Flamengo's youth academy gained another reason to smile earlier this year: a sponsorship from Orthopride, a cosmetic orthodontics network that will also be responsible for the oral health of all the club's Olympic sports teams, with offices in Gávea and Ninho do Urubu. In this interview, the company's commercial director, Alexandre Soares, explains the motivation behind this partnership and details how it will work.
Fan club members get more Flamengo on the field: the money goes to football and brings more reinforcements, new talent, and structure to the training center! Click and feel the pride of being a fan club member.
Tell us a little about the history of Orthopride.
Alexandre Soares: Over the past five years, Orthopride has become one of the largest franchises in the sector in the country, serving approximately 100 patients per month and opening a new clinic every 40 days on average, ending 2016 with 41 units. We are a young company, but built on solid foundations and with excellent prospects for the future.
Why sponsorship in football?
AS: There's no mystery to it. It's a national passion, widely covered by the media, and conveys an image of health, well-being, and movement, which aligns with the concept we want to convey at Orthopride.
Why Flamengo?
AS: Everyone knows the power of Flamengo, its fans, and its brand. This was a choice based solely on the goals we set for our company, providing Orthopride with the visibility we desire, in a partnership that greatly benefits both parties.
And the choice for the youth divisions?
AS: Besides being appropriate for our current reality, this choice is also motivated by Orthopride's social concern. Many of the young people who make up Flamengo's youth teams lack a history of adequate dental care, which can lead to injuries or slower healing. We will set up two offices, one in Gávea and the other in Ninho do Urubu, and care for all of the club's Olympic athletes, which is a great honor and a great responsibility. Working with young people adds another dimension to this partnership, as Orthopride is also a young company with an aggressive market posture and fresh ideas.
Will it be a big challenge to take care of the oral health of two thousand red-and-black athletes?
AS: I don't think so. We live in a country internationally recognized for having the best dentistry in the world and the largest number of professionals in the field, with 220 dentists. Therefore, thousands of clinics would be able to do excellent work at Flamengo. Fortunately, Orthopride is currently the one doing the work. And we will dedicate ourselves to ensuring that Flamengo has, without a doubt, the best dental structure of any soccer club in the world.
Making your debut in the São Paulo Cup guaranteed national exposure. Were you prepared for that?
AS: In addition to press coverage from across Brazil, our partnership has been featured in media outlets in England, France, the United States, Chile, and even Poland, to name a few. After the announcement of the agreement with Flamengo, we've already been contacted by professionals from the US and Chile interested in joining Orthopride. And we've already sold five new franchises in the first month of the year! Every step of Orthopride is carefully planned. We don't do anything impulsively or rashly, and this is one of the main reasons for our success. Showcasing our brand nationally in a competition of this magnitude is something that will happen at the right time and in the right way. We are fully prepared for it.
The company has had previous experience with Volta Redonda. What's your assessment?
AS: It was immensely positive and contributed decisively to taking our strategy a step forward. Winning the Series D brought us not only joy but also great visibility. Furthermore, it proved that Orthopride is a lucky person.
Does the company plan to move to the main team of a major club in the future, such as Flamengo?
AS: Not anytime soon, although it's a natural extension of the entire process. Everything will depend on the company's growth and ongoing assessments of our performance, the results of these partnerships, and projections for our future. But, ideally, it would be a goal worth achieving. And sponsoring Flamengo's main team is every company's dream.
Fan club members get more Flamengo on the field: the money goes to football and brings more reinforcements, new talent, and structure to the training center! Click and feel the pride of being a fan club member.
Tell us a little about the history of Orthopride.
Alexandre Soares: Over the past five years, Orthopride has become one of the largest franchises in the sector in the country, serving approximately 100 patients per month and opening a new clinic every 40 days on average, ending 2016 with 41 units. We are a young company, but built on solid foundations and with excellent prospects for the future.
Why sponsorship in football?
AS: There's no mystery to it. It's a national passion, widely covered by the media, and conveys an image of health, well-being, and movement, which aligns with the concept we want to convey at Orthopride.
Why Flamengo?
AS: Everyone knows the power of Flamengo, its fans, and its brand. This was a choice based solely on the goals we set for our company, providing Orthopride with the visibility we desire, in a partnership that greatly benefits both parties.
And the choice for the youth divisions?
AS: Besides being appropriate for our current reality, this choice is also motivated by Orthopride's social concern. Many of the young people who make up Flamengo's youth teams lack a history of adequate dental care, which can lead to injuries or slower healing. We will set up two offices, one in Gávea and the other in Ninho do Urubu, and care for all of the club's Olympic athletes, which is a great honor and a great responsibility. Working with young people adds another dimension to this partnership, as Orthopride is also a young company with an aggressive market posture and fresh ideas.
Will it be a big challenge to take care of the oral health of two thousand red-and-black athletes?
AS: I don't think so. We live in a country internationally recognized for having the best dentistry in the world and the largest number of professionals in the field, with 220 dentists. Therefore, thousands of clinics would be able to do excellent work at Flamengo. Fortunately, Orthopride is currently the one doing the work. And we will dedicate ourselves to ensuring that Flamengo has, without a doubt, the best dental structure of any soccer club in the world.
Making your debut in the São Paulo Cup guaranteed national exposure. Were you prepared for that?
AS: In addition to press coverage from across Brazil, our partnership has been featured in media outlets in England, France, the United States, Chile, and even Poland, to name a few. After the announcement of the agreement with Flamengo, we've already been contacted by professionals from the US and Chile interested in joining Orthopride. And we've already sold five new franchises in the first month of the year! Every step of Orthopride is carefully planned. We don't do anything impulsively or rashly, and this is one of the main reasons for our success. Showcasing our brand nationally in a competition of this magnitude is something that will happen at the right time and in the right way. We are fully prepared for it.
The company has had previous experience with Volta Redonda. What's your assessment?
AS: It was immensely positive and contributed decisively to taking our strategy a step forward. Winning the Series D brought us not only joy but also great visibility. Furthermore, it proved that Orthopride is a lucky person.
Does the company plan to move to the main team of a major club in the future, such as Flamengo?
AS: Not anytime soon, although it's a natural extension of the entire process. Everything will depend on the company's growth and ongoing assessments of our performance, the results of these partnerships, and projections for our future. But, ideally, it would be a goal worth achieving. And sponsoring Flamengo's main team is every company's dream.