This Summer, Brazil’s tourist board, Embratur, started running a digital advertising campaign focused on the U.S. market, the second largest emitter of tourists to Brazil. Although it targets an English-speaking population, Embratur chose to write “Brasil” with an “S”, as it is in the native language, Portuguese. The campaign pieces play on words that represent Brazil and, in English, start with the letter “S”. The central tagline is “It’s Spectacular. It’s Brasil”, but in each piece, there is a new word starting with “S” to connect with “Brasil”, such as Sustainable, Sunny, Scrumptious and Sambalicious (a pun that unites Samba and Delicious – usual neologism in the US to qualify things that are positive, exciting, and inspiring).
Embratur’s U.S.-focused digital advertising campaign includes a 30-second film displayed in New York’s Times Square. In it, the viewer can see the experiences found in Brazil in different scenarios: beaches, nature, and cities. Another four 15-second videos portray the main tourist segments related to culture, gastronomy, sun and beach, and ecotourism.
The campaign shows 10 tourist destinations in Brazil: Rio de Janeiro, Manaus, Salvador, Foz do Iguaçu, Fernando de Noronha, Belém, Chapada dos Veadeiros, Natal and Pipa, Pantanal and Fortaleza and Jericoacoara. The choice was made after collecting data and cross-referencing information, such as for example, the segments that most attract tourists from the United States.
Embratur Re-Joins USTOA
As Embratur launches a new branding campaign focused on U.S. travelers, Brazil’s tourist board also re-joined the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA) after several years outside of the organization.
“Returning to the USTOA is a central part of our strategy to expand the commercialization of Brazilian destinations in the U.S.,” said Marcelo Freixo, Embratur’s president.
“We have a wide variety of new products we are working to promote, and they serve different segments and niches that have strong market appeal,” Frexio said, “thus fostering the expansion of connectivity between the two countries.”
To date, Brazil has hosted 92% of its 2022 visitor total, with 3.2 million arrivals this year, according to Jaqueline Gil, Embratur’s international marketing, business, and sustainability director.
U.S. travelers represent the country’s second-largest visitor source market. A total of 271,100 U.S. travelers arrived in Brazil during the first five months of 2023, according to the agency’s official numbers.
Increased airline service has helped to drive Brazil’s arrivals growth. The 9.7 million airline seats dedicated to Brazil between April and December of 2023 represent a 26% year-over-year increase based on statistics from Embratur and travel research firm ForwardKeys.