Latin America

Elections reveal how far Brazilians have come in four years

Published by Ana Hernandes - Sao Paulo on August 12, 2010 in Latin America. 1 Comment Tags: , , .

brazil-flagA recent poll in Brazil in advance of the October presidential elections shows how fast the country has developed since it last elected a president four years ago. Back then, people were most concerned about employment, hunger and corruption. Today Brazil is economically stable and growing fast, facing the global economic slowdown crisis without major impacts. Many people who were struggling are now paying attention to higher-level needs. So today they are most concerned about health, education and safety, according to recent research from Ibope Intelligence and the Todos Pela Educacao (All for Education) institute, which asked Brazilians what areas the next president needs to focus on.

Health is the greatest concern for 63 percent of respondents, 20 percent above 2006 levels. And while only 15 percent cited education four years ago, it scored 28 percent in this poll. Other areas of concern are safety (39 percent), drugs (26 percent) and salary (16 percent).

The three presidential candidates are on top of these issues. Health has been a favorite platform for Jose Serra, who instituted key improvements when he served as Health Minister. Education, a big issue for women, is a cause embraced by Marina Silva (herself illiterate until age 16, and proof of how education can change a life). Advancing these areas will be crucial for sustainable growth—we’ll see who presents the best proposals as the campaign advances.

Citizens can research the candidates, and find out more about the deputies, senators and governors who are also on the ballot, at eleicoes2010.jus.br. The site is part of a new Federal Electoral Board campaign, “You can choose your destiny,” which includes TV commercials that cleverly use Visual Fluency to help voters understand election basics.

In Mexico, Starbucks scores during the World Cup

Published by Argelia Martinez - Mexico City on July 26, 2010 in Latin America. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Comment bien partir la journée!We’ve written about two brands (Heineken and the sports channel Eurosport France) that have created campaigns based around the anxiety felt by soccer fans when they miss important games. With the 2010 World Cup, anxiety in this part of the world centered on the fact that the games were scheduled during working hours: 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. local time. Starbucks saw an opportunity, presenting itself as a solution that would allow people to watch the match and work at the same time. No guilt or stress over hiding from the boss. The other idea: to position a coffee drink as a beer alternative for watching these workday games.

Starbucks gave the World Cup a business breakfast touch. It installed 71 big flat-screen TVs in select branches and boosted its Wi-Fi so that the added online traffic wouldn’t cause problems. People would be able to work as fast as in their offices, but with a richer experience. There were also some World Cup breakfast specials and socially focused promotions (e.g., buy two, get one free). The stores seemed to be buzzing with people, and, more important, many customers (mostly male) started seeing Starbucks differently, as a new place to meet up with friends.

Photo Credit: BMeunier

Beldent gum tells Argentineans, ‘We’re going to laugh more’

Published by Gonzalo Fonseca - Buenos Aires on July 13, 2010 in Latin America. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

When JWT conducted its first AnxietyIndex study in Argentina, in January, the country registered as No. 4 in the world in terms of anxiety. The two key drivers of anxiety here are the state of the economy and the cost of living. With the tagline “Vamos a reirnos mas” (“We’re going to laugh more”), the Cadbury gum brand Beldent is adopting a hope-fueled approach to this mind-set, a strategy we advocated in our Recession Handbook.

In a recent commercial, we’re told the population is growing; and as we see footage of a huge, festive parade, the spot lists some ways this is a good thing—more men who hoist you up on their shoulders at concerts, more blondes on roller skates, etc. Beldent is trying to build an ideology for the brand around empowering people to have fun and take the good things from life. In an anxious country, this is a good example of the idea that brands are better served by feeding optimism than resentment.

In Mexico, the Red Cross re-imagines the collection box

Published by Vannya Martinez - Mexico City on July 12, 2010 in Latin America. 0 Comments Tags: , .

In Mexico, the national Red Cross has held a fundraising campaign annually, but 2010 seemed to be a particularly difficult challenge, due to Mexicans’ anxiety around the crisis. With people worried about their own basic expenses, what would motivate them to give money away? JWT developing an award-winning campaign (it recently received a bronze at Cannes) that dramatizes how the Red Cross needs people’s donations to keep operating.

The collection box was reinvented as coin-operated kiddie rides—resembling Red Cross ambulances, helicopters and boats—installed in parks, stores and malls. The rides made literal the campaign tagline, “Your help can keep us going,” helping people to see the importance of every donation. In turn, the Red Cross provided families with an outlet for fun.

The campaign was supported by TV, print and billboards; it also generated an enormous amount of media coverage—about $1.1 million in earned media in just the first week. The Red Cross not only prevented donations from dropping but collected 23 percent more than in 2009. This is an example of how marketers can reach anxious consumers by emphasizing fun, providing a real service and re-imagining how the product is sold.

AnxietyIndex: Colombia among least anxious countries

Published by Paula Siabato and Juan Sebastian Alvis Mosquera - Bogotá on July 8, 2010 in Latin America. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

ai_colombiaThe latest installment of AnxietyIndex found that Colombia registers among the least anxious nations JWT has surveyed, with only 58 percent of respondents reporting feelings of nervousness or anxiety.

Our January 2010 survey of 1,253 Colombians aged 25-plus revealed that the primary drivers of anxiety in Colombia are crime, corruption, the state of the economy and the impact of global warming. With high rates of urban violence and theft, it’s not surprising that two-thirds report concern about crime in their neighborhood. And nearly 80 percent feel Colombian politicians are out of touch with how the global economic downturn is affecting the average person; about three-quarters fear the downturn is widening the economic gap between the rich and the poor in Colombia.

Still, Colombians are slightly more optimistic than the global average about near-term prospects of positive change, and most think Colombia has fared about the same or better in the recession than other Latin American countries. Almost six in 10 say Colombia has been less affected than “wealthier” countries.

For more on the drivers and levels of anxiety in Colombia, click here to download the report from our Trends and Research page.

Walgreens asks Puerto Ricans to show what makes them happy

Published by Alexandra Suarez - San Juan on June 21, 2010 in Latin America. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

walgreensIt’s not news that the crisis isn’t just economic—it has affected people’s mental well-being and has created a sense of deep hopelessness for some. So Walgreens in Puerto Rico decided to remind people what truly makes them happy—family, pets, favorite pastimes, nature and so on—in a campaign that turned its photo development department into a prescription department.

Asking “¿Cual es tu receta para sentirte bien?” (“What’s your prescription for feeling good?”), Walgreens encouraged Puerto Ricans to submit photo compilations showing their personal prescription for happiness over a two-month period. Submissions were shown on TV commercials, digital billboards throughout the island and a micro-site. Puerto Rico’s primary retail pharmacy created an atmosphere of positivity by shifting our focus to the many blessings we have, teaching us that the best prescription is closer than we think. This kind of hope-fueled approach—epitomized by the Red Cross Portugal “Hope” campaign—is a smart way to help consumers fend off anxiety.

Photo Credit: http://turecetapr.com/#/home

In Mexico, Jugos Del Valle focuses on a key parental concern

Published by Vannya Martinez - Mexico City on June 9, 2010 in Latin America. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Our recent AnxietyIndex study in Mexico found that the economy is a primary driver of anxiety and—contrary to the image the world may have of Mexicans as optimists or even dreamers—they are pessimistic about the future. One of Mexicans’ main concerns about the future is being unable to afford a good education for their children.

Brands have an opportunity to help parents find some hope. A good example is Jugos Del Valle, a Mexican juice brand recently acquired by the Coca-Cola Co., which recently ran a promotion that gave parents the opportunity to win a scholarship to ensure their kids’ education from kindergarten through college; secondary prizes of mx$80,000 (about $6,250) to support school expenses were awarded daily. A TV spot showed a woman grocery-shopping with her toddler seated in the shopping cart. As she scans shelves lined with Del Valle products, the child morphs into an adult doctor, astronaut, chef and, finally, college graduate to clearly outline the opportunities a good education can create. “Now, when you choose Del Valle, your kid chooses his future,” the voiceover tells parents.

Promotions have always been effective during crisis times as people look to get the most from each penny, but success is especially likely if the offer is focused on relieving one of people’s deepest concerns.

Pepsi gets egg on its face with Mexican promotion

Published by Argelia Martinez - Mexico City on June 4, 2010 in Latin America. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

A Pepsi promotion in Mexico that seemed designed to address consumer anxiety ended up causing some angst instead. The major causes of anxiety in Mexico, a country beaten down by regular economic crises, are uncertainty about future income, job loss and rising food prices. (For more on anxiety in Mexico, click here to download our AnxietyIndex Mexico report.) In the states of Puebla and Veracruz—where poverty rates are high and families regularly struggle to buy the basics—Pepsi distributors launched a promotion in which people could redeem two specially marked bottle caps at small corner stores for an egg (yes, a fresh egg).

The “Now Pepsi is worth an egg” campaign, which ran during April and part of May, was supported with TV, press and, of course, posters outside the corner stores. Problems began to surface when shopkeepers would not redeem the Pepsi caps, even those that displayed the promotional materials outside. Consumers started blaming Pepsi, though the point-of-sale materials stated that Pepsi was not responsible for the availability of eggs.

The idea of demonstrating the brand’s empathy and solidarity with struggling consumers, and helping them in a real way, was a good one. But Pepsi distributors failed to fully consider the logistics behind the idea. Once a brand launches a promotion, it has to deliver an immaculate implementation, strengthen it, ensure the participation of partners, put monitoring and control programs in place, provide a call center for consumers and so on. In this case, something that could have been historical became hysterical.

Photo Credit: dos tapas un huevo? by ~brickarms on deviantART

AnxietyIndex: Mexicans most anxious about the economy, violence, crime and job market

Published by Julian Smith and Maria Lezama - Mexico City on May 24, 2010 in Latin America. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

With recession forecast to hit Latin America sometime in 2010, Mexico registered among the most anxious of the 16 countries JWT has studied for our AnxietyIndex. A survey of 296 Mexican adults aged 18-59, conducted in January, found that 78 percent report being anxious.

The primary drivers of anxiety are the economic situation, the escalation of violence and crime, and the stagnant job market. Mexicans’ frustration and pessimism are exacerbated by the widespread belief that the political class is detached from the country’s reality, that the current government is one of the most corrupt and that people are being treated unjustly. Feeling they live in permanent instability, people are pessimistic about the future, especially when they think about the job market their children will one day face, the cost of their children’s education and having enough money for a comfortable old age.

For Mexican brands, there are opportunities in helping to restore a sense of control for consumers. Ford champions this idea of empowerment in a Focus commercial that dramatizes a test drive as a getaway chase in a fantasy urban landscape. The driver weaves around pop-up cutouts of roadside obstacles—dog walkers, construction workers, school children crossing the street, etc.—while drag-racing a paper-cutout driver, accompanied by the 1980s Karate Kid anthem “You’re the Best Around.” The spot positions the Focus as an escape from an increasingly violent and challenging environment and as a means of taking control.

To download the full Mexico AnxietyIndex report from the Trends and Research page, click here.

AnxietyIndex finds that Argentina, while accustomed to economic crisis, is among most anxious countries

Published by Gonzalo Fonseca and Mercedes Santesteban - Buenos Aires on May 17, 2010 in Latin America. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

ai-argentinaWith 79 percent of respondents saying they are nervous and anxious, according to JWT’s latest AnxietyIndex survey, Argentina is among the most anxious of the 16 countries we’ve surveyed over the past year. The poll of 328 Argentineans aged 18-59, conducted in January, found that two key drivers of anxiety are the state of the economy and the cost of living.

Argentineans are accustomed to economic turmoil—they’ve lived with various forms of economic crisis for decades. And Argentina, which is not experiencing the same recession as most of the world, has been grappling with permanent price fluctuation under the ghost of inflation since the 1970s. So consumers are adaptable, expanding and shrinking their spending in accordance with the times. But the concept of saving money has lost credibility—people don’t believe it’s possible to save much. As a consequence, they feel that a happy life with friends and family is more important than focusing on money and materialism.

The opportunity for brands is to offer optimistic messages and a positive brand experience, standing out by counteracting the negativity dominating Argentinean society. For example, communicating from a positive point of view, Walmart’s proposal “Save money. Live better” tells customers that by saving, they can actually have a more enjoyable life. Click here to download the full Argentina AnxietyIndex report from the Trends and Research page.