Brazilian football club Flamengo created a digital data platform (desktop and mobile) to connect the visually impaired and non-disabled Flamengo fans who might be interested in aiding them.
The platform was designed to be totally accessible to the visually impaired using native APIs from each device: with their data we matched people who live close to each other and set them up for the next game.
This initiative, which began back in 2017 and continued through 2019, was created for Flamengo by NBS, Rio de Janeiro (part of Dentsu Aegis Network).
This initiative was a response to the challenge that whilst the law in Brazil guarantees free access to football games for blind people and a companion, there wasn’t a way to bring these people together.
So the club and its agency NBS created an online platform to connect blind people with companions: one which was designed to be totally accessible to the visually impaired and used native APIs from each device.
Then using the data collected through the initiative, the NBA campaign matched people who live close to each other and set them up for the next game – thus bringing blind people into the stadium, onto the field (and into the news).
Background
Flamengo is a top tier Brazilian football club with more than 40 million supporters and is positioned as being ‘a team of the people’.
In other words a team built on a fan base from across all social classes, ethnicities and genders.
The club wanted to bring to life that this positioning also includes the visually impaired.
In Brazil, they are about 6.5 million visually impaired people: these are normal people like everyone else and, just like pretty much everyone else in Brazil they love football.
Yet, whilst there are no clear or official prejudices against blind fans, the reality is that they are often forgotten.
In Brazil, a law guarantees free access to the games for the blind and for a companion, however such fans aren’t always able to rely on friends or family to escort them.
Which makes the law useless.
For Flamengo, that means less fans in the stadium, while for its blind fans that means they can’t cheer for their team.
Strategy
The club and agency set out to create a digital data platform – spanning desktop and mobile – which was designed to be totally accessible to the visually impaired using native APIs from each device.
Thus blind fans could hear all of the site’s content via audio and interact with it through voice.
Then and emotional video was launched on Flamengo’s social channels to call people to sign up.
There were two videos: one for the general fans and another one based on audiodescription for the blind.
After gathering and linking the data, the team then connected blind fans with local fan guides and set them up to go to games together.
For each game we’ve published posts to alert the visually impaired and the non disabled to get ready for the next match.
The posts for the blind always started with a specific line that helps the visually impaired to identify that those specific posts are for them: “para cego ler”, which translates as “reading for the blind”.
Blind Passion – Case Study from andrehavt on Vimeo.
Due to security reasons, the initiative was only able to bring 20 visually impaired fans to each game.
The initiative as created for Flamengo by agency NBS, Rio de Janeiro where the team included Creative VP André Lima, Executive Creative Director Carlos André Eyer, Art Directors Luiz Cesar Faria Jr, Augusto Correia and André Havt, Copywriter Augusto Correia, Head of Art André Havt, Agency Producers Teca Vilaça, Alessandra Gamberalli and Luiza Maggessi.
The Production Company was BR Cinema, the Director Bruno Rodrigues, the Sound Production Company was SoundZilla with Planner Roberto Vianello, Account Executives Tatiana Soter, Julia Barros, Camilo Coelho and Amanda Medeiros, plus Client Approval Antonio Tabet, Marcio Mac Culloch, Daniel Orlean, Bruno Spindel and Ricardo Taves.
Results
In terms of outcomes, the brand and agency state that the campaign earned US$5m of earned media and featured on over 2 hours of TV broadcast.
But more importantly it resultted in:
+700 blind people signed up to take part
+8,000 non-blind people signed up to escort them
The campaign also scooped a Silver Entertainment Lions for Sport Diversity & Inclusion in Sport at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2019 after being shortlisted for Entertainment Sports for Good at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2018, plus it also won a Clio Health Silver.
Comment:
While there was always a law in Brazil to provide free pass for blind fans plus one companion, it was actually through technology and data that they were fully able to enjoy games at Flamengo
Football/soccer is passionate sport and in Brazil it is basically a national religion.
Flamengo is a Brazilian football club with more than 40 million fans. It’s It is recognized for being a team of the people. A team that has fans from all social classes, ethnicities, genres etc. Visually impaired. In Brazil, they are about 6.5 million. Like everyone else, they also like football. They have a disability but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be able to enjoy their life as much as everyone.
For Flamengo it means having more fans at the matches and reaffirming itself as a team of the people.
Its an ongoing project that harness the core values and culture of the brand.
Like one fan from a rival club commented “It’s more than football”, so the team is now expanding the project and opening it up to blind fans from other teams.
This initiative saw agency NBS live up to the brand promise in its own name: NBS stands for ‘No Bullshit’ – a fun name that reflects the agency’s philosophy which sees it set out to focus its energy just on what’s important and not on what’s superfluous.
Links:
Flamengo
https://www.facebook.com/FlamengoOficial
https://www.instagram.com/flamengo/
https://www.youtube.com/user/flamengo
NB
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