beyondbrics

What should super-star athletes do after they retire? That depends on their personal interests but also the economic opportunities available to them.

Brazilian footballer Ronaldo, who explains his decision to found a sports marketing company in an interview in today’s FT, has chosen one of the fastest-growing sectors in his country’s booming economy.

Brazil’s growth is being powered by consumer spending and the advertising market is hot. WPP Group – which holds a 45 per cent stake in Ronaldo’s São Paulo-based company, 9ine – expects growth of 9.5 per cent this year for marketing revenues. Brazilian agencies have a reputation for excellence, and a scramble last year among foreign groups for those agencies still available for takeover led them to pay very steep prices.

And with Brazil set to host the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016, sports may be one of the sweetest corners of the industry.

“We’re very excited. We’re going to do planning and marketing for big companies and manage the images of athletes,” says Ronaldo, whose agency will deal with a range of sports. “In the next few years all companies will be doing campaigns with football. We already have relationships with the brands that invest the most, and with lots of potential clients. And those who are outside this world right now, we can create content for them.”

WPP Group is already the market leader in Brazil, and Sir Martin Sorrell, WPP’s CEO, thinks Ronaldo gives the agency a personal connection which is important in Brazil. “You’re going to do great things,” Sorrell told Ronaldo at his hotel in London, seemingly just as excited about being able to hang out with the football star for a day as he was about explaining the business venture.

Since Ronaldo is new to this side of the business, his star power is probably his biggest gift to the newest ad house on the block – so far, at least, some of Brazil’s most powerful business people have jumped at the chance to meet a national sporting idol.

But Marcus Buaiz, 9ine’s executive director, says the company is also benefiting from getting a head start and going straight for the sports market.

“We have confidence in Ronaldo’s work and his image, and we’re talking now about what should happen for the World Cup, what we can do,” he says. “No one here has spent enough time yet worrying about marketing in sports. People have just been investing where they thought they had to. No one was doing enough planning. We’re going to companies now trying to get ready for 2014.”

Contracts have been signed with athletes and GlaxoSmithKline, and Buaiz says Sony has approached them for meetings, and that they seek to work with Nestlé, too.

“There are very few live events that have audiences of significant size,” says Sorrell. There’s a pool of money that chases these live events, despite difficulties. Why are ad costs going up at the Super Bowl despite economic problems in the US? For this reason.”

Of course, it may or may not turn out that Ronaldo is good in his new role. Athletes taking on new ventures have no guarantee of success. But he couldn’t have chosen a much better place to move into marketing.

Related reading:
A new ball game for Brazil’s Ronaldo, FT
Ads in Brazil: foreigners move in, beyondbrics
M&A fever lifts the tempo in Brazil, FT