% of the content had a positive mention to the brand and the project. The first post of the action on Johnnie Walker Brazil’s fan page got 50,000 likes and 5,500 shares.

On the day the single was distributed by Folha de S. Paulo, the newspaper sales on newsstands increased 43%.

JOHNNIE WALKER closed 2012 being considered the third top brand in social network engagement in Brazil by a survey conducted by Exame magazine, the biggest business magazine in Brazil.

In addition to the result for the brand, the project changed the professional life of graffiti artist Siss, who saw her career take off.