The birth of Urubinha, son of Uruba – the club's mascot – on November 15th of last year, kicked off the largest fan engagement project in the country. Not even major foreign clubs have such a rich section on their websites dedicated to these fans. The Uruba and Urubinha website (www.flamengo.com.br/mascote) receives an average of 70 hits and 350 page views per month. There, children can color pictures on the computer, play online games, print quizzes, view photos and videos, and download virtual gifts. In its eight months of operation, the website has reached the impressive milestone of 1 million page views.
The mascots' performances at Flamengo home matches are starting to captivate the fans. They're always greeted with a huge celebration, and they reciprocate by waving, dancing, posing for photos, and bringing smiles to the faces of Flamengo fans, who are already chanting "Uh, uh, uh, it's a vulture!" Presentations take place 40 minutes before kickoff and during halftime.
Without consuming club investment, since the project is fully sponsored, the new brand is already demonstrating its commercial strength. On Children's Day and at the end of the year, fans will be able to purchase licensed products featuring football's most feisty vultures. "Flamengo has been carefully planning strategies related to young fans," says sponsorship manager Luis Pozzi. "Uruba and Urubinha are the flagship of these initiatives, which will have repercussions and are already beginning to bring in new fans and revenue."
One of the developments is a section of the website with educational content. Scheduled to launch in September, Uruba and Urubinha will assist researchers in discussing ecological issues that complement school curricula. Flying over the city, they will be able to validate the topics covered, which will be analyzed and addressed from a preservationist perspective. "These are the first stages of our planning, but there's still much more to come. We invite our young fans to come to the games and meet these two crazy red-and-blacks," concludes Luis Pozzi.
MASCOT: Browse the site and have fun with games, coloring pages, wallpapers, computer utilities, as well as photos and videos of the mascots at Maracanã and at football training.