“We Do It With a Twist” — Mauro Palacios on Building a Culture of Strategic Craft
We value big ideas, but we’re obsessed with the details that make them land
São Paulo, September 10th, 2025
Twist is a full-service creative agency based in São Paulo, known for its high-velocity, results-driven campaigns that blend brand, content, and performance. With a sharp focus on platform-native storytelling and measurable impact, Twist helps brands move fast, stay relevant, and connect deeply with audiences.
In this interview, we speak with Mauro Rodrigues Palacios, Founder & CEO of Twist, who shares how his upbringing in São Paulo shaped his storytelling instincts, what it means to build with “pragmatic craft”, and how Brazilian creativity thrives through strategy, scrappiness, and speed.
Let’s start with a bit about you. Could you tell us where you grew up and any childhood memories that influenced your path into the creative industry?
I was born and raised in São Paulo, a city that trains your eyes to read stories from every surface—street markets, storefronts, bus ads, chants from a stadium, a quick conversation at a bakery. That visual and verbal overload pushed me toward the intersection of creativity and problem-solving very early. I’ve always loved the mix of craft and measurable impact, and that blend eventually became Twist’s foundation: strong ideas, executed beautifully, wired to results.
If someone wants to experience the authentic, non-touristy side of São Paulo, where should they go?
Start in the south side neighborhoods—Campo Belo and Santo Amaro—for real neighborhood bakeries and family-run restaurants; swing by the Santo Amaro municipal market.
Where do you spend most of your time, and what does a typical day entail?
Most days I split time between our studio and client sessions. Mornings are for deep work, reviews with creative and performance teams, and checking live dashboards; afternoons go to workshops, pitch rooms, and production sprints. Evenings are family time—and a paddle training session whenever possible.
What are your main focuses at the moment?
Scaling Twist’s full-service model with an even tighter bridge between brand, content, and performance; expanding our in-house video and live-social capabilities; and growing category expertise in CPG, mobility, telecom, and B2B—always with clear brand codes and measurable outcomes.
How would you describe the creative culture at Twist?
Pragmatic craft. We value big ideas, but we’re obsessed with the details that make them land—distinctive brand assets, platform-native behavior, and clean execution. The culture is open feedback, fast iteration, and clear ownership. Our motto is “We do it with a Twist”: same ambition as top shops, but with Brazilian resourcefulness and speed.
Looking back at recent work, which project best represents your team’s values and strengths?
GSH, Brazil’s largest catering company for events, is a good mirror of our approach. We turned complex, high-volume operations—stadiums, festivals, sports events—into human, fast-moving stories through short-form video, then used longer pieces to deepen trust and show process. It’s craft plus proof, designed for platforms and tied to business outcomes.
As Director, how do you navigate the line between creativity and commercial viability?
By defining constraints early and framing them as creative springboards. We agree on the business problem, the audience moments that matter, the brand codes we must reinforce, and the metrics that will decide success. Within those guardrails, teams are free to push. If a brave idea can’t be measured, we build a way to measure it. If a measurable idea isn’t brave, we go back.
When working with a new brand, how do you uncover the values and beliefs that set it apart?
Immersion first: founders, frontline staff, and customers. Then we map category entry points (the real-world cues that trigger choice) and audit distinctive assets—colors, type, sonic cues, mascots, phrases. We stress-test those assets against competitors and culture. The combination of lived truth and clear codes becomes the brand’s operating system for content.
What approach do you take to create engaging and shareable content?
Make it easy to enter, rewarding to stay, and obvious to credit. That means a clear hook in the first seconds, a single sharp benefit or story beat, and distinctive brand cues baked into the frame and the copy. We design for sound-off and thumb-stopping motion, and we publish responsively: learning from comments, saves, and watch time to tune the next wave.
Which platforms are most effective for social marketing and why?
It depends on the audience and objective. In Brazil, Instagram still offers scale and versatile formats; TikTok drives culture and rapid discovery; YouTube provides depth, intent, and high-quality reach; LinkedIn is where B2B authority compounds. We rarely choose one, we choreograph them so each plays to its strength.
Tips for brands defining their voice on social?
Decide the role you want to play in people’s day, not just your category. Codify a persona, tone, and vocabulary (with “always say” and “never say” examples) and assign a few distinctive cues (visual and verbal) that show up early and often. Then protect that voice with an editorial process that prizes clarity and consistency over cleverness for its own sake.
Your thoughts on using artificial intelligence in creative work?
Augmentation, not autopilot. AI accelerates research, ideation variants, pre-viz, asset resizing, and quality control. It’s great for finding angles, pressure-testing scripts, and turning insights into first drafts. But the judgment, what to say, how to say it, and when to stop, remains human. We use it as a force multiplier, with careful governance and client transparency.
How would you describe the creative industry in Brazil?
Restlessly inventive. Budgets can be tight and timelines brutal, but the craft level is high, the talent pool is diverse, and the appetite for experimentation is real. Brazilian creativity thrives on constraints: we combine strategy, storytelling, and scrappiness in a way that travels well.
What kind of news grabs your attention?
Shifts in consumer behavior, platform policies, and privacy; creator-economy trends; sports innovation; and anything that hints at new cultural entry points for brands.
When you’re not working, how do you recharge?
Family time first. I also train and play canoe polo (a sport that mixes water polo with kayaks). It resets my head, keeps me competitive, and reminds me how much teamwork and timing matter.
A fun fact not many people know about you
I’m actively involved with canoe polo in Brazil since 1999, on and off the water, which has taught me a lot about resilience, logistics, and leadership under pressure. I am a 3-time Panamerican Kayak champion.
Mauro’s Working Preferences:
Early Bird or Night Owl?:
Early Bird (after having kids)
Usual breakfast:
Strong coffee during intermittent fasting
Most quoted book/TV/movie:
Monsters Inc, lol
Last place traveled:
Banff, Canada
Last downloaded app:
Foodvisor
Biggest fear:
Stagnation
Preferred spot in your town:
Ibirapuera Park
If you could meet anyone, dead or alive:
David Ogilvy, to talk timeless advertising in a real-time world
What makes a good day at your job?:
Work that ships, moves the needle, and makes the team proud, then getting home in time for dinner
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Best in Breed since 1998. Lounge Lizard is a Digital Agency that Specializes in Brand Strategy, Website Design, Web Development, Mobile APP Development, Online Marketing, Social Media, Ecommerce, and SEOdigital experiences that move brands and businesses from now to next.
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