André Zilar
01 — Statement

The outside voice in the room.

I'm the person brought in when a brief needs to go further than an agency's everyday thinking allows — hired to push past the obvious and find the approach nobody else pitched.

Every idea I bring back is stress-tested against reality: budget, timeline, production. That's not a constraint on creativity — it's what turns a bold concept into a plan a client can actually greenlight.

It's why the work keeps winning pitches, and why the clients I work with keep coming back with the next one.

ANDRÉ ZILAR — Creative & Planning Direction
02 — About

About

Creative & Planning Director with over 20 years shaping ideas for brands that live in culture — from PlayStation and Activision to Montblanc and Solfácil. I lead creative direction and planning for live marketing, retail experiences, and large-scale brand activations, translating business objectives into concepts audiences actually want to be part of.

A lifelong passion for game design, gaming, and nerd/geek culture runs through that work — it's what led PlayStation to trust me with ten consecutive years of console and title launches in Brazil.

I'm usually brought in to solve one specific problem: turning a brief into something distinctive enough to win the pitch, and solid enough to survive execution — budget, timeline, and production, all included.

Key Focus
  • Ideation
  • Branding
  • UX
  • Activations
  • Campaigns
  • Promotions
Contact
Portrait of André Zilar
04 — Case Study 01
Winning Pitch

PlayStation

PS5 Brazil Launch — Live Broadcast Event

Challenge

Launch the most anticipated console on the planet in Brazil, in the middle of a global pandemic.

Vision

Turn the launch into a 100% Brazilian celebration — a shared cultural moment built on music, humor and fan culture, rather than a straightforward product drop.

My Role

Conceived the entire launch event — coordinating celebrity talent, shaping the stage and scenography, designing key show moments, the promotional mechanics, and influencer participation throughout the live broadcast.

Deliverables

Full creative concept and event planning for a 4-block live show — celebrity ambassador program, influencer "legion" activation, an original PlayStation-lifestyle anthem pairing a rapper with a gamer-streamer, interactive giveaway mechanics, and studio/staging direction. The broadcast reached 1.5 million views.

PS5 Brazil launch key visual with brand ambassadors
▶ ▶ Watch on YouTube
05 — Case Study 02
Winning Pitch

Lenovo · LEGION

Gamescom LATAM 2025 — Experiential Stand

Challenge

Design a 180m² experiential stand for Gamescom LATAM 2025 that cuts through a crowded gaming expo and gives LEGION real credibility with a hardcore gamer audience — not just a product showcase.

Vision

Turn the booth into a living LEGION ecosystem, blending an esports arena, influencer culture, and instagram-native experiences built from the audience's own gaming references.

My Role

Creative direction of the full stand experience — zone-by-zone concept, esports arena format, influencer room design, talent and caster curation, activations, merchandising and uniform direction.

Deliverables

Full experiential concept and 3D stand design across multiple zones — LEGION Esports Arena (two format proposals, traditional and inverted), Influencer Room with an interactive "pod", AI-driven instagrammable activation, World Cup tie-in area, DJ station, branded premium kits, and championship programming with pro-player/caster curation.

Lenovo Legion Gamescom stand 3D render, full view Lenovo Legion stand render, secondary angle
▶ ▶ Watch on YouTube
06 — Case Study 03
Winning Pitch

PlayStation

Astro Bot — Launch Event, July 2024

Challenge

Launch the year's biggest PlayStation title with a press and influencer event that creates real hands-on impact and cultural buzz — not just another demo station.

Vision

Build the event as a walk-through version of the game itself — playful, surprising and built for discovery, so guests feel like they've stepped inside Astro Bot's universe from the moment they arrive.

My Role

Full creative direction of the launch event — end-to-end guest journey, activation concepts, scenography direction, and content strategy for press and influencers.

Deliverables

Immersive arrival corridor synced to the game's soundtrack, AI-driven "Pick-a-Pose" photo activation, hidden QR-code easter-egg hunt, life-size character scenography, main stage for panels and the official reveal, and a custom take-home memory-game gift set.

Astro Bot Launch Event key art
▶ ▶ Watch on YouTube
07 — Case Study 04
Winning Pitch

Solfácil

Intersolar 2024 — Trade Show Stand & CRM Journey

Challenge

Stand out at Intersolar — Brazil's biggest solar-energy trade show — to a hyper-practical B2B audience of solar installers and integrators, in a category where every booth looks the same.

Vision

Turn the stand into a live extension of the CRM — a physical customer decision journey where every zone moves an integrator from first contact to closed deal.

My Role

Conceived and designed the entire stand experience — space planning, sketches, visitor flow, and zoning around the client's operational needs — then directed a 3D vendor to render the final perspectives. Also conceived the interactive activations, including Kinect-based and other gamified platforms.

Deliverables

Full stand concept and space design — VIP "Solfácil Black+" lounge, partner brand showcases, gamified "Power-Up" arena and Kinect/VR-based activations, a tiered "Passport" loyalty and lead-qualification program, internal team gamification, and end-to-end event communication planning.

Solfácil Intersolar stand exterior render
▶ ▶ Watch on YouTube
08 — Case Study 05
Winning Pitch

PlayStation × KaBuM!

Store-in-Store — Avenida Paulista, São Paulo

Challenge

Design a permanent PlayStation retail environment inside KaBuM's flagship Avenida Paulista store — one that could double as a live stage for future game-launch activations, not just a static product wall.

Vision

A modular "PlayStation universe" corner — sleek, illuminated, with ceiling signage built from the controller's own button icons — that sells consoles and accessories day-to-day and transforms for midnight launches and thematic takeovers.

My Role

Conceived and designed the full store-in-store retail environment — layout, fixture design, product wall and visual identity — creating a flexible space the retailer could reuse for future launches and activations.

Deliverables

Full store-in-store concept and design across multiple iterations, product wall layout, branded ceiling signage, and a flexible activation "stage" later used for real launch events — including the Marvel's Wolverine midnight opening and the Resident Evil Requiem "Raccoon City" takeover.

PlayStation store-in-store render at KaBuM PlayStation store-in-store product wall detail render
▶ ▶ Watch the case film
09 — Case Study 06
Winning Pitch

PlayStation

God of War Ragnarök — Press & Influencer Launch Event

Challenge

Launch the year's biggest PlayStation exclusive to an audience of press and influencers who already know the mythology by heart — a standard demo room wouldn't do the Nine Realms justice.

Vision

Take over a real medieval-style venue in São Paulo and rebuild it, corner by corner, into a lived-in piece of the God of War universe — so guests would walk into the mythology instead of watching it on a screen.

My Role

Full creative direction and space planning — scouted and adapted the venue, conceived every themed zone from the ground up, directed scenography and casting, and shaped the guest journey from arrival to the developer interview stage.

Deliverables

End-to-end venue transformation and event concept: Mimir's talking-head welcome, a rune-carved shield wall with Kratos' own shield, a 3-meter cenographic Yggdrasil with an interactive 9-Realms totem, Fenrir's head as a dramatic press/interview corner, three custom stone-carved gamestations, an Oracle's rune-reading tent, the "Door of Thor" theatrical reveal, an LED-panel developer interview stage, a chroma-key dramatization zone for influencer content, and branded gift bags.

God of War Ragnarök key art with Kratos and Atreus Casa Medieval venue façade themed for the God of War Ragnarök launch
▶ ▶ Watch on YouTube
10 — Companies Served

Companies Served

PlayStation logo
Montblanc logo
Activision logo
Lenovo logo
Alacero logo
Lactalis logo
Solfácil logo
Motorola logo
Fortinet logo