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Emmanuel Hoog used the occasion to launch the first iPad application by any international news agency inPortuguese andSpanish.

In order to better meet Brazil market expectations, Hoog held talks with Rio Roberto Irineu Marinho, the owner and president of the Globo group, which has interests in television, newspapers, radio and the Internet. In Sao Paulo, he met in particular the operators of Terra, one of the leading Latin American information portals, and executives of Estado and Fohla, groups which run national news agencies, newspapers and websites. In Argentina, he had discussions with the heads of Clarin, the media group with TV, print, web and radio holdings, and directors from Argentina’s other main news organisation, la Nacion.

AFP is in this way reinforcing its growing interest in the Brazilian market through a dedicated action plan exclusively for this market. This strategic move began in 2010 with the development of global news coverage in Portuguese as well as national coverage in text, video and multimedia.

Implementing this system has led to journalists and editors being hired in video and multimedia, as well as a photographer, plus a sales director dedicated to the television market and the creation of a marketing department for Brazil.

Video production in Portuguese has already increased to 15 a day, making AFP the news agency with the largest international video production in Portuguese. Beginning in 2012, AFP will be the only agency to offer video in HD. During his trip, Hoog also sealed a strategic agreement with the Argentine company Data Factory, a leader in sports data and statistics in Latin America. AFP’s sales network in Brazil can now distribute exclusively to Brazilian media real-time information on all the football leagues in the country as well as across Latin America. Established in Brazil since the 1940s, AFP has a long history of cooperation with the Brazilian media. The Agency’s strategic development plan is to extend this relationship of trust, and position AFP as the leading international news agency in Brazil. “In a world of buzz and media noise, the news agencies, first and foremost AFP, maintain a central role. Fast transmission of information remains a priority. But reliability has become an irreplaceable and increasingly precious commodity,” said Hoog.