People want to solve the problem without contributing to the solution, they don’t get vaccinated, they don’t want to wear a mask and gel alcohol, but they want to go to concerts and stadiums
Decisions to contain the coronavirus continue to divide opinions. One of the most controversial is the effectiveness of public restrictions in order to maintain social distance and avoid agglomerations. The subject comes up again with the advancement of the Ômicron variant, which resulted in a new limit of 70% occupancy in soccer games and events, determined by the government of São Paulo.
“You have to restrict. People want to solve the problem without contributing to the solution, they don’t get vaccinated, they don’t want to wear a mask and alcohol gel, but they want to go to concerts and stadiums”, points out VanDyck Silveira, CEO of Trevisan Escola de Negócios.
But the economist makes a reservation. Studies capable of attesting to the effectiveness of restrictive measures are lacking. In addition, the low rate of testing leaves public policies in the dark. “Bullshit decisions are made because the focus of the disease is not known”, says Silveira. The executive cites China’s coping model, which uses mass testing to find out where the sources of new outbreaks are and carry out selective lockdowns.
“It is an efficient performance for such an extensive country. Brazil could follow the same example, uniting health and economy, two variables that need to be attacked at the same time”, suggests the economist. The context is irrefutable. Despite being more transmissible, Ômicron only did not cause more deaths and serious cases due to vaccination. “The vaccine does not prevent contamination, but it protects against severe forms”, recalls Silveira.
Celio Ashcar Jr., partner at akm Performma and founding partner at Konecte.me, agrees with the effectiveness of vaccination, but questions the restrictive measures.
“I am in favor of vaccination and proof of the vaccine to enter anywhere. But the new government measures signify an isolated and baseless attitude. It is very shortsighted to think that the problem lies in the capacity of people at an event”, criticizes the executive, who has just taken over as chairman of the Council of the Association of Promotional Marketing/Live Marketing (Ampro) in the biennium 2022 and 2023.
Ashcar Jr. reminds us that a protection plan is needed for all environments. “Airports are crowded, with giant queues due to lack of staff service. They put two people to serve thousands of passengers, who are crowded”, he observes.
The lack of awareness of people about the importance of vaccination and the use of masks is another glaring finding. “I believe that, through vaccination, awareness and inspection, we will learn to live with this virus, which appears every hour in a format”, concludes Ashcar Jr.
In football, loss is inevitable. “It’s fact. Stadiums will not increase box office revenue. Right now, photography is down”, evaluates Amir Somoggi, sports marketing specialist and managing partner of Sports Value.
According to studies by the consultancy, box office revenue was one of the ones that fell the most during the Covid-19 quarantine. The total losses of Brazilian clubs, considering 2020 and 2021, reached almost BRL 500 million. According to data from Datafolha cited by Somoggi, only 20% of Brazilians attend stadiums. Price and distance are among the main factors that explain the low presence.
Still, it is a source of income that gains new opportunities with technology. One of the alternatives emerging in the market is the smart stadium, whose operation contemplates the way people watch, interact and consume game broadcasts.
Management and installation are connected to an entire digital apparatus capable of optimizing the operation of the arenas. The solution takes the stadium experience to digital “bringing unlimited revenue,” says Somoggi. It’s technology trying to save goals in another Covid-19 attack.
On January 23, at 4 pm, Novorizontino and Palmeiras will make their debut in the Campeonato Paulista in a game to be held at Estádio Dr. Jorge Ismael de Biasi, in Novo Horizonte. This will be the first match with audience capped at 70% in 2022.
