Top 50 LATAM Brands
The 2012 Top 50 Most Valuable Latam brands total $135.7 billion in value, each are leaders in their country markets, often serve multiple local country markets, and some operate globally. Latam’s largest markets, Brazil and Mexico, produce the greatest number of high-value brands, but smaller economies also are well represented.
Throughout Latin America, brands are rising in value and importance. High-value brands are present across most categories. Some are government owned or controlled, as often is the case in fast growing markets. Many result from entrepreneurial vision, risk and energy.
Half of the Top 50 are either retailers or financial institutions, reflecting the central role of those categories in Latin American societies. These two categories, along with the communication provider category, account for one-third of brands in the top 50.
Although appreciating in value, the Latam brands are not yet valuable enough to appear in the BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking – with two exceptions: the Brazilian oil and gas company Petrobas ranks 75 in 2012 Top 100 and Telcel, Mexico’s telcom, ranks 97. Several Latam brands appear among the BrandZ™ global leaders in their respective categories, however. Three of the Top 10 brands in the beer category are Latin American: Corona of Mexico, and the Brazilian brands Skol and Brahma. Skol and Brahma are owned by AB-InBev, the world’s largest brewer, demonstrating the engagement of multinationals in Latam.
Insights for Building Valuable Brands in Latin America
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Opportunities
Scale
Latin America is a big opportunity. The
region, including the Caribbean, is home to
almost 600 million people living in more than
30 countries that together produce a GDP of
around $5 trillion, which would rank the area
fourth worldwide, after Japan, in national
output.
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Opportunities
Diversity
Latin America is many opportunities—
and challenges. It extends from the southern
edge of the US to the northern edge of
Antarctica. The area experienced a complex
history and brand marketers need to be aware
not just of national differences but also of
regional differences within nations.
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Opportunities
Markets
Brazil, the "B" in BRIC, accounts for
more than one-third of the value of BrandZ™
Top 50 Most Valuable Latin American Brands.
And while Brazil is the region's largest market,
it's not the only one. Chile, a relatively small
nation of only 17 million people, accounts for
one-fifth of the Top 50 brand value.
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Consumers
Middle Class
The market potential in Latin
America is not static. The middle class is
expanding throughout the region, although
at somewhat different rates. The number of
people now officially considered middle class
improved by over 25 percent since 2006.
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Consumers
Confidence
Not surprisingly, wealthier people
feel more confident about the future—but not
by much. Among the middle class, 77 percent
feel optimistic. That figure increases a few
points to 79 percent for the wealthy and drops
for the lower income groups, but only to 67
percent.
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Consumers
Price
It remains important, which isn't surprising
considering that much of the population has
contended with poverty and even the wealthy
worry about radical fluctuations in inflation. As
a long-term trend, however, more individuals
report that their purchasing decisions aren't
always driven by special offers.
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Consumers
Credit
Credit is becoming more available
as banks attempt to add new customers,
opening in areas underserved until recently.
Retailers continue to be key sources for credit,
particularly in Chile.
8
Media
TV
The medium generally receives the highest
level of investment, but it's been leveling. TV
is expensive and digital is growing rapidly
throughout Latin America because of consumer
interest and in some cases, like Argentina,
government encouragement.
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Media
Digital
Internet investment is still relatively low
but growing sharply. PCs and laptops still
dominate for accessing the Internet. That's
because of some spotty 3G coverage and the
high cost of data plans.
10
Media
Mobile
Mobile Internet access is increasing.
It's highest in Mexico where 19 percent of
the online users saying they've accessed the
Internet via mobile in the past four weeks.
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Media
Social
Latin Americans are social. And
social media is a good place for brands to
find potential customers. Brazilians have an
average of 481 friends. In Colombia, Internet
users spend about eight hours weekly on social
networks, compared with a global average of
4.8 hours.
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Brands
Choice
Consumers generally like choice but it varies in
Latin America. Argentine economic policy and other
factors have produced relatively limited brand choice,
while proximity to the US exposes Mexicans to wide
brand possibilities. And Chilean consumers can choose
the most luxurious European status cars or the least
expensive Indian or Chinese imports.
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Brands
Brand Presence
Latin Americans generally think famous
brands are better. That's true of half the population in
Colombia, and also in Brazil and Argentina where
people are most brand conscious.
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Brands
Brand Contribution
Retail and beer receive the highest
scores for Brand Contribution, which measures the impact
of brand alone on future earnings. Beers often receive
high marks, retail brands not as often. The result reflects a
close bond between customers and retail brands that have
played a role in providing credit to people denied bank
credit until recently.
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Brands
Loyalty
Latin Americans overall say that when they find
a brand they like, they stick with it. Mexico measures
somewhat lower in loyalty, which may be because in
Mexico brand choice is somewhat wider.
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Brands
Growth Categories
Luxury brands are discovering
Colombia. In Mexico, the growing middle class is tiring
of the multi-tasking life and looking for products that save
time and enhance personal health. The most represented
brands in the BrandZ™ Latin America Top 50 are retail
and financial institutions, which comprise about half of the
ranking.
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Brands
Social Responsibility
All nations are works in progress.
But that notion applies most acutely to Latin America.
Although more people are entering the middle class,
a wide gap remains in income and education levels.
Building a brand in Latin America is about investing in the
future of a region.
This inaugural Latin America report focuses on
the five leading Latam economies—Argentina,
Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico. Select a country from the map below:
