What? Brazil is working overtime to prepare for two of the world’s main sporting events: the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games
Why does it matter? Because of the parallel role the marketing industry will play in these events. In 2012, marketing captured 55 percent of the 79.4 million dollars spent on advertising.
Translated by Candice Carmel
Brazil will have more than its prestige on the line when it hosts two sporting events that will train the international spotlight on the Latin American superpower—the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games.
And a dress rehearsal may have well been provided by the Confederations Cup, held this past June, which drew soccer teams from around the world in what was seen as the prelude to the big test.
The stakes are high. The Brazilian government has allocated about 30 billion reals ($15 billion) to organizing the 2014 World Cup, a figure equivalent to 0.6 % of the country’s GDP, according to Marcelo Pedroso, Director of International Markets, Brazilian Tourism Institute (Embratur).
The funds are mainly earmarked for the expansion of airports, stadiums, tourist facilities at the ports, and public transportation. With these investments, the authorities are hoping to accomplish three things:
- Strengthen Brazil’s international profile
- Become a larger tourist attraction
- Create new and better jobs
Tourism: a big market
Proud of its five-time World Cup champion soccer team, Brazil is not only looking to score goals on the playing field, but also in the tourism industry. To this end, it has deployed a $70 million marketing and promotion offensive in 14 different countries, called “Goal to Brazil”.
The goal of the campaign is to draw more than 7.2 million tourists to the main and secondary sites where the events will be held. On an interesting note, the majority of visitors are expected to come from the host country itself. According to Embratur authorities, only 600,000 foreign visitors are expected to make the trip to Brazil.
“We estimate that 25% of tourists who come for the World Cup will visit other tourist destinations in the country, and discover Brazil’s different regions and attractions before, during and after the matches,” announced Embratur in a statement.
In addition to the campaign spearheaded by tourism authorities, promotions carried out in each of the countries visited during the marketing tour include: workshops for tour operators and travel agents, and a reception called “The Brazilian Experience,” which features a combination of Brazilian cuisine, attractions, and experiences, and is supported by Brazilian celebrities, sport stars and tourism icons.
What about media consumption?
No one doubts the immense opportunity that the soccer party represents for marketing and media buys in Brazil, which already accounted for 55 percent of the $79.4 million spent on advertising in 2012, according to IBOPE Brazil figures.
The following graph shows how the ad dollars were distributed:
|
Media / Platform |
Amount Earmarked |
|---|---|
|
TV |
$23,804,877.18 |
|
Cable TV |
$3,575,528.87 |
|
Radio |
$1,971,806.52 |
|
Magazines |
$3,320,305.05 |
|
Newspapers |
$7,778,450.48 |
|
Outdoor |
$50,505.74 |
|
Cinema |
$150,504.06 |
|
Internet |
$3,047,162.97 |
|
Street advertising |
$193,776.22 |
|
TOTAL: USD |
$43,892,917.09 |
As the graph shows, the marketing investment trend continues to be focused on television. In fact, experts believe that 60 cents of every ad dollar spent goes to Globo. Magazine and Internet categories share a similar figure, mainly due to the fact that the country’s main broadcaster has not shown great interest in the digital world, and that has allowed it to grow with the support of small businesses and diversified strategies.
