A play-along, Guitar Hero inspired, built for Brazilian music fans, designed to turn streaming into a game and a game into a habit. Toca Pisadinha launched for Barões da Pisadinha in 2021 and came back bigger in 2022 with five of the biggest names in piseiro and sertanejo. Same concept, bigger world, with the same ambitious goal: make people stream more without feeling like they were doing it.
A game with a catchy strategy inside it
Streaming numbers don't lie, but they also don't move on their own. Sony Music Brasil needed a way to drive organic engagement around specific songs and new releases for some of the biggest names in Brazilian popular music, without it feeling like a campaign. The answer was a game. A browser-based, PWA-accessible rhythm experience inspired by Guitar Hero, built specifically for the piseiro and sertanejo universe and designed to live in the five minutes between a bus stop and a destination.
Users logged in with their Spotify or YouTube accounts, which triggered real streaming activity automatically in the background. Playing the game was listening to the music. That closed loop was the whole idea.
Building a dynamic fans actually wanted to be a part of
The experience had to feel native to the culture, not imported from it. Every design decision, from the UI to the tone of voice, was rooted in the language, humor and attitude of the artists and their audiences. We designed exclusive trophy awards in the shape of a boot, a direct reference to the expression "chama na bota" from Barões da Pisadinha, available in bronze, silver and gold for fans to earn, chase and share on their social profiles.
When a song ended, the artist's 3D avatar appeared on screen to talk directly to the user. Not a notification. Not a banner. A moment. That is the difference between a platform people use once and one they come back to.
The first version launched in 2021 exclusively for Os Barões da Pisadinha. It performed well enough that Sony Music Brasil came back the following year asking for more. The 2022 version expanded the platform to include Avine Vinny, Mari Fernandez, Zé Vaqueiro and Brisa Star alongside Barões, bringing a combined Instagram following of over 28 million fans into the same universe. Same foundation with a bigger stage. The platform ran for nearly three years.
Credits: Renan Constant (strategist, creative director, UX/UI designer), Felipe Sabadin (developer) and Bruno Sabadin (3D illustrator), along with the collaboration of Sony Music's marketing team.
Project completed under Jackfruit Agency, 2021/2022.