Advertising agencies take aim at Brazilian consumers
TEXT OF INTERVIEW
Steve Chiotakis:
It’s Summertime in the Southern Hemisphere, and Brazil — in the heart of South America — is blazing hot. And that includes the weather and business climate. An increasing number of American marketing agencies want to tap into Brazil.
Andre Gustavo heads up the Brazilian office of Wieden and Kennedy, a big ad agency based in Oregon and he’s with us from Sao Paulo. Hello Andre.
Andre Gustavo: Hi, good morning.
Chiotakis: Good morning to you. Why Brazil? The Brazilians speak Portuguese, while the rest of Latin America, South America, of course, speak Spanish. Why not go to a Spanish-speaking country?
Gustavo: The obvious answer is because of the size of the market. Brazil’s got 190 million people living there, so it’s a huge market. Economy is stable, economy is growing, the country’s gaining importance in the world scenario. So yes, all of that compensates for not speaking Spanish.
Chiotakis: Who is the Brazilian consumer? Who is that person?
Gustavo: The main Brazilian consumer now is somebody who is improving life. People are getting access to consumption, they’re getting access to brands. Since the economy’s been stable, it’s easier to get access to credit, so it’s new consumers finding out that they have access to stuff that they never imagined they could. So it’s a very optimistic, eager kind of consumer.
Chiotakis: How much of this, Andre, is due to the fact that Brazil has snatched the World Cup in 2014, and the Summer Olympics in 2016, right?
Gustavo: Yes, you’re right. There’s a great momentum for Brazil. Many companies, agencies, groups, I guess there’s a lot of attention. Not only for sports, but I guess also for music and for culture as a whole.
Chiotakis: Andre Gustavo, marketing director for Wieden + Kennedy, in Sao Paulo. Obrigado!
Gustavo: De nada, de nada. You’re very welcome.
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