The fact that the betting market has inflated values, with hefty sponsorship payments to football clubs, has led some of the country's main bets to change their marketing strategy. Instead of sponsoring teams, some of them have invested in "ambassadors," whether they are players, Olympic athletes, journalists, influencers, or content creators. The narrator Galvão Bueno and Vini Jr. are some of these figures.
Some betting houses argue that they no longer invest in Serie A teams because the values are inflated, especially after Vai de Bet decided to pay R$ 360 million to Corinthians in the largest contract of its kind in the history of Brazilian football. However, the agreement was terminated five months later due to controversial payments from the deal's intermediary to a supposed "shell" company.
There are betting houses that think about reinvesting in the main clubs of Brazil when the regulation of the sector is implemented. This is the case of galera.bet, which used to sponsor both the men's and women's teams of Corinthians and was, until last year, the master sponsor of the Brasileirão.
“When we chose to move away from sponsoring men's football teams, we focused on a strategy built due to the market context, resulting from the recent inflation of marketing properties associated with football, but they are not discarded in the near future, especially in the post-regulation scenario that will better organize the scenario”, justifies Marcos Sabiá, CEO of galera.bet.
The company decided to invest in other fronts. It now sponsors the São Paulo Carnival, two samba schools, dozens of organized fan groups, and also has a presence in one of the boxes at Allianz Parque, Palmeiras' stadium. It is common to see the company's name displayed on the walls outside bars around the Palmeiras arena.
A Casa de Apostas also does not invest in clubs. The brand is associated with the Copa do Nordeste, of which it is the master sponsor, and names two stadiums in Brazil: Arena Fonte Nova and Arena das Dunas, in Salvador and Natal, respectively, as it owns the naming rights of both.
“The search, from these varied movements we have made, is to mark presence in spaces where entertainment is”, states Anderson Nunes, business director of the company. “This is our main goal. A Casa de Apostas wants to be where joy is”.
This is a movement of some betting houses, not something generalized since of the Serie A clubs, 18 are sponsored by companies from the sector. Annually, according to a survey by Estadão, betting sites invest more than R$ 500 million in the 18 elite clubs of Brazilian football with which they are partners.
According to the online traffic company SEMRush, bet365, Betano, and BetFair are currently the companies with the highest audience numbers, thus being the favorites of players. In the monthly average for the last 12 months, betting sites had 194.2 million visits. Brazil is among those with the highest number of audience on these platforms, despite not yet being among the largest in revenue.
Experts point out that the “bets” market emerged as a financial attraction, replacing the exits of banks, for example. The estimate is that the sector invests R$ 3.5 billion in football sponsorships annually. The value encompasses clubs, competitions, and television broadcasts.
Betano holds the naming rights of the main football championships in the country, the Brasileirão and the Copa do Brasil, and is the master sponsor of Atlético Mineiro. But it also associates its brand with influencers, such as comedian Yuri Marçal, and has the driver Felipe Massa, now in Stock Car, as one of its ambassadors.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, star of the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA, is the great global ambassador of the brand. The idea, says the betting house, is to be “very close to sports and entertainment fans”.
“We want to offer special experiences for all people who do not have the opportunity to be in a stadium, a race, or closer to their idols. So, we put ambassadors to focus on interactivity and engagement with the public, increasingly humanizing and bringing them closer to the platform”, argues Betano to Estadão.
Influence marketing is a strategy of Betnacional. To attract consumer attention, the company recruited the most famous narrator in the country. Galvão Bueno became one of the brand's ambassadors earlier this year.
One of the darlings of the advertising market, the communicator participates in advertising actions and makes posts related to the brand on his social media profiles. “The association with our brand allows us to reach a wider and more diverse audience”, declares Betnacional.
Casa de Galvão Bueno for over 40 years, Globo is also a partner of Betnacional, which sponsors football on the broadcaster for the second consecutive year. Another star in whom the brand invests is Vini Jr., forward of Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team and a strong candidate to be elected the best player in the world this year.
“We invest in athletes and personalities because we believe this allows us to connect more directly and authentically with the public”, emphasizes the betting house.
“Our ambassadors have great appeal and credibility, which we consider key points, and we manage to engage sports and entertainment fans in a more emotional way”.
The betting platform has also started investing in Olympic athletes. At once, it recruited judoka Bia Souza and the beach volleyball duo Ana Patrícia and Duda after the three won the gold medal at the Paris Games.
In music, the brand's ambassadors are Thiaguinho, Seu Jorge, and Ludmilla. “They are figures that bring with them enormous credibility, Brazilianness, and reach”, believes the brand.
Source: Estadão
