With its first paralympic athlete, Team Neoenergia values female diversity represented by different profiles

Committed to valuing women in and out of sport, Team Neoenergia has just announced the arrival of its first paralympic athlete, athletics champion Rayane Soares. With the new ambassador, the company is reinforcing its purpose of diversity, which is now represented by different profiles of athletes who represent the strength of black, indigenous, LGBTQIA+ and now disabled women.

"Our marketing strategy is aligned with a business model that values human rights policies through social inclusion. This is reflected in the Neoenergia Team with athletes from various sports disciplines recognized for their achievements, regardless of social status, race, gender identity or disability. Together we strengthen ourselves in valuing differences," says Lorenzo Perales, Neoenergia's Marketing Director.

In 2024, Neoenergia made important progress in terms of social inclusion, with an increase of almost 31% in the number of professionals with some kind of disability. The company also reached the mark of 33% of women in management and supervisory positions and 30% of black people in leadership positions.

In pursuit of her Olympic dream

At 28, paralympic runner Rayane Soares has a dream: "I want to intensify my training to become the first Brazilian paralympic athlete to compete in Olympic athletics events," she says.

With the support of Neoenergia, she hopes to improve her training on the athletics track in order to qualify for the Olympic Games. For her, the visual impairment caused by the malformation of her eyeballs is not an obstacle to achieving this goal.

"Neoenergia's sponsorship comes at a challenging time that will help propel my career towards new achievements. It's the energy I needed to go further and show the world that sport is one of the best ways of social inclusion," says the runner, who is celebrating a victorious phase in athletics.

Rayane Soares became a Paralympic champion when she won the 400 meters in the T13 class (visually impaired) at the Paris 2024 Games. As well as the gold medal, the athlete broke the world record for the competition, a mark that had stood since 1995. She also brought Brazil silver in the 100 meters in the T13 class. She was born in Maranhão and grew up in the Federal District, where Neoenergia, through its distributor Neoenergia Brasília, serves more than 1.2 million customers. It was there that she took up paralympic sport in 2015 and built a successful career.

Ambassadors drive digital engagement

Rayane Soares is the eighth athlete to join the Neoenergia Team, made up of sportspeople from various disciplines. They are: Ana Vitória Magalhães, Tota (cycling); Bruna Kajiya (kitesurfing); Mirelle Leite (athletics); Ana Marcela (open water); Celine Bispo (swimming); Antonia Silva (soccer); and Bia Souza (judo).

As well as encouraging the inclusion of women in national sport, Neoenergia's ambassadors are expanding the brand's reach with the public. In 2024, the digital content of sports and music sponsorships, including themes with the ambassadors, boosted brand mentions by 284%.

Among the actions promoted with the athletes, the interactive game with accident prevention guidelines stands out, https://bit.ly/gameneoenergia, with more than 2.3 million engagements, representing 62% of the total impact. The arrival of judoka Bia Souza to the Neoenergia Team in November last year ensured 73% positive engagement with the content created in conjunction with the Brazilian Olympic Committee, which is 30% above the average of the other themes worked on in the month.

"We have creative communication that has increasingly strengthened Neoenergia's reputation, currently recognized as the company in the electricity sector that most encourages women's sport in Brazil. These are results that humanize and generate empathy with the brand," says Lorenzo Perales.