[Interview] Bernardo Tavares, Founder, Beta Collective, Brazil

Beta Collective is a Brazilian creative agency that operates as a collective of freelance talents. The agency specializes in exploring innovative tools and methods to maximize creative output and brand engagement.

The agency’s founder and creative director Bernardo Tavares spoke to Marketing Report.

How does Beta Collective differ from traditional creative agencies?

We were born to only spend time on briefs and projects that can turn into great ideas. That’s it. That’s the whole point.

Now, when a brand hires a traditional agency from big holdings, there are plenty of benefits. Big structure, lots of people, availability around the clock. Clients get all the bells and whistles, and agency owners sleep well at night (when it’s not an independent agency). But for the really good creatives? It’s not always a win. They end up buried in meetings, presentations, and projects they’re not proud of. The kind of work that slowly chips away at your passion.

At Beta Collective, Cannes-level ideas are the goal every single month. We only take on special projects. Stuff we believe in. Campaigns with real potential. If it does not spark something, we pass. And we do not let good ideas die.

We keep our structure small on purpose. No giant teams. No account people. No media departments. Just handpicked creatives who actually want to be there. When a brief comes in, we bring in the right crew for the job, people who are ready to put their heart, soul, and sharpest thinking into it.

How do you curate and manage your collective of freelancers to maintain agility and creative freedom?

The key is working with experienced creatives who are genuinely into ideas. When someone feels like they are holding a campaign that could win awards or earn a proud spot in their portfolio, they naturally push harder. They care more. And honestly, seeing the kind of ideas we release regularly gives them good reason to believe they will succeed. The chances are real, so they commit to the briefs and trust both our judgment and our process.

We also give them something rare in the ad world, at least here in Brazil: a fair deadline. We ask them to live with the brief for twenty days. To let it simmer in the back of their minds while they read, watch things, or go through everyday life. They do not need to sit in front of a screen all day or stay locked in a room brainstorming with someone else. We actually encourage solo thinking. Writing down sharp insights and unexpected ideas when they naturally show up.

What does the creative process look like at Beta from concept to execution?

I created Beta Collective because I love coming up with and producing ideas people actually want to talk about. I take part in every idea, whether I’m creating alongside a team or starting something solo and later bringing it to an art director, a duo, or a film director. From there, we bounce things back and forth, build on each other’s thoughts, and often end up creating entirely new ideas. We do all of this remotely.

Our process always starts with finding true, original insights. Then we focus on the best creative way to express that message. We never present just one idea. We usually bring at least five. Sometimes we bring seven to the client. Once, we brought only four, because we didn’t want the client to pick one that wasn’t as strong as the others.

This approach forces us to move past the obvious first ideas and dig deeper for the most creative version we can come up with. And sometimes, by the end, we realize that the first idea was actually great. But more often than not, we fall in love with the fifth one.

When it comes to execution, we always try to put real craft into the work. Kotler had his 4 P’s. I like to think about our 4 C’s in every idea we bring to life: creativity, courage, craft, and criteria.

Beta Collective has produced standout campaigns for major brands. What would you saydrives this level of output and innovation?

We keep focusing on the one thing that made us choose this career in the first place: being creative.

As a really small creative hub, we can’t afford to spend time on ideas that don’t help position us as a creative reference. Every project has to be worth it. Each brief needs potential. We want CMOs to feel a little jealous when they see what another brand pulled off with us. That’s how we are still relevant. And to be honest, almost every brief we’ve worked on so far started with a WhatsApp message. No pitches, no formalities, just a quick text or a voice message.

We don’t have fixed clients. We’re not chasing long-term relationships. What we’re after is intense, memorable creative experiences. If they love the first one, they usually come back. And when they do, we often get even more freedom. And sometimes, a little more pressure too.

How do you measure the success of your campaigns, and what metrics do you find most valuable?

When an editorial platform like yours reaches out for an interview, that’s already a sign the campaign hit the mark. We don’t chase this kind of thing. We don’t have a PR team to promote Beta Collective. No one behind the scenes pushing stories. So when the work speaks for itself, it’s a good sign.

There are a few other ways we measure success: Seeing the campaign make headlines on major news sites, getting the idea sent to me on WhatsApp by someone who didn’t know we made it, my mom calling to say she saw it on the news and the number of messages in my LinkedIn inbox and the reach and reactions on LinkedIn posts.

And yes, being shortlisted or winning big awards is always a great feeling. I know it’s tough without the support of a holding company or a big name behind us, but we’ve managed to feel that rush a few times already. And I hope we feel it much more, because there’s nothing better than sending a trophy to a creative’s house and watching their reaction.

Which emerging technologies and trends will most impact the future of the industry and why?

AI is the obvious answer, but I honestly believe that the biggest shifts in our industry do not always come from tech. Sometimes, they come from culture.

Movements, events, and moments that shake the world tend to have a deeper impact. Things like the pandemic, wars, political shifts, climate change, protests, tragedies, viral stories, powerful films and shows, groundbreaking games, or an artist who suddenly changes the conversation.

In short, anything that moves people, inspires them, shocks them, or sparks new behavior. That is what really shapes the future of creativity. And when that happens, we either respond to it or fall behind.

What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing the creative industry and what insights would you offer as potential remedies?

One of the biggest challenges is staying relevant. For clients, the challenge is that they truly believe in the power of creativity, instead of being only rational or analytical. Creativity needs to be valued as a key part of the strategy, not treated as decoration.

Another challenge is avoiding repetition. We need to avoid cycling the same formats over and over. And we also need to avoid taking shortcuts, like giving to creators or influencers the role that should belong to a creative team.

And finally, one that has been bothering me for a while. We need to help creative leaders and marketing teams that AI is not the idea, is a tool, and that Fake Out of Home is not creative at all.

Your work has gained attention from top editorial platforms and international festivals. How has that recognition shaped your journey?

It gives us hope, confidence, and energy to keep pushing. It shows we are on the right path and encourages us to keep improving. Recognition like this is the result of working hard and truly believing in creativity.

To the judges out there, try not to look at labels. We are not a big company, but we work hard to bring big ideas to life. Just like many other independent agencies, studios, hubs, and new structures that were built to put creativity at the center.

As you continue to evolve the model, what’s next for Beta Collective?

Building more partnerships with agencies that can boost our production power. This would help us bring even more creative ideas to life each year and also support us with award submissions, both in Brazil and internationally.

Finding ways to support and develop more young talent. Right now, our model relies heavily on experienced creatives. We once released a full campaign with only junior creatives, and it worked well, but I had to be even more hands-on than usual. Maybe through a practical course or creating original content, we can help young creatives grow, especially those who don’t usually have many opportunities.

Opening an office by the beach where I live in Portugal. A place where we can create, host clients, and maybe even keep a few surfboards around for when the tide is right.

Winning big at the Creative Awards in 2026. That is definitely on the list.

Launching a campaign in the US market. We are ready for that step.

And building the kind of operations that allow us to release the same level of ideas we have already done in Brazil and Portugal, now in more countries around the world.

Additional thoughts?

We’re exploring new clients and new ways of working. This year, we started partnering with two agencies from different states in Brazil, one focused on sports, the other on live marketing. These are the only fee-based partnerships we currently have. We work as creative advisors for them, and they support us commercially by helping pitch ideas we believe in but that are still sitting in our drawer. This is the kind of collaboration we want to build more of.

On the client side, we just released our first idea for the L’Oréal Groupe, and honestly, it’s one of the most powerful projects I’ve ever worked on. It was created in response to a study that identified 21 ways racism manifests in luxury retail stores in Brazil.

To address that, we partnered with Black Sisters in Law, a collective of activist lawyers, and created a set of ten new laws designed to protect Black consumers. In Brazil, there’s a federal law-book called the Consumer Protection Code, established in 1990. It outlines the rights of consumers and the responsibilities of businesses, and it’s mandatory for every store to have a copy available.

But the official code didn’t cover racism, at least not in the way the study revealed. So we created our own. It doesn’t have legal status, but it carries moral weight. Since its launch, universities have requested hundreds of copies to use in class. Major retail chains have committed to adopting its principles. And now, official consumer protection agencies are sitting down with L’Oréal Brazil, Black Sisters in Law, and MOVER (a movement for racial equity that partnered with L’Oréal) to explore how these new rules could help shape future policy.

The result is an 88-page book that dives deep into the issue. It features data from the study on racism in luxury retail, real testimonials from people who’ve experienced it firsthand, the proposed new laws, and striking illustrations by Black artist Mulambö, paired with headlines designed to provoke reflection and conversation.

It’s a powerful example of how far a single idea can go.

www.wearebetacollective.com

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