The mascot of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Fuleco the armadillo, failed to generate much interest and was even burned by demonstrators at protests before the competition had begun.

But Sylmara Multini, licensing director of Rio 2016, expects lessons to be learned and people to be more receptive before and during South America's first Olympic and Paralympic Games.

There has been a long-running campaign by environmentalists to try to persuade Rio 2016 to choose as its mascot the endangered golden lion tamarin, native to the Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil, but Multini refused to give anything away about its identity.

Brazilian environmentalists have launched a campaign to try to get Rio 2016 to choose the endangered golden lion tamarin as its mascot ©Getty Images

She did, however, promise that whatever the mascot is that Rio 2016 will make it come alive for the public. 

"Our strategy is based around transforming the mascots into characters, which will live in the hearts of the fans," Multini, who has previously worked for Walt Disney and toymaker Mattel, told insidethegames.

"To become relevant with the young target audience, we will develop apps, games and other digital assets which will operate on tablets and smart phones.

"The mascot will also be included across the full range of licensed products and we expect it to be a very visible presence throughout the Games."

A total of 15 companies were briefed by Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman in January 2013 as part of the first phase of the competition to create a mascot.

London 2012 offered a wide range of merchandise as part of one of the most successful licensing programmes in Olympic history ©Getty Images

Rio 2016 is halfway through completing 65 licensing agreements with companies that will produce and sell 12,000 Games-related products, more than for any previous Olympics, and is also selling licences to run 150 temporary stores.

About 16 per cent of the total sales will go toward raising the BRL7 billion (£1.8 billion/$2.9 billion/€2.3 billion) needed to stage the event.

Multini has predicted that the the mascot will be the best seller among the items produced as souvenirs, that are also set to include flip-flops and beach towels, which she believes are a perfect tie-in with Copacabana, arguably Rio de Janeiro's best known landmark. 

The mascot, Multini believes, could raise as much as BRL165.8 million (£41.8 million/$67.2 million/€52.5 million) in sales revenue, a considerable contribution towards matching the BRL402.1 million (£101.4 million/$163 million/€127.3 million) that licensing contributed to Beijing 2008 and the BRL318.2 million (£80.2 million/$129 million/€100.8 million) generated for London 2012.