Brazil's Marketing Secrets

"Brazil is booming and its creativity and talent continues to be its major strength," says Cesar Vacchiano, President & CEO of Grupo Consultores,
in an interview with the Internationalist Magazine. Grupo Consultores is a Madrid-based agency consultancy that has been expanding across the fast-growth sectors of the world, particularly Latin America.

Cesar has been instrumental in developing the company’s research, including such resports as agencyScope, mediaScope, salaryScope, and digitalScope across more than 20 markets.

He recently turned his attention to Brazil -- a market now ranked as 5th in the world in terms of population. The country’s economy is robust after chalking up 7.5% growth in 2010. Much of that strength can be attributed to the rise of middle-class consumers. One hundred million people have moved above the poverty line and are now part of a new middle class. Incomes have improved by 69% among the poorest Brazilians.

According to Cesar, "Everything is just beginning." The World Cup in 2014 and Olympics in 2016 will contribute to better establishing the country on the world stage. The number of tourists is expected to grow by 60% by 2016.

He reminds us, though, that Brazil is different from most countries in its approach to advertising, marketing and media. For example, media agencies do not exist in Brazil. Creative or full service agencies implement media strategies and execute planning and buying for their clients. "This has major implications. Agencies are huge and powerful; they have money to hire the best talent and try to provide the best solutions to their clients."

And today Brazilian Advertising Industry is booming. César tells us: "Most holding companies and network agencies are involved in a buying frenzy. The independents are constantly being approached and have multiple proposals on their tables. Other international players like StrawberryFrog, M&C Saatchi, Wieden+Kennedy, R/GA, Huge are finding high-profile professionals to lead their local efforts. And more agencies are still to come."

Of course, advertising people are adored in Brazil, and are celebrities akin to sports personalities or movie stars.

Brazilian advertising leaders are frequently interviewed by the press—not only for their opinions about communications, but also about politics, the economy or the country’s future. All Brazilians, not just clients, know them, respect them and trust them as opinion leaders.

Cesar Vacchiano adds that his research demonstrates that 'Brazilian Agencies are strong in strategic planning, creativity, account service, media, and are even very well-ranked in terms of 'value for money.' "

Not bad for a country that had largely been associated only with soccer, beaches and samba.

The End of 'Random Acts of Marketing'

In its newly-released annual report on the State of Marketing, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council sees a new commitment to marketing performance measurement, particularly in relation to digital effectiveness and social media integration as marketers seek increased accountability. The report is based upon the in-depth responses of 600 CMO Council members in 110 countries and was produced with the support of Deloitte and OpenText.

Integration, alignment, visibility and return on investment (ROI) are among the key requirements for marketing performance improvement according The 2011 State Of Marketing: Outlook, Intentions and Investments. Any resources or agencies that fail to bring innovation, technical knowledge or value‐added thinking to the marketing equation are certainly at risk in today’s environment. The survey results underscore how CMOs now require marketing analytics talent coupled with strategic planning and business development experience to better target, segment and then act on growth opportunities.

"While marketers have been focused on transforming their operations and customer engagements with hosted services and digital solutions, many have actually created a grab bag of siloed point‐solutions that just proliferate Random Acts of Marketing," said Donovan Neale‐May, Executive Director of the CMO Council. "Today’s successful marketing organization is unifying its extended ecosystem, aligning more effectively with business and sales groups, and integrating campaign components to drive efficiency and more measurable outcomes."

The report also concludes that marketing, as a function, continues to reach beyond the borders of branding. CMOs surveyed indicated a growing authority in such areas:
The report also concludes that marketing, as a function, continues to reach beyond the borders of branding. CMOs surveyed indicated a growing authority in such areas:

* Strategic planning and forecasting -- 74%
* Business development and collaborating- 46%
* Pricing- 36%
* Distribution/channel management - 36%
* Product design and specification - 27%

* Pricing- 36%
* Distribution/channel management - 36%
* Product design and specification - 27%


This growing authority matches the rising expectations on marketing leaders to driving business growth and revenues. Among the top deliverables for CMOs are:

* Driving top‐line growth - 46%
* Growing and retaining market share - 45%
* Better defining brand value - 31%

According to one in four marketers surveyed, marketing spend is being influenced by a shift to digital media and online marketing effectiveness. However, just 5% of respondents claim high marks in regard to their current online marketing performance capabilities. To improve the situation, those surveyed are planning headcount increases in interactive design, online advertising, search engine marketing, web analytics, and integrated campaign management.

Cost cutting and operational efficiencies are priorities for the marketers polled. In order to increase the impact and value of marketing, 64% of respondents say they will move to improve customer segmentation and targeting. They will also consider: greater investment in digital demand generation programs (43%); increased plans to qualify and track the conversion of leads (42%); and a commitment to explore alternative media and new routes to market (41%).

The State of Marketing Report also determined that almost 64% of respondents said they reported directly to the CEO, president or COO, while another 14% said they were accountable to a regional vice president, general manager or division/business group head. Among the respondents, 34% held CMO or Head of Marketing titles, while 33% held roles of Vice President or above.

The CMO Council is a global affinity network of 6,000 chief marketers who control more than $200 billion in annual spend.--The Internationalist Magazine