Thought Leadership

International - Market Snapshot: LATIN AMERICA

Secrets to a Successful Campaign

In Latin America, Text 100 works in collaboration with The Jeffrey Group, the largest independent public relations firm in the region. The agency is headquartered in Miami and has wholly owned offices in the major markets of Argentina, Brazil and Mexico and works with contracted personnel in all other countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Following is a briefing on major issues to consider when working in the region:

Targeted focus
Although Latin America consists of a huge geographic area with many different countries, most business activity is concentrated in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, which together account for close to 70 percent of Latin America's total population base of about 500 million. Although other countries have sizeable populations, most international companies make 90 percent or more of their total Latin American revenues from these three countries.

Growing regionalization
Another important factor in Latin America, particularly impacting technology clients, is the growing regionalization of the media as news and information flows freely across national borders. With the exception of Brazil, all countries of Latin America share a common language of Spanish. Although there are variations in each country's Spanish, contrary to popular opinion it is no longer necessary to translate Spanish-language materials into country-specific text, as the population is now well accustomed to television programming, Web sites and textbooks in non-country-specific generic Spanish. In addition, there are an increasing number of online, print and broadcast media which are promoted and available pan-regionally—many of them based in Miami which has become the defacto media capital of the region.

Internet penetration
Although Internet penetration is low, averaging from 15 percent to 20 percent in most major markets these numbers can be misleading, since the "connected" population is generally the educated, influential, managerial and professional people who are most likely to be the audience that most clients want to reach.

Payment for coverage
Although local people may sometimes insist this is still required, this is no longer true at any respectable media. As in most countries, smaller trade publications may expect advertising from the companies they cover, but this is done through normal channels, not envelopes of cash passed to the journalists.

Urban area concentration
In all countries, there is typically one urban center that is the business and media hub for the entire country. Most large newspapers and magazines circulate nationally from cities like Buenos Aires (Argentina), São Paulo (Brazil) and Mexico City—all among the world's ten largest cities in terms of population.

Importance of a regional approach
For most clients, the importance of a pan-regional approach cannot be underestimated. It is no longer practical for a company offering essentially similar services or products to handle communications in Latin America on a country-by-country basis. In addition to the cost savings, the regional approach maximizes the coordination between markets, ensures consistent and timely delivery of messages and reaches the pan-regional media that are not based in one specific country.

Text 100 partners with The Jeffrey Group to bring quality communications services to our clients in Latin America. To learn more, please contact Carolina Noguera at +1 415 593 8429.