This week’s Latam RoundUp brings the following news: the giant telco Vivo launch their own video streaming services, Studio +, in partnership with the French company Vivendi and Universal Music, filled up with original series made exclusively for mobile; Brazilian beer company Kaiser tries to use WhatsApp in an ad campaign, but gets blocked by the social media platform; and, finally, Brazilian TV broadcaster SBT launch a chatbot on Facebook messenger, in order to interact with consumers about their TV schedule. 

Vivo launches video streaming service to compete with Netflix in Brazil

The giant telco Vivo launched their own app called Studio +, which will provide TV series and video content produced exclusively for smartphones. The service is the result of a partnership with the French company Vivendi, which owns Canal + in Brazil, and Universal Music.

There are already 15 original series, with ten 10-minute episodes each, made in different parts of the world — including local cities such as Rio de Janeiro and sao Paulo. The episodes will be launched weekly, and are available in Portuguese, English, Spanish, and French. The service was created in order to offer premium content for mobile customers, and should compete directly with video on demand services like Netflix.

Studio + will also allow the user to access offline content, downloaded on the wifi or mobile data network, and will offer different kinds of subscription packages: weekly or monthly, charged directly in their customers’ bill or bought with the top up credit in their account.

Brazilian brand creates WhatsApp campaign, but Facebook blocks it from audiences

The Brazilian beer Kaiser launched a TV ad piece in the country made by Talent agency, in which two characters invite the audience to add a telephone number to their WhatsApp contacts in order to receive updates. The brand’s main objective was to connect with the audience in a closer platform and generate engagement. However, a few hours after the TV ad went live, the company blocked the number from accessing Whatsapp services.

WhatsApp belongs to Facebook and does not have a formal advertising platform, neither any offer or services for brands. Yet, it represents an important social media for the local audience, being widely used by mobile consumers in the country.

Kaiser had predicted that such a block could happen, because the service is defined as “closed” for brands and advertisers. Therefore, the beer company has since then replaced the previous ad with another TV video piece making fun of the situation.

Brazilian TV broadcaster SBT launches bot to interact with audience

The Brazilian broadcaster SBT announced the launch of their Facebook Messenger bot in order to better interact with their 11 million fans on the social media. It’s the first TV channel in the country to adopt the strategy. The chatbot will be managed by their digital platform and interactive department. The company had the work of Mobile, local company specialised in mobile technology and apps, to deploy the initiative.

The bot is able to automatically answer questions about what’s on in the schedule on TV, including information about live shows.