IDEA: Transform the online baptism into a real baptism. The launch begins live, in maternity wards in Rio de Janeiro on the morning of the birthday. João Batista Nunes was there baptising little fans who were born on the same day as the club. A video with the ceremonies was placed on YouTube and advertisements and birth participations were published in newspapers. They talked about the action in the maternity wards and invited everyone: have your own personalised ceremony on the Olympikus Fan Page.

Olympikus is Brazil’s biggest sports brand. The sponsor of Flamengo football club. The team with Brazil’s largest, most passionate fan-base. For them, the team is a religion. Thinking of this, we created a Facebook app to commemorate the club’s birthday. In it, João Batista Nunes, the team's idol from their only world title, a veritable saint to the fans, performs a personalised baptism scene. How could we launch and promote the application on the club's birthday?

The biggest sports programme on TV covered the baptism with exclusivity. An entire minute of coverage in front of an audience of more than 14m people. Over 110,000 people underwent and shared the online baptism. In just 4 days, the brand’s page went from 18,000 to over 140,000 'likes': a 750% growth. Got over US$300,000 in free media: a 500% return on the investment. The campaign reached over 30m people. The application was an absolute success and Olympikus became the most prestigious Brazilian sports brand on Facebook.

The brand needed to strengthen its relationship with supporters, who are very reticent in relation to sponsors. They believe that sponsors merely want to take advantage of the club’s image. With this initiative, and the emotional appeal of the action and the presence of an idol baptising newborns, the brand effectively managed to strengthen ties with the public.