Nando's Romania - Brand Launch Campaign

About the project

Nando's isn't in Romania yet. That's not a problem, it's the brief. Romanians have a complicated relationship with imported brands: skeptical by default, but hungry for brands that get the joke. This speculative campaign explored how Nando's cheeky, culturally specific South African voice could enter the Romanian market without feeling foreign, by leaning into the very Romanian habit of questioning foreign things. The goal wasn't to introduce Nando's despite Romanian skepticism. It was to use that skepticism as the creative territory.

Project details

Target audience: Romanians 20–35 who appreciate charismatic brands, international food trends, and self-aware humour. They love spicy food, they love bold brands, and they will immediately clock anything that feels like it was written by someone who doesn't know them.

The strategic risk: Romanian humour is loud and self-deprecating. Nando's humour is cheeky and understated. The campaign had to walk a line — confident but not loud, playful but self-aware, Romanian but distinctly Nando's.

The strategic answer: don't fight the tension. Name it. "Nando's isn't here yet" becomes the first line of the campaign, not something to hide.

Campaign concept - Avem Nando's Acasă

Three concepts were developed:

Concept A: "Avem Nando's Acasă" - plays into the Romanian meme of "we have ___ at home", reframed as genuine celebration that Nando's is finally worth bringing home.

Concept B: "Nando's Nu Se Pierde în Traduceri" - the universal language of flavour, focused on the brand crossing cultural borders without losing its edge.

Concept C: "Iute, Spre Tine. Nando's." - heat and proximity, a more direct approach focused on delivery and speed.

Concept A was chosen because it uses a shared cultural reference that Romanians already own, turns the "imported brand" anxiety into the punchline, and gives the campaign a genuinely local emotional core without abandoning Nando's voice.

Campaign journey

Mystery - week 2. Blurred sauce bottles on social, teaser video, street posters in Bucharest and Cluj with a blurred Nando's logo. No explanation. Just: "Tu cât de iute poți?"

Reveal - week 2. Full reveal across social and PR. The line that anchors everything: "N-avem Nando's. Încă."

Supporting copy: "România n-are Nando's. Dar are loc pentru el." "Vorbim aceeași limbă. Cea picantă." "Nu trebuie să zbori până la Nando's. Avem Nando's acasă."

Launch - week 3. Pop-up activation, app download push, loyalty program launch.

Social media copy

Three concepts were developed:

The carousel opens with a blurred sauce bottle and a single line: "Nu-ți trebuie etichetă." Swipe.

The teaser video shows the bottles from the label up, nozzle drizzling. Someone reaches for one. No product name. No explanation. The copy does one thing: create appetite for the reveal.

The reveal posts name the tension directly and immediately defuse it with humour. The CTA captions build anticipation without overselling: "Pregătește-ți simțurile." "Curând." "Picantul vine." "Încingem focul." "Mai ai răbdare?"

Video script - Aromat. Asumat. Acasă

Two friends at Otopeni airport, boarding gate. One is scrolling Nando's website. The line moves. A notification arrives. He gasps.

"Auzi?"

He taps his friend on the shoulder. His friend looks at the phone. Both look shocked.

"Avem Nando's acasă?"

The phone screen: NANDO'S VINE ÎN ROMÂNIA. Both friends try to turn back through the gate.

VO: "Stai liniștit, nu te lăsăm neanunțat și… nemâncat."

Final frame: "Nando's. Aromat. Asumat."

The script uses a recognisably Romanian situation - the airport, the trip abroad, the friend dynamic - and makes Nando's arrival feel like news worth turning back for.

Brand activation - Taste Needed. Looks Optional.

Pop-up dining photobooths in Lipscani, Universitate, and Floreasca.

Diners book 15-minute slots via Instagram, arrive expecting a heat challenge. When the food arrives, the lights cut out. They're told to eat with their hands.

Hidden cameras capture the chaos. Lights snap back on for the final shot.

Everyone leaves with a glossy 2x6 photo strip: Nando's branding, the campaign line, and whatever happened in the dark. Branded napkin packs to take home: "Taste Needed. Looks? Optional."

The activation works because it's inherently shareable, physically memorable, and completely on-brand: messy, warm, and not taking itself too seriously.

App & loyalty copy

"Am zis că nu te lăsăm nemâncat. N-am glumit. Nando's, mai aproape ca niciodată. În aplicație."

"Cu aplicația Nando's, mănânci, comanzi și câștigi puncte. Fie că e în restaurant sau prin livrare, colecționezi puncte după fiecare comandă. Punct cu punct, îți saturi pofta."

The loyalty copy picks up the promise made in the launch campaign - we said we wouldn't leave you hungry - and delivers on it in the most practical way possible.