Confessions of Marketing Thieves: Danone Brazil GM Tiago Santos & HCG’s Playbook

How borrowing brilliant ideas fuels the next generation of market-leading campaigns.

LONDON, GREATER LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, April 24, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Confessions of Marketing Thieves: Danone Brazil GM Tiago Santos & HCG’s Playbook.

Tiago Santos, General Manager of Danone Brazil, and Matteo Rinaldi, Adjunct Professor at Luiss Business School and co-founder of London-based Human Centric Group, today publish a provocative new article, “Marketing and the Art of Stealing.” Drawing on decades of leadership at Danone, PepsiCo, Bacardi, and Procter & Gamble, plus Human Centric Group’s cultural-insight expertise, the piece makes the case that breakthrough marketing comes from borrowing, and brilliantly reimagining, ideas from outside your own category.

A Celebration of Creative Borrowing.

From Steve Jobs shamelessly adopting Xerox PARC’s graphical user interface to The Beatles synthesising global musical traditions, the article’s core thesis is clear: “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” Santos and Rinaldi illustrate how brands like Apple, Adidas, Nespresso, and Dyson have driven innovation not by inventing from scratch, but by observing, absorbing, and remixing proven solutions.

Three Pillars of Strategic “Stealing”

1. Steal to Spark Innovation: Ask, “Who’s already solved this?”—then adapt cross-industry ideas (e.g., Adidas borrowing Goodyear tire technology).

2. Steal to Improve What’s Already Out There: Execution beats originality—Facebook perfected the social network, Amazon mastered logistics.

3. Steal to Say It Differently: It’s not just what you say, but how you say it—Liquid Death speaks like a metal band; IKEA hijacks search queries to name products.

The article also explores how to apply these principles to international expansion—remixing proven successes (e.g., Red Bull’s Thai origins, Starbucks’ Italian espresso-bar culture) and tailoring them to new markets with fresh human insights.

A Call to Marketers and Brand Leaders

“Great marketers are masterful borrowers,” Santos and Rinaldi write. “The art lies in how you remix, elevate, and embed ideas into your brand’s unique story.”

The full article offers practical guidelines, real-world examples, and a step-by-step playbook for teams eager to transform their approach to innovation and communication.

Read the Full Article.

Marketing and the Art of Stealing is now available on the Human Centric Group website.


About the Authors.

Tiago Santos is a transformational executive with 25+ years of international experience across blue-chip FMCG companies such as Danone, PepsiCo, Bacardi, and Procter & Gamble. He has held global and regional leadership roles, including Global Marketing Director for Danonino, VP Sales & Marketing for Africa, and General Manager across Brazil, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe. At Danone, he led multi-country business units with full P&L responsibility, managing teams of over 4,000 people and driving strategic turnarounds, innovation pipelines, and sustainable growth. He has a strong track record of delivering impact in complex and diverse markets, from Western Europe to Africa and Central Asia. His leadership philosophy is simple: empower people, drive change, and always believe that where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Matteo Rinaldi is a Senior Marketing Strategy Consultant and Co-Founder of Human Centric Group, with global experience driving double-digit growth for brands like Danone, Carlsberg, Revlon, PepsiCo, and Visa. Having worked across multiple continents, he specializes in leveraging cultural insights for impactful brand strategies. A passionate educator, Matteo teaches marketing worldwide, shaping future industry leaders. Previously, he worked with L’Oréal and Coca-Cola HBC. He is also a best-selling author in marketing.

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