User need transforms Brazil’s biggest reality show dynamics

 
 
 

Summary

 

About

Big Brother Brasil (BBB) is the Brazil’s largest and most commercially valuable reality show, reaching 80% of household and driving R$ 1 billion+ in sponsorship per season which voting system and latest news are engaged in gshow’s web and app platforms.

Problem

The previous voting system faced widespread issues: fandom dominance skewed results, bot manipulation threatened the vote integrity; casual viewers participation dropped and users reported technical and security frustrations.

These challenges led to diminished trust, unpredictable brand impact, and jeopardize sponsorship for Globo’s flagship entertainment property.

Solution

We delivered a dual voting system (Voto único + Voto da torcida) with CPF (ID) authetication, balancing public and fan influences and making voting secure and equitable across web, mobile and TV platforms, addressing declining user engagement.

 

My approach

As the gshow Product Design Lead:

  • I orchestrated a matrix organization of cross-functional team, coordinating with C-level leadership and driving collaboration across Design, Engineering, and Business units to deliver the strategic voting system ;

  • Worked closely with peers, stakeholders, and executives to ensure the voting system provides a smooth experience across TV, web, and app platforms;

  • Promoted BBB Design System in ghow’s DS and oversaw ongoing optimization through analytics and user feedback to scale BBB’s product development for further seasons;

Impacts

  • User engagement: 2.5 million CPF votes in 2024 final, over 200 million votes per key eviction across gshow platforms.

  • Restored user trust and increased casual viewers participation across digital ecosystem;

  • Delivered measurable business results: 18% in advertising revenue and R$ 1.2 billion revenue;

 
 
 
 

Full Case ↓

 

Voting System up to 2023

It had a weight of 1 vote per person. Users were required to sign in or sign up using just their email, with no need for any form of verification. This approach encouraged a higher quantity of participation, consequently more advertising were shown/viewed by users, increasing revenue to the products. Over the years, it has consistently added meaning for viewers and influenced the show's dynamics.

  • electing participants with the biggest fandom
    i.e: BBB 2021 and 2022 winners had huge fandoms

  • risk of liability

    • Rummors of bot usage during eviditions

    • Security is questioned

  • preventing casual users to vote
    Non-fandom viewers quit voting altogether

 

User needs

Throughout the years, both quantitative and qualitative research have consistently shown that users desire more opportunities to actively engage and use their voices to maintain their interaction with the show, rather than passively watching and simply waiting for the fandom to elect their winner-participant.

Risks

The maintenance of this type of vote would have a significant impact on the long-term engagement of the TV show, influence the effectiveness and reach of the sponsors associated with the program, enhance the commercial attractiveness of both the show and its related products, and ultimately affect Globo’s overall revenue generation.

 

Dual voting system

An approach to address these risks, restore the user’s voice, and maintain strong audience engagement with the show and its various platforms was to develop a comprehensive two-tier voting system. This innovation aimed to transform the dynamic of the show, which has been on air for over a decade, enhancing interaction and participation in meaningful ways.

The idea of two types of vote was to have the user to choose between different flows:

Voto Único (one-time vote)

A type that would require a series of identifications from the user, such as ID number, mobile number. In this option, the user could vote only one time per eviction.

Voto da Torcida (unlimited vote)

This type would work as the previous versions, allowing users to vote unlimitedly per eviction, thus, not preventing the fandom to participate from the show’s dynamic.

Weight

From the total number of both vote types, a weighted average would be presented as the result of the current eviction.

 
 

Providing a dual voting system would not diminish the overall strength of the fandom; rather, the main objective was to reassure casual viewers that their opinions hold significant power and influence.

Additionally, requiring users to verify their identity by submitting an ID to assign greater weight to their votes enhances the security of the voting process, effectively reducing the rummors of bots manipulating the dynamic and ensuring a fairer outcome.

 

My role

Matrix leadership & roadmap influence

To make the new voting system function effectively, it would require the coordinated efforts of multiple teams, careful consideration of the roadmap impact, as well as alignment and decisive input from C-level executives.

In that sense, this project involves an extremely politically sensitive matter that requires careful consideration and thoughtful handling. With that in mind, I orchestrated an alliance with my peers (Product Design Leads, POs, and Tech Leads) from teams that would be involved in this project with the intent to organize, structure deliverables, raise tech and deadline constraints.

I created the BBB UX Squad, a Product Design team focused on building a unified experience and shaping their original team's roadmap and goals. Later, this influence impacted the teams' roadmaps for the next two quarters, making sure the user-focused plan matched our strategy.

 
 
 

Keeping C-level executives fully aligned

Given the significant impact of the nature of this project and its wide-ranging implications, more teams outside of the Technology Director’s governance was involved, such as the TV and Production teams to name a few, apart from the Directors themselves.

A holistic experience would be required:

TV presenter announces eviction → users are watching on different platforms (TV, Smart TV, desktop, mobile) → different entry points to vote → chooses a type of voting → votes

Plus, the clear and detailed communication on how this system would operate, provided well in advance of the show, helped to minimize any issues and frictions that might arise during the voting process. In order to tie the user experience in a seamless way, the BBB UX Squad has grown to a broader influence, reaching teams outside the Experience and Technology Top Management and encompassing TV Design leadership.

To effectively solve the parallel work, I organized the checkpoints for both the Tech and TV teams to ensure alignment of key work involvements and the agenda for C-level executives, keeping everyone fully informed and up to date with the latest progress and developments.

 
 
 

Results & Impacts