AFTER a bruising first round of Brazil's presidential election, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is rushing to overhaul his campaign communications to engage millions of Brazilians who did not vote, according to people close to the campaign.

Lula finished nearly two percentage points — about 2.2 million votes — behind right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro in Sunday's vote, making the three-term leftist the underdog in an Oct 25 runoff.

As markets cheered Bolsonaro's odds, Lula's allies met in Brasilia on Monday to regroup and plan a rebrand.

At the meeting, Lula pushed what is being dubbed internally the "fear strategy" to remind voters of the risks a Bolsonaro presidency he says would pose to popular social benefits.