Market Intelligence: With Rock in Rio, TIM resumes support for concerts in 2022 and observes the evolution of the pandemic

After two years marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, the market has sketched a reaction and organized face-to-face events with a considerable number of people. With an eye on the evolution of vaccinated rates and the decrease in the number of victims, TIM resumes its agenda with support for musical events for 2022.

“TIM has always had a very strong connection with music. We never left this pillar aside in our strategy. We have a history of our own and sponsored events, the presence of music as a communication link in our campaigns, great music stars as ambassadors of the brand”, says Ana Paula Castello Branco, director of brand and communication at TIM Brasil.

The situation still requires caution, especially for the omicron variant, and investments are being made. The operator of Italian origin does not disclose values, but the highlight of the agenda with whom it signed a partnership is Rock in Rio, scheduled for September of next year.

“Music and major festivals are part of TIM’s history. By partnering with Rock in Rio, in addition to ratifying this positioning, we connect the brand to the optimistic vision of a world under reconstruction”, says Alberto Griselli, TIM’s revenue director Brazil.

With Iza as its ambassador, the brand says it has music in its DNA and is also planning a series of sponsorships and proprietary events for the coming months — including beach shows, a women-only festival and regional performances.

The operator’s project schedule includes events throughout the year in the most diverse musical genres — hip-hop, pop, rock, country music, among them, but still without a published schedule. One of them is TIM Music Verão, which in March takes free concerts to beaches in Rio de Janeiro and, for the first time, in São Luís (MA). There is also the TIM Music Mujeres Positivas festival, which should bring together big names and rising artists in national hip-hop in July.

In São Paulo, Farraial will bring together country music artists in August, while Sons da Rua, in October, with a focus on hip-hop culture and with names from rap. Belo Horizonte hosts Jazz Lagoinha in May.

According to the executive, diversity is one of the pillars that support the programming, especially the brand’s proprietary events. “For us, this point is essential. The proprietary events we developed for 2022 are already included in our planning of diversity and inclusion initiatives, with actions to promote socially minor groups and fight prejudice.”

She recalls as an example the last edition of the TIM Summer, in 2020, when there was a day dedicated to the struggle of the LGBTQIA+ community, with shows Gloria Groove and Johnny Hooker, and another in favor of racial equality, in partnership with Instituto Identidade do Brasil (ID_BR) and Iza’s show.

The company emphasizes that this entire schedule takes into account the current context, with people’s desire to meet and the care still needed in the fight against Covid.

“Proprietary events will only happen if possible, we are following the evolution of the pandemic. And, when they occur, they will follow the norms established by local legislation”, says Ana Paula Castello Branco. “We also think about this when we close the sponsored actions, choosing responsible partners who will act in accordance with our premises.”

TIM Festival

From 2003 to 2008, cities like São Paulo and Rio mainly received big names on the world stage with the TIM Festival. The darling event of the indie audience brought to the country artists such as Public Enemy, Arcade Fire, Libertines, PJ Harvey, Kings of Leon, Strokes, Daft Punk, The Killers, Arctic Monkeys.

Since then, several festivals have emerged and consolidated, such as Lollapalooza in São Paulo. In 2022, for example, new players emerge, such as Primavera Sound and MITA.

In this context, when asked about the return of TIM Festival, Ana Paula says that there are no plans for that to happen for the time being. “But TIM Festival was very important to the brand’s history and solidified our relationship with music.”​