1) Research:
We combined internal strategic analysis, cultural and semiotic research, benchmarking, qualitative fieldwork, and nationwide quantitative surveys to investigate how people define premium, what creates value in the beer category, and how these perceptions vary across brands and contexts.

The investigation involved 254 consumers in qualitative fieldwork across São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte, alongside two national surveys totaling 3,377 respondents. We also conducted brand audits in bars, retail environments, and other consumption spaces, examining how each brand's identity was expressed and experienced in real life.

2) Analysis: 
We applied Design DNA, a proprietary strategic framework structured around three interconnected dimensions:
 

• Imagine: Investigating the symbolic universe, narratives, values, and aspirations a brand intends to communicate.

• Perceive: Identifying the codes through which consumers recognize the brand and attribute meaning and value to it.

• Enact: Examining how these codes become tangible through products, packaging, communication, trade, rituals, and experiences.
   

By connecting these three dimensions, we identified gaps between brand intention, consumer perception, and real-world execution, revealing which codes should be preserved, strengthened, reconsidered, or developed.

3) Strategy:
Working collaboratively with Ambev's Insights, Brand, Innovation, and Trade teams, we transformed research findings into strategic guardrails tailored to each brand. Rather than applying a universal definition of premium, we developed distinct strategic directions. These guardrails established shared criteria for evaluating brand decisions while respecting the different identities and business ambitions of each brand.

4) Guidance: 
We translated each brand's guardrails into strategic manuals, practical design guidelines, best practices, watch-outs, and solution hypotheses. The recommendations covered communication, on- and off-trade environments, packaging, and brand experiences. Through collaborative workshops, we explored how abstract brand attributes could become concrete choices in visual language, materials, presence, rituals, and experiences. The result was a practical framework to help different teams and creative partners translate brand strategy into consistent and meaningful expressions.