Soccer 'Sells Brazil' to Over 70 Countries

05/15/2013 - 08h18

It will take place on June 30: side by side, in the same area of Maracanã, executives from Cameroon, Austria, Iraq, Benin and Serbia will watch the final match of the Confederations Cup. They will be part of a group of 240 foreigners at the stadium. They, in turn, will be part of a much larger group: the more than 1,000 guests of Apex-Brasil, who will watch 7 of the competition's 16 matches there.

"We will bring retail customers and opinion makers from over 70 countries. It's a huge relationship and commercial promotion," says Ricardo Santana, coordinator of the Projeto Copa da Agência Brasileira de Promoção de Exportações e Investimentos [Cup Project of the Brazilian Export Promotion and Investment Agency].

In November 2012, Apex bought a sponsorship quota from FIFA, the world's governing body of soccer, for the Confederations Cup and the 2014 World Cup in the "national supporter" category.

Aside from the right to use the events' logos, this type of sponsorship also grants tickets and areas in the stadiums. A deal that attracted 57 entities of the sector.

Ibravin (Brazilian Wine Institute) is one of them. It will bring 11 guests, divided in three groups. They will spend four days visiting some 15 wineries in Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina and later will travel to watch the games.

Its guests include the organizer of a food festival in Germany, a U.S. journalist, and U.K. importing representatives.

The medical equipment industry, organized through Abimo, used soccer to attract a guest who had never come to Brazil. The sector's biggest importer in Iraq will come to Brazil this month with two representatives.

The agency promotes relationship initiatives in Rio's Carnival and the Brazilian Formula Indy race in São Paulo. Based on these experiences, it expects that the Confederations Cup will yield more than R$ 1.1 billion in new business in the next 12 months. For Apex, the Confederations Cup will also serve as a preview for an even bigger event to be held in June and July 2014. "It's a special chance for a relationship. We must take advantage of it," says Santana.

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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