Brand Building in a Growth Market
The Latin American Challenge
The Latin American marketplace—470 million consumers strong and evolving at an unprecedented pace—offers vast business opportunity.
Once the fragmented and closely guarded bailiwick of entrenched interests, Latin America is rapidly transforming itself into a unified open mark et. But as the market evolves, so do the challenges. Old ways of doing business must be jettisoned as savvy global competitors flock to take advantage of the enormous potential for profits.
Among the most daunting challenges is identity and image management. Under the old regime, international borders, trade barriers, limited technology and government regulations protected companies from going head-to-head with regional and global competi tors. Markets were narrowly defined, and consumer choices were narrowly circumscribed. In this limited environment there was little need to communicate a consumer-oriented image.
Barriers fall and competitors rush in
Today, all that has changed. As trade barriers fall, both Latin American and global multinationals are targeting markets where reduced inflation and a growing middle class have created enormous profit potential. Moreover, many regional and local compan ies—now managed by entrepreneurial foreign-trained executives—are beginning to grasp the marketing demands of this shifting competitive landscape. And they, too, recognize the need for more sophisticated identity and image programs that enable them to speak to consumers, potential employees and the investment community with a cohesive message that addresses cultural differences across regional and international boundaries.
Supporting growth with brand-building know-how
In this environment, Lippincott is providing the experience and expertise that have advanced the interests of some of the world's best-known companies. Latin American companies are supported by the firm's expanded presence in Mexico, Br azil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela, providing clients brand image and identity consultation services that ensure a cohesive, unified image in support of growth initiatives.
On this page we provide some brief highlights of our ongoing work on behalf of Latin American and global companies vying for a competitive advantage in this dynamic business arena.
Since its privatization in 1990, Telmex, Mexico's largest telecommunications company, has faced multiple challenges. Lippincott partnered with Telmex to define a coherent brand architecture and establish a clear positioning that reinforces the company's desired image attributes. Our work has helped Telmex communicate its unparalleled client service orientation and d ifferentiate itself as a market leader.
Mexico's largest corporation, state-owned Pemex long enjoyed a monopoly with its natural gas division, Pemex Gas and Basic Petroc hemicals. Through the creation of a new visual identity and communications strategy, our work is focused on positioning Pemex in the newly deregulated natural gas marketplace as a dynamic, customer-focused enterprise committed to meeting domestic expectat ions, as well as the challenges of international competition.
When Citibank acquired state-owned Confia, Mexico's 11th largest bank, it planned to use Confia's network of nea rly 300 branch offices to expand its own presence in Mexico. Confia's image, however, had been clouded by unfavorable publicity, complicating Citibank's use of the Confia name going forward. A brand identity strategy for the Confia acquisition—and s ubsequent Citibank acquisitions—works to extend Citibank's image as a prestigious international financial service leader in the Latin American market.
When Continental Airlines acquired 49 percent of Copa, the national airline of Panama, the company was faced wit h the challenge of defining and communicating a new identity that would strike the proper balance between key characteristics of both brands. By keeping in mind the objectives of the Latin American market as well as each airline's principal identifying el ements, the final result is an identity that reflects Copa's regional personality and Continental's international focus in equal measure.
D&S Supermarkets is the largest operator of supermarkets in Chile, with an estimated 20 percent market share, over 100 stores and three distinctly branded, demographically targeted store formats. With a strengthened economy, D&S is capitalizing on the rising purchasing power of Chile's middle and lower middle classes by repositioning one of its store brands to communicate a n enhanced image based on a new "fresh and clean" look.
Banco Sud Americano, like other privately owned institutions in Chile, faced serious challenges as a lessening of restrictive tax ation and regulation allowed foreign competitors to move aggressively into its traditionally protected markets. For Banco Sud Americano, a new consumer-oriented positioning platform aimed at projecting an image of professionalism, personal attention and i nternational competency has contributed to a significant improvement in the bank's performance and perception in the investment community.
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