The Brazilian Export Promotion Agency (Agência de Promoção de Exportações e Investimentos) (Apex-Brasil), says the World Soccer Cup, which begins in Germany in June, is not seen by the agency as just simply another sports event.
Every four years, as Brazilian soccer players astonish the world with their skills, the agency moves to take advantage of the situation and sell more Brazilian goods abroad. It will not be different this year.
Apex, housed in the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, will be running an international campaign parallel to the World Cup, linking the country’s soccer prowess to the quality of Brazilian produce.
The campaign has a US$ 9.4 million budget and although it is aimed specifically at some two million importers and an estimated three million consumers in Germany who are connected with the World Cup in one way or another, it will hopefully reach many other potential consumers.
Thus the campaign begins in January and will run through November. A total of 30 events in 11 German cities are planned with the participation of 800 Brazilian firms. The campaign slogan, and this certainly applies to Brazilian soccer as well, is: "We do it different."
ABr