Fabio Tambosi
101 Great Minds on Music Brands and Behavior
Fabio Tambosi, Former SVP Global Marketing at OneFootball
Fabio Tambosi is a transformational marketer, a purposeful storyteller, and a passionate educator. He is known for opening people's perceptions of the world and uses marketing as a catalyst and a platform to change how culture and brands connect.
Tambosi, formerly the Global Senior Vice President of Marketing at OneFootball, is an example of how the power of limitless creativity and talent can build consumers' meaningful relationships with brands. As a member of the senior leadership team at ESL FACEIT GROUP, he is on a mission to build the future of gaming culture and elevate esports competition as a way to consume premium sports entertainment. Tambosi proudly serves on the board at Clemson, where he also teaches as a way to foster the next generation of brand leaders.
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“The notion of purpose brand-driven, purpose storytelling, and purpose marketing has been vandalized because there are only a few brands that have a purpose, and they're the ones that have outlasted every generation and every single product they've brought into the market.”
— FABIO TAMBOSI, FORMER SVP GLOBAL MARKETING AT ONEFOOTBALL
Uli Reese: You told me that Disney is the first brand that impacted you, but for the younger generation who love brands, have you any advice about how to follow your career?
Fabio Tambosi: It wasn't a linear path. I'm Brazilian and grew up playing soccer at a high level. I played at the youth professional academies. When I was 16, I was invited to the first team and became a professional soccer player, but my father wouldn't let me sign the contract as I was underage. He wanted me to study. As an exchange student, I moved to the U.S. to learn English at Clemson University in South Carolina and think about life. Fast forward, I got a soccer scholarship, which was a huge change in the trajectory of my life and opened the doors for me to explore the world. I never liked school, but that's when I understood the importance of education. After four years, I wasn't drafted, which was crushing, so I returned to Brazil. I was 22. It was a difficult time, and I had to think about how to reinvent myself.
Reese: How did you move on from that pivotal moment?
Fabio: Even though I didn't play soccer anymore, sport remained a huge part of my life. I picked up running and swimming and decided to further my education. I got a postgraduate degree in Marketing Management [at FAAP], and that’s when I developed my passion for marketing. I initially worked at IBM as a ‘pricer' supporting the sales organization. It wasn't for me, but one of my professors was teaching brand management. He had a company and invited me to join them.
Reese: You’ve had an incredibly varied career working for brands such as Nokia, Nike, and Adidas worldwide, from Dubai to Brazil. Who has inspired you along the way?
Fabio: I was in Dubai from 2007 to 2008, and in 2009 went back to Brazil. In 2010, Nokia called me to London to be the marketing activation lead for smartphones. There, I had my first experience in product development, where I was responsible for the go-to-market plan for the launch of the Nokia N8. What we used to call the ‘iPhone Killer’! After that, I moved to mobile phones, which was another turning point in my career. I worked for a woman called Blanca Juti, the chief corporate officer for L'Oréal today. She was one of the biggest visionaries I’ve ever worked for. She had this vision that we would connect the next 1 billion consumers to the internet through mobile phones, and the vision was that we would focus on emerging markets.
Reese: I love how football has informed your career, but you’re also still learning, is that right?
Fabio: I'm still on the board of directors for the College of Business at Clemson and an adjunct professor. I started teaching and built thevery first influencer marketing core curriculum. Then I wondered how to make this courseavailable for Brazilians. I'm passionate about education. It changed my life, and people in Brazil need access to better education. I took a course called Launch Formula, which teaches you how to launch digital products. I've learned how to do everything from building landing pages to managing Facebook advertising, Instagram ads, and Google searches. In those few months, I sold the course to 40 people, but then I had to go back to work at Adidas [as Global Senior Director, Brand Communications] before moving to Saucony in the middle of the pandemic.
Reese: In that time, sonic and audio became a huge part of the marketing landscape. What are your thoughts?
Fabio: Change is outpacing corporate America. You see Sonic coming full circle in terms of importance back to when you had the Intel logo or the Paramount movie Tiger. These sounds trigger emotions. When I hear Hey Jude, by the Beatles, it takes me back to fourth grade. But it has a different usage today. In the past, it was a jingle, but what we can do now is more advanced. I'm hesitant because I don't know what I don't know, so what happens is that you retract a little. What does it mean? How do you use it? I'm trying to figure out how I get there. How long does it take? Does the company and the market have time? But when that happens, it's magic. Sonic is a fourth dimension of a brand because the brand has to be multi-dimensional. A brand needs to be able to stand alone in certain situations and be together with all the elements and attributes. But sonic is a dimension that not a lot of brands have mastered.
Reese: Regarding Sonic, brands rent or buy because they want to stand next to the cool kid. It's short-sighted, but what are your thoughts?
Fabio: To me, it’s not being cool that's the challenge; it's staying relevant because as soon as you remove the cool factor you have to ask, is that product still relevant? It has to have a purpose.
The notion of purpose brand-driven, purpose storytelling, and purpose marketing has been vandalized because there are only a few brands that have a purpose, and they're the ones that have outlasted every generation and every single product they've brought into the market.
Reese: With such a varied career, what drives you?
Fabio: One of the things I carry is my curiosity. I love to learn, and when things get really hard, I go back to the basics because when things start to get complicated, it's probably because either we're over-engineering or overthinking. The interesting thing is that it's something I've learned in soccer; the beauty of soccer is that you can have a plan, you can have a strategy, and then the game starts. In soccer, you're making thousands of decisions every second for that moment in time, but the decision you're making is to anticipate where the next three, four, or five plays will be. Soccer allowed me to look at a macro field and understand the patterns in the movements. I carry this with me. You go back to the basics, build your confidence up, and then you're back into the game.
Reese: And that’s important when you want to get the best out of people…
Fabio: Now I'm at ESL FACEIT Group, I'm going back to the basics. I was not an avid and endemic gamer when I joined. My sports background helped me understand esports, the gaming culture, and competitive gaming. I've immersed myself in our consumer journey, how they interact with content, and what makes each community tick. The industry is global, young, and multi-generational; it's also incredibly disruptive and innovative. To win in a competitive environment, we need an evolved collaborative approach that focuses on community and entertainment.
Reese: And after all these years, how do you maintain your energy?
Fabio: It's having creative conversations like this. Every Tuesday for 90 minutes, we have a creative circle, and I call it a circle on purpose because there’s no hierarchy. I want to make sure that everybody has a voice.
Note: The interview took place in Amsterdam, The Netherlands on the 3rd November 2022.
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