The case for TrendAI was recognized in the categories Best Creative Impact and Best Use of AI, for communicating the brand's rebranding through a hyper-personalized experience aimed at technology journalists.
In B2B marketing, talking about technology is no longer enough. In a scenario where artificial intelligence has become central to strategies, and even to company names, the challenge is no longer just communicating innovation, but demonstrating it concretely.
From this provocation, Sabiá developed the case study “Face to face with the future of cyber risk,” created for TrendAI, which won the award Best of International Awards, promoted by the E3, an international association of marketing companies, in the categories of “Best Creative Impact” and “Best Use of AI”. The announcement was made during the organization's Annual General Meeting in Lisbon.
The challenge: transforming discourse into experience
The project was born out of an increasingly common context: the saturation of content about artificial intelligence and the difficulty of differentiating between discourse and what actually represents a real shift in positioning.
In the case of TrendAI—formerly known as Trend Micro—the rebranding marked a significant strategic transition, with the deeper incorporation of artificial intelligence into its cybersecurity solutions. The challenge was to communicate this change in a relevant way to technology journalists, an audience highly exposed to similar narratives.
| “ | The proposal was to translate the brand's positioning into a practical experience, not just a statement. To achieve this, we created an action that placed the journalist at the center of the narrative, in an almost uncomfortable way, and precisely because of that, impossible to ignore.— Vanessa Sensato, Director of Strategy and Innovation at Sabiá |
Building the case
To make the concept tangible, the campaign combined technology, storytelling, and physical experience.
Selected journalists received a locked box that could only be opened with a QR code. Upon accessing the content, they were presented with a video featuring a hyper-realistic “digital twin” of themselves, created with artificial intelligence. In the video, this avatar warned about cybersecurity risks amplified by AI usage and revealed the password to open the box.
The experience was complemented by a physical kit with items focused on data protection and privacy, connecting the campaign's concept to the brand's positioning: the need to anticipate threats in an increasingly complex digital environment.
Beyond discussing AI, the project sought to demonstrate its impacts in practice, both as a risk and as a defense tool.
Results and impact
The action generated direct engagement with the impacted journalists, in addition to insertions in technology vehicles and organic repercussion on social media.
| “ | Yes, I liked it! I appreciate it. But I confess it was a bit of a scare here at home, especially for my dad. The AI video is chillingly realistic, lol.— Journalist for the Olhar Digital publication |
| “ | This project synthesizes much of what we believe in as an agency: it's not enough to communicate; we need to create experiences that tangibly translate the client's strategy. When we succeed in doing this, the impact ceases to be merely media-related and becomes relational as well.— Pedro Braga, founder and CEO of Sabiá |
For the client TrendAI, the campaign played an important role in consolidating the brand's new positioning.
| “ | Sabiá has been with us throughout this entire process, providing insights and building a tactical plan with actions that have allowed us to generate predictability, anticipation, and broaden our understanding of TrendAI's rebranding. It was essential to have the agency on the journey to develop the press kits, as part of a complementary strategy to impact the media.— Tatiana Ferreira, Brazil Marketing Coordinator at TrendAI |
A Look at the Future of Agencies
Sabiá's participation in E3's Annual General Meeting was also part of a broader agenda of discussions about the future of agencies, focusing on topics such as organizational culture, work models, leadership, and the impact of technology on operations.
For us, more than recognition, the moment reinforces the importance of continuously rethinking how strategy, creativity, and technology connect to generate real impact.
