Targeting Brazilian Market through Digital Branding Strategies: The Relevance of the Cultural Dimension

Lilian Maria de Souza Almeida

Academic Department, CETEC Educacional-ETEP Faculdades, Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil.

DOI: 10.4236/ojbm.2015.31004                

Abstract

While Internet has been achieving its omnipresence worldwide and offering to companies the opportunity of trading in a “no-borders” market, global brands, and those aspiring to become global, face the challenge of dealing with significant cultural differences. Emergent economies account for one of the greatest opportunities for global brands interested in extending their business overseas through digital channels. Among these economies, Brazil has been receiving special focus lately as a promising consumer market. Working from a theoretical point of view through literature and simultaneously examining companies as potential paradigms, this study aims to provide suggestions for global brands interested in targeting the Brazilian market through effective cross-cultural digital branding strategies. The results are valuable insights about how to establish better communication with Brazilian consumers and also offer some guidance to help marketers to keep brands desired and admired in Brazil. It was mainly concluded that global brands should find out the right balance between a standardized and an adapted cultural approach in order to establish a trust-worthy proximity with Brazilian consumers on the digital environment.

Keywords

Cross-Cultural Marketing, Digital Marketing, Branding, Brazilian Market

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Strauss, J. and Frost, R. (2012) E-Marketing. Pearson Prentice Hall, São Paulo.
[2]	Herbig, P.A. (2013) Handbook of Cross-Cultural Marketing. Routledge, New York.
[3]	Consumidor Moderno (2014) A Evolução do Consumidor. http://www.consumidormoderno.com.br/impressas/CM190.pdf
[4]	Limba, T., Kiskis, M. and Jurkute, V. (2014) Online Brand Experience Creation Process Model: Theoretical Insights. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Information Technology, 3, 100-118.
[5]	Rowles, D. (2014) Digital Branding: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Strategy, Tactics and Measurement. Kogan Page, Philadelphia.
[6]	Hermeking, M. (2006) Culture and Internet Consumption: Contributions from Cross-Cultural Marketing and Advertising Research. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11, 192-216. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.tb00310.x
[7]	Würtz, E. (2006) Intercultural Communication on Web Sites: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Web Sites from High-Context Cultures and Low-Context Cultures. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11, 274-299. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.tb00313.x
[8]	Hall, E.T. and Hall, M.R. (1990) Understanding Cultural Differences: Germans, French and Americans. Intercultural Press, Boston.
[9]	Moran, R.T., Abramson, N.R. and Moran, S.V. (2014) Managing Cultural Differences. Routledge, New York.
[10]	Forbes (2014) The World’s Most Valuable Brands. http://www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/list/
[11]	Reputation Institute (2014) Meeting the Demands of Consumers. http://www.reputationinstitute.com/thought-leadership/global-reptrak-100
[12]	Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (2011) Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios: Acesso à Internet e Posse de Telefone Móvel Celular para Uso Pessoal. ftp://ftp.ibge.gov.br/Acesso_a_internet_e_posse_celular/2011/PNAD_Inter_2011.pdf
[13]	Nielsen (2014) Número de usuários ativos passa de 60 milhoes pela primeira vez. http://www.nielsen.com/br/pt/nielsen-pressroom/2014/numero-de-usuarios-ativos-passa-de-60-milhoes-pela-primeira-vez.html
[14]	E-BIT (2014) Relatório Webshoppers 2014: 29a edição. http://www.ebit.com.br/webshoppers
[15]	PayPal (2013) Modern Spice Routes: The Cultural Impact and Economic Opportunity of Cross-Border Shopping. https://www.paypal-media.com/assets/pdf/fact_sheet/PayPal_ModernSpiceRoutes_Report_Final.pdf
[16]	Souiden, N., M’Saad, B. and Pons, F. (2011) A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Consumers’ Conspicuous Consumption of Branded Fashion Accessories. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 23, 329-343. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08961530.2011.602951
[17]	Fleith, D.S. (2011) Creativity in the Brazilian Culture. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 4, 3. http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol4/iss3/3/
[18]	Kraidy, M.M. (2005) Hybridity, or the Cultural Logic of Globalization. Temple University Press, Philadelphia.
[19]	Kotler, P. and Keller, K.L. (2006) Administração de Marketing. Pearson Prentice Hall, São Paulo.
[20]	Blackwell, R.D., Miniard, P.W. and Engel, J.F. (2005) Comportamento do Consumidor. Pioneira Thomson Learning, São Paulo.
[21]	De Mooij, M.K. (2013) Global Marketing and Advertising: Understanding Cultural Paradoxes. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks.
[22]	Wind, J. and Mahajan, V. (2001) Digital Marketing: Digital Strategies from the World’s Leading Experts. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York.
[23]	American Marketing Association (2014) Dictionary. https://www.ama.org/resources/Pages/Dictionary.aspx?dLetter=B&dLetter=B
[24]	Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. (2007) Princípios de Marketing. Pearson Prentice Hall, S?o Paulo.
[25]	Brand Channel (2014) Brand Careers—Glossary. http://www.brandchannel.com/education_glossary.asp
[26]	Aaker, D. (2014) The Five Biggest Ideas of the Branding Era. https://www.ama.org/publications/MarketingNews/Pages/five-biggest-ideas-branding-era.aspx
[27]	Sharma, P. (2011) Demystifying Cultural Differences in Country-of-Origin Effects: Exploring the Moderating Roles of Product Type, Consumption Context, and Involvement. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 23, 344-364. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08961530.2011.602952
[28]	Louis Vuitton (2014) Lançamento da Edição Limitada Cabas Rio. http://br.louisvuitton.com/front/#/por_BR/News/articles/LANCAMENTO-DA-EDICAO-LIMITADA-CABAS-RIO
[29]	Samsung (2014) Promoçoes. http://www.samsung.com/br/promotions/
[30]	Tommy Hilfiger (2014) Tommy Hilfiger. http://br.tommy.com/
[31]	Nestlé Switzerland (2014) Nestlé: Good Food. Good Life. http://www.nestle.ch/de
[32]	Nestlé Brasil (2014) Nestlé: Faz Bem. https://www.nestle.com.br/site/home.aspx