Time Out Market Porto launched by casting locals as the product

Time Out Market had already succeeded in Lisbon, but opening in Porto created a different problem. The One Club entry says the campaign had to match the city's strong character, not simply export an existing concept.

Bastarda's answer was Os Verdadeiros, or The True Ones. Through casting, it gathered Porto residents who embodied the city, then built the launch film around a text and voiceover by Capicua.

The media plan kept the signal local: streets, social networks and city-facing film. The One Club entry reports results 10% above expectations, with more than 5 million impressions, 1.6 million reach, and 1 million engagements.

Let the city authenticate the venue

The campaign treated local legitimacy as the product benefit.

Casting residents made the city a co-author rather than a backdrop.

A local voice reduced the risk that a curated food hall would sound like an imported lifestyle concept.

When expansion risks feeling imported, make local people the message instead of asking the brand to declare itself local.

The campaign was shortlisted at the 2025 CCP Festival. It offered a compact playbook for geographic expansion: if the city has a strong identity, lead with borrowed local authorship before asking people to accept the new venue.