The Brazilian Amazon launches its own brand to boost tourism and sustainable actions

One of the world's richest, most diverse, and most symbolic territories, the Brazilian Legal Amazon, now has its own official brand for the first time. A product of the alliance between Integrated Amazonian Routes (RAI) and Embratur (Brazil's official tourism promotion agency), the Amazon brand was created to highlight the business potential of the region—comprising nine of the country's 26 states—and strengthen it as a national and international tourist destination, giving prominence to its people and all that it produces.

The initiative, launched on the website visiteamazonia.com.br, positions the vast Amazonian territory as the center and origin of a transformative experience, an active agent with the power to influence, teach, and showcase the immense power of nature. The idea is to present a vibrant, integrated, diverse, and accessible Amazon, one that offers a broad impact on visitors and generates real and sustainable development for its inhabitants. The Brazilian Legal Amazon, home to the largest tropical rainforest on the planet, covers approximately 60% of Brazilian territory and is home to 28 million people.

“The Amazon has all the attributes to consolidate itself as one of the world’s most important tourist destinations. Tourism, in this context, is a strategic tool to promote a sustainable development model, based on generating employment and income for local communities. From the rainforest to the cities, the entire value chain of the region benefits,” emphasizes Bruno Reis, the new president of Embratur. “Furthermore, initiatives like this contribute to positioning the region at the heart of the global bioeconomy and strengthening the internationalization of Amazonian micro and small entrepreneurs,” he adds.

Live brand

Developed by FutureBrand São Paulo, the project was based on extensive research and the direct participation of residents, workers, artists, and other key figures from the nine states that make up the region. After years of working with fragmented aesthetics and positioning, the states of the Brazilian Legal Amazon now have a single brand that will help nurture the entire business and tourism ecosystem, fostering a sustainable economy and attracting visitors and investors from Brazil and around the world. This will allow, for the first time, the unification of communication efforts across the states—Acre, Amazonas, Amapá, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, and Tocantins—while maintaining the distinct identity of each.

“Around the world, many of the most visited and sought-after tourist destinations have strong, well-established brands. The Amazon has always had that potential, but it had never before brought together all stakeholders in a structured way to combine efforts in building this brand. Now, we present a solid brand that clearly illustrates the richness, diversity, and vibrancy of the Amazon, uniting its main elements and the power of the entire region through a single concept and design,” explains Arnaldo de Andrade Bastos, partner and Chief Design Officer of FutureBrand São Paulo.

Natural designs

The brand's development stemmed primarily from the natural designs of the Amazon. Using real coordinates of the Amazon River and its tributaries, the specialists working on the project found the complete alphabet in satellite imagery and formed the Amazon logo using the actual curves of the 25,000 kilometers of navigable waterways in this basin. Acting as a living brand, it doesn't have a single application but rather offers a series of predefined colors and elements that can be transformed according to the region and occasion, while highlighting its fauna, flora, environment, and culture.

To foster a stronger sense of belonging and regional identity, the project benefited from the collaboration of various local professionals and artists, including illustrators Cristo, Winy Tapajós, Malu Menezes, and Beatriz Belo; photographers Ori Junior and Bob Menezes; and the Instituto Letras que Flutuam, with lyricist Odir Abreu. The audiovisual production for the project's launch was handled by Marahu, from the state of Pará.

Multiple applications

Beyond establishing the region as a tourist destination, the new Amazon brand also aims to become a powerful resource for generating business for local companies, entrepreneurs, and artisans, ensuring income that contributes to its preservation. To this end, the “Feito de Amazônia” (“Made in the Amazon”) seal was created, which can be applied to a wide variety of local products, certifying their Amazonian origins and strengthening the brand both within and outside of Brazil.

“We are talking about a powerhouse of art, music, gastronomy, culture, and the production of hundreds of products for different industries. And it is precisely this richness that the world can now fully experience: the Amazon as a sensory and transformative experience revealed in the flavors, sounds, colors, and knowledge of the rainforest. An experience that impacts those who visit, but also strengthens those who live and produce in the region,” emphasizes Bruno Reis.

“The goal is to organize experiences, tourist destinations, licenses, and designations of origin under a desired and globally recognized brand. We want to reinforce the invitation for Brazilian and international tourists to come and experience the Brazilian Amazon,” concludes Gilvan Pereira, Secretary of Tourism for Rondônia.

Source: Embratur.