One of the first prejudices that gets wiped from the brains of gringos on virgin visits to Latin America is the one about the region being backwards, planted in the 1970s and all that. True that there are patches of non-urban LatAm that are berift of vacuum cleaners and dishwashing machines have never really taken off, but all the world's brand names are on offer and just as loved here as they are 'up there'. Foreign brands are common and coveted with Nike, Nokia and all their friends typically popular. Some other tastes are quirky and local, such as the way Sony is still undisputed head'n'shoulders-above-the-rest king of music systems. And some are full eyebrow raisers; for example, if you've ever been in a bar and ordered a Something Special single malt scotch in preference to Johnny Walker or Glenlivet, it means you've almost certainly visited Venezuela at some point in your life.But local brands are the most interesting aspect. In the last few years, strictly LatAm brands have taken on an air of respectability that would have been impossible to imagine even 10 years previously. The charge is lead by Brazil (rightly proud of their world independence and economic power), and Mexico (perhaps the most sophisticated regional market for marketing, if that makes sense), but the latest stage of this phenomenon is the acceptance of regional country brands across the region.
America Economia today published its annual "50 biggest public brands" list, which shows the 50 most important regional brands run by publicly traded companies. Here's the top ten from the list, with a quick familiarization line or two from your truly underneath.
(chart shamelessly stolen from America Economia)Itaú: Brazilian bank
Bradesco: Brazilian bank
Banco do Brasil: Brazilian bank (see anything in common with the top three? Nah, me neither)
Cemex: Mexico's top brand-name company that boasts it can deliver cement quicker than Dominoes can deliver pizza. Went up even further in my (and many other's) estimation thanks to this story.
Claro: Carlos Slim takes over the region. The Claro telephone brand now stretches from Tijuana to Tierra del Fuego, and is at the leading edge of America Movil's enormous LatAm communications empire.
Telmex: Right behind Claro, Telmex is how it all started for Slim. Big in Mexico (duh) but now making inroads into the fixed line biz in South America (though Telefonica de España still leads by a country mile South of the Darien Gap).
Petrobras: The pride of corporate Brazil, and now a world energy player.
Telcel: Slim's Mexican cellular brand. Note he owns three of the top ten regional brands; now you know why he's fighting for the world's richest person slot.
Unibanco: Brazilian bank (see above)
Banco de Chile: Chile squeezes into the top ten despite its small relative market size thanks to the highly respected Banco de Chile brand.
Please note that the brands above are strictly from public companies. This explains why Argentina's Arcor (massive food company, but still in private hands) doesn't make the top ten list, or Venezuela's PdVSA (which to the surprise of outsiders dwarfs Petrobras and is a constant source of impressive national pride no matter what government is running the thing).
The rise of the pan-regional local brand is already here. Bank with Brazilians in Argentina, spend your telco money with a Mexican company in Peru, construct your new house with Mexican cement in Colombia, fill up your tank with Petrobras just about anywhere. It's yet another aspect of the growing regional independence, and overseas companies that are looking to break into the region with their own brands should be aware there is a new layer of competition, and it needs to be taken very seriously. I mean, would you consider any US bank as projecting a strong image right now?
Finally, for those of you wanting to read more (in Spanish, I hasten to add), click here to download your free PDF copy of the full America Economia report on the 50 biggest regional brands. Recommended reading.
Bradesco: Brazilian bank
Banco do Brasil: Brazilian bank (see anything in common with the top three? Nah, me neither)
Cemex: Mexico's top brand-name company that boasts it can deliver cement quicker than Dominoes can deliver pizza. Went up even further in my (and many other's) estimation thanks to this story.
Claro: Carlos Slim takes over the region. The Claro telephone brand now stretches from Tijuana to Tierra del Fuego, and is at the leading edge of America Movil's enormous LatAm communications empire.
Telmex: Right behind Claro, Telmex is how it all started for Slim. Big in Mexico (duh) but now making inroads into the fixed line biz in South America (though Telefonica de España still leads by a country mile South of the Darien Gap).
Petrobras: The pride of corporate Brazil, and now a world energy player.
Telcel: Slim's Mexican cellular brand. Note he owns three of the top ten regional brands; now you know why he's fighting for the world's richest person slot.
Unibanco: Brazilian bank (see above)
Banco de Chile: Chile squeezes into the top ten despite its small relative market size thanks to the highly respected Banco de Chile brand.
Please note that the brands above are strictly from public companies. This explains why Argentina's Arcor (massive food company, but still in private hands) doesn't make the top ten list, or Venezuela's PdVSA (which to the surprise of outsiders dwarfs Petrobras and is a constant source of impressive national pride no matter what government is running the thing).
The rise of the pan-regional local brand is already here. Bank with Brazilians in Argentina, spend your telco money with a Mexican company in Peru, construct your new house with Mexican cement in Colombia, fill up your tank with Petrobras just about anywhere. It's yet another aspect of the growing regional independence, and overseas companies that are looking to break into the region with their own brands should be aware there is a new layer of competition, and it needs to be taken very seriously. I mean, would you consider any US bank as projecting a strong image right now?
Finally, for those of you wanting to read more (in Spanish, I hasten to add), click here to download your free PDF copy of the full America Economia report on the 50 biggest regional brands. Recommended reading.