We Take Balsamo Bengue, from EMS, to the "Exact Paint Spot" in the UFC Octagon

Apr. 30, 2025

In the MMA universe, the UFC is renowned as the biggest competition in the world, bringing together the best fighters at each event and attracting millions of spectators and well-known global brands, such as Budweiser, Bud Light, Monster Energy, and ESPN+. It was in this scenario that EMS, the largest pharmaceutical company in Brazil, found an innovative way to highlight Bálsamo Bengué, a traditional product for relieving muscle pain and injuries. In partnership with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the brand introduced MMAds: the first octagon sponsorship located at the exact painspot.

Using computer vision (AI) and statistical analysis to process more than 5,000 men's and women's preliminary and main card fights in UFC history, the activation identified the area of the octagon with the highest occurrence of knockouts and submissions. In other words: where the pain is most intense in a fight. And it was in this strategic location that the brand appeared to millions of people in a live event, last Saturday, March 26, direct from Mexico City.

Armando Araujo - Chief Creative Officer at We concluded:

"This is the first time in history that a sponsor’s position has been defined by the relevance between the promise of its product and the dynamics of the competition itself. This ensured greater visibility because we were in the right place at the right time for the main moments of the UFC Mexico fights."

 

Eduardo Augusto - Chief Executive Officer of IDK said:

“For us at IDK, it was a huge challenge to carry out this activation in partnership with We. The work involved computer vision, video processing, spatial modeling, event density analysis, among other things that are not common in the day-to-day work of brands."

 

The unprecedented activation was broadcast on UFC Fight Pass, the official streaming platform for the Mixed Martial Arts championship franchise.