Brands

Ayrton Senna: the power of a brand The same immortalization Ayrton Senna conquered in the heart of his fans and admirers is also reflected in the success of his brands. The products which carry the brand of the Brazilian driver translate the perfection of the manoeuvers, the overcoming of any obstacle, the thrill of victory, and the determination to do more and better that he lived both on and off the racetrack. Even after twenty years, Ayrton Senna continues to win; this time by maintaining the lead in the ranking of popular preference and sales of products that carry with them the timeless characteristics of the three-time Formula 1 World Champion; uniqueness and high performance. Proof of this is the survey conducted in July 2013 by Brunoro Sport Business (BSB) and PD Gestão de Imagem e Carreira in partnership with the magazine Época NEGÓCIOS, which confirmed that Ayrton Senna is the champion brand for athletes among the Brazilian public. The driver’s name was the most cited and was number one in the attributes of winning attitude and ethics as well as standing out in the characteristic of overcoming obstacles and being mentioned as an example of credibility, visibility, determination and charisma. On a scale of 0 to 100, Senna scored 33.8; more than double the second placed Ronaldo, Il Fenomeno, who had 16.6. Roger Federer was third with 14.5, and Usain Bolt fourth with 14.3. In 2006, Young & Rubicam pointed out in the magazine EXAME that the driver had maintained his first place position among celebrities with the greatest potential for licensing. He also led in the rankings for respect and capacity for differentiation. But it is not only in Brazil where Ayrton Senna stands out. In Italy, a survey on the site of the newspaper Corriere Della Serra, with almost 10 million participants, chose the three-time champion as the greatest driver of all time with more than 70% of the votes. He is ahead of other motor racing stars such as Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher, who won titles for the Italian team Ferrari. In Japan, where the Brazilian won his three world titles, Ayrton Senna is also an idol. In 2006, on a program on Nippon Television, Ayrton Senna was rated 22nd among the most idolized personalities of all time for the Japanese people, beating out Leonardo Da Vinci and John Lennon. The power of the Ayrton Senna brand is seen principally in social benefits in Brazil. This is because part of the revenue stream raised by licensing his image is used to fund educational programs by the Instituto Ayrton Senna, which benefit more than two million public school system students each year; helping the country overcome high rates of inequality.