ATENAS.ag will carry out around 35 activations at Rock in Rio alone, with brands such as Heineken, TIM and Volkswagen
The characteristic animation of the Bahian carnival is also becoming a trademark of music festivals throughout Brazil, thanks to two entrepreneurs from Salvador. Quércia Andrade and Denise Garrido are at the helm of ATENAS.ag, a company that recorded a turnover of R$ 130 million in 2023 and is expected to grow by 30% this year.
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One of the agency’s jobs this year is at Rock in Rio. At the festival, which begins on Friday the 13th, Bahian women are responsible for activation campaigns for brands such as Heineken, Volksvagen Brasil, Trident and Lagunitas. In total, there will be around 35 activations with the festival’s audience.
Created in Salvador 17 years ago, the agency has consolidated and expanded its portfolio by conquering the Southeast.
“Our growth didn’t just happen when we expanded our headquarters in São Paulo. We grew year after year. Since we started, we were already making disruptive and innovative actions, when we were still a regional agency. Because from 2007 to 2019, we sold ourselves mainly to the South and Southeast Axis as a regional agency, with great experience in the Northeast,” says Quércia.
ATENAS already served big names in the market such as Trident, Coca-Cola, Havaianas and Hyundai. One of the most successful stories, according to the partner, is Devassa, a beer brand with sales activities focused in the Northeast and which is now always linked to music and festivals.
“During the pandemic, we were able to collaborate with several great artists of Brazilian culture. We did great live shows with Devassa, like Gilberto Gil’s birthday, which transformed the level of lives. We did the Duda Beat live show with Nando Reis, which generated an LP, and that LP went to the Grammys,” Quércia recalls.
The success of live broadcasts has allowed ATHENS to continue to grow, even in a general recession, during the Covid-19 pandemic. The agency has continued to grow since then.
Live Marketing
One of the possibilities for ATENAS to become what it is today is the choice of partners to focus on only one segment of work: the brand experience. Within this, they perform the famous activations that are part of live marketing.
“We specialize in creating platforms for brand experience. These are long-tail actions, where I don’t work on the brand, I work for work. I work on the brand, on the long-term brand strategy. And we believe that this builds the brand,” explains Quercia Andrade.
With Heineken, for example, everything about the brand’s connection to music and sustainability in Brazil goes through the agency. One of the most memorable moments of this collaboration happened again this year, when singer Madonna held a bottle of beer during her show in Rio de Janeiro.
“We managed to negotiate, we put the greenback in Madonna’s hand. During her tour, there was already a part of the show where she was drinking something alcoholic. We made a model of the bottle, the bottle she throws to the audience is plastic. It’s not original, but it was really cool, because we negotiated an insertion with her and she made even more,” Quércia recalls.
The second success hypothesis of the ATENAS agency is linked to its team. Female leadership is also reflected in the number of female employees in the company: 70% of employees and 75% of management. In addition, 45% are people of color and 40% identify as LGBTQIA+.
“We are very proud of these numbers, we have goals to increase them, but as soon as we have a diverse team, an inclusive team, we will be able to think more outside the box,” believes the CEO.
Source: Terra
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
