When protestors took to the streets of Brazil last summer, businesses could have been forgiven for thinking it didn’t concern them. With the political climate at boiling point, companies were anxious to retreat from the action and wait for the tropical storm to subside.

1. Brazil’s ‘Tropical Spring’ will live on long after
the storm subsides
When protestors took to the streets of
Brazil last summer, businesses could have
been forgiven for thinking it didn’t concern
them. With the political climate at boiling
point, companies were anxious to retreat
from the action and wait for the tropical
storm to subside.
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However, it soon became clear that brands were involved –
whether they liked it or not. Fiat’s ‘Take to the Streets’ slogan
was taken up along with the placards and banners, and paraded
through the streets as the perfect tagline for a country in revolt.
Meanwhile Johnnie Walker was horrified to find its 2011/12
strapline ‘the giant is no longer asleep’ was also appropriated by
the mob. Both phrases were hijacked as hashtags and used to fuel
Brazil’s first social media-driven mass protest.
Understandably the brands’ first reaction was to distance
themselves from the crisis. Fiat explained that the slogan referred
to, “the joy and passion of Brazilians concerning football and its
competitions being held in the country”. Johnnie Walker hastily
pointed out that a whole year had elapsed since they had last
used their phrase for promotional purposes. And of course, this
was the only sensible response, since any hint of ‘cashing in’ on
the riots would have been brand suicide.
But for brands less closely implicated in the summer’s events,
there are still important lessons to be gleaned from the noise in
the street.
The use of brand slogans as rallying calls shows that brands are
an integral part of the way Brazilian consumers define themselves
– providing a sense of personal identity and individual importance
at a time when people feel overlooked and disenfranchised by the
political class.
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2. Brazil’s ‘Tropical Spring’ will live on long after
the storm subsides
Brazil is a country crying out for ways to express itself, and
is ready to embrace brands that help people do that more
effectively. Brand marketing – now more than ever – needs to
step up a gear, speaking less about product and price, and more
about values and aspirations. The battleground for market share
in Brazil’s expanding economy is in the hearts, not the heads, of
the new middle class.
Another key consideration in light of the uprising is the role of
patriotism in brand building. Whilst international technology and
automotive brands are generally well-received, products in other
categories should focus closely on local values and messaging to
stay relevant during this moment of national coming-together.
This political engagement in Brazil is leading for calls for greater
accountability within the political sphere, which could very easily
transfer to the commercial world. Consumers have shown they
are prepared to question their statesmen and institutions, and
this increases the pressure on companies to ensure their own
affairs are in order. In an increasingly transparent world, they
cannot afford to ignore the social and ethical aspects of how they
operate – in fact, the moment is right for businesses to tell people
how they are tackling those issues.
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Recently, the international marketing community convened in
Miami for the Festival of Media LatAm to discuss the future of
media and marketing in Brazil, and one message came through
loud and clear: Brazil is on the threshold of a new era. The
country’s GDP growth may not be meeting expectations, but the
aspirations of its people are bigger than ever, and brands can
meet this demand in a way that even the most attentive politicos
cannot.
The major events including the World Cup and Rio 2016 are part
of the transition to the New Brazil – and indeed, catalysts for
it – but the shift taking place is much more fundamental. Once
the tropical storm dies down, marketers will be speaking to a very
different Brazil than before: the question is, what will they say?
Those which put independence, choice and empowerment at the
heart of their campaigns will be best placed to win hearts, minds
and wallets in the new order.
If you would like to talk to us about this report,
please get in touch via enquiries@tnsglobal.com
or on Twitter @tns_global
About the author
Rafael Munhoz joined TNS Brazil in 2012 as Client Service
Director. He has over 14 years consumer insight experience,
which includes a large number of studies through all stages
of brand, product and service life cycle: concept, product,
positioning, brand image, communication, sales forecasting
and customer satisfaction.
About TNS
TNS advises clients on specific growth strategies around new
market entry, innovation, brand switching and stakeholder
management, based on long-established expertise and
market-leading solutions. With a presence in over 80
countries, TNS has more conversations with the world’s
consumers than anyone else and understands individual
human behaviours and attitudes across every cultural,
economic and political region of the world.
TNS is part of Kantar, the data investment management
division of WPP and one of the world’s largest insight,
information and consultancy groups.
Please visit www.tnsglobal.com for more information.
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