46
Perception of real and quasi-Mexican
brands in Germany
47
This section will analyze German perceptions of Mexico, specifically towards Mexican
people, products and a country as a whole. Also, the section will cover Germans’ ideas
of a “true” Mexican.
Hypotheses
Papadopoulos (1993) argues in his book that general learning has many sources, for example knowledge about countries could be picked up everywhere, starting from a from
geography class in a school to daily newspapers, tv documentaries, movies, cartoons,
series, friends, co-workers and through experiences from visits to different countries.
Travel experiences affect Country Image information and give an individual more realistic picture of a country. Therefore the first hypotheses states:
H1: The image of Mexico will change if an individual visits the country.
Because of all press, travel agencies and mass media (newspapers, tv documentaries, tv
news, movies, cartoons and series) some countries have a strong presence in people´s
minds than other countries.
H2: Some countries have a stronger presence than others in people minds. Mexico
has a strong presence in German minds.
Nowadays Mexico is positioned badly by press on television and in newspapers. The
only news that is being delivered in articles, columns and reports are the stories either
about drugs, people being killed in Mexico by Mexican cartels and police, or a corruption of Mexican politicians. All of these aspects convey a one-sided view to people
about Mexico. To even begin to obtain a genuine concept of what Mexico really is, one
must understand it is in reality so multi-faceted. And yet what is presented in the media
is so severely disproportionate. Moreover, governments of other countries recommend
its citizens not to travel to Mexico unless it is really necessary. The World Audit (2010)
positioned Mexico 70th of all the countries that are corrupted. Even though it scored as
48
number 7 after other Latin-American countries, Mexico is considered as one of the most
corrupted countries.
On the other hand, during a spring break, Mexican beaches are very popular destinations. Mexican cities, like Cancun, Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco, Mazatlan and Puerto
Vallarta, are extremely popular for their beaches and nightlife.
Movies and cartoons that show Mexico normally depict a northern, deserted part of the
country. Cartoons, like Speedy Gonzalez from the Warner Brothers or Lucky Luke by
Maurice de Bevere and René Goscinny, exhibit and exaggerate clichés. They show
Mexicans as lazy and poor people, living in deserted areas. The cartoon Lucky Luke in
the chapter Daisy Town shows a Mexican with a sombrero, who is sleeping the whole
chapter. The cartoon of Speedy Gonzalez shows all Mexicans mice with big sombreros
and the only things they do is rest. South Park, a cartoon that always makes fun of everything (culture, people, religion, etc.), shows Mexicans sometimes as very poor people
or sometimes as people who enjoy parties.
Recent American movies show some features about Mexico and Mexicans:
•
Babel (2006) – Poor people and parties
•
Man on Fire (2004) – Dangerous and corrupt
•
Traffic (2000) – Dangerous and corrupt
Also some, American TV series show parties and dangerous sides of Mexico, for example The O.C. (2003) Episode 7 “The Escape”.
Therefore hypotheses 3 implies:
H3a: Germans associate Mexico with words like Sombrero, beach, drugs, corruption, and party.
49
H3b: Germans think that Mexicans are friendly, open minded, lazy, and corrupt
people.
H3c: Germans think that Mexico consists only of desserts and most likely has poor
cities.
In Germany the quantity of “Mexican restaurants” or “Mexican bars” influence the
presence of Mexico in Germans’ minds, even if the restaurants have pictures of Ché
Guevara, they play Salsa Music or they serve Tex-Mex and in the menu they don´t have
any Mexican dishes. Also in Germany there are a lot of product brands with Spanish
names or with “Mexican package” (foreign branding) like Desperados, Sierra Tequila
and Don Enrico Mexicano. Because there is a little existence of Mexican products in
Germany and the products are not marketed properly as being “Mexican”, next Hypotheses suggests:
H4a: Germans associate Mexico with hedonic products or services, specialty food,
like corn, beans, chili and Tequila.
H4b: Germans are not familiar with Mexican brands and companies.
H4c: Germans like “Mexican food”.
H4d: Germans do not know real Mexican food. They confuse it with Tex-Mex
food.
The studies of Häubl and Elrod (1999) and Phau and Prendergast (2000) based on the
COB states that the consumer’s perceptions of quality of products do not change if a
brand image is strong and a production of a product is located in a country with a bad
image. Without a real brand and using only the names of the countries the next hypotheses is:
50
H5: Germans rating are the same for German branded products made in Germany and German branded products from Mexico.
A country has an image on every aspect, for example an image of people, an image of
products, an image of food and etc.; with all of these aspects the principal hypotheses
follows:
H6: The image of Mexico has been diluted because of the foreign branding.
Method
A survey with different kinds of questions was developed online at Surveymonkey.com,
an online-tool that make possible the creation of an online-survey and the results can be
analyzed. It was distributed via e-mail and via Facebook to students of a German university in order to obtain Germans’ beliefs regarding Mexico. Also students were allowed to ask more people to answer the survey by sending the link of the survey or inviting people to the Facebook event. The survey was available for students to answer for
one month, from December the 13th to January the 13th. Due to many aspects of the image of a country, the survey was separated into different sections.
Age, gender and occupation were asked only for demographic information about people
who answered the survey. Nationality was asked in order to count only the answers
made by people with German nationality.
The question about an individual ever being in Mexico was asked to separate the survey
into two groups: people who have been in Mexico and people who have not. This question was to prove H1.
Thirteen random countries were listed to make write the respondents anything about the
countries. With the quantity of answers and no answers the level of presence of the
country in people minds can be compared. This question is related to H2.
51
Words, products, brands and companies, which come to a mind when people think of
Mexico, were asked to evaluate common and most repeated answers about Mexico by
the Germans. Repeated words show what people’s general thoughts are and with what
they associate the country. This was asked to obtain the results of H3a, H3c and H4a
To support H3b, respondents were provided with some adjectives that better represent
their thoughts about Mexicans.
The survey asked respondents to compare products with German brands with Mexican
origin to the ones that are produced in Germany to support H5. Also, the respondents
needed to evaluate their familiarization of Mexican brands and companies, and if they
liked Mexican food, and the degree of affinity. These questions were to support H4b
and H4c.
To obtain the quality country image of Mexico, people were asked to compare Mexico
with two other Latin countries, three European countries and one Asian Country, according to the four country dimensions of Roth and Romeo (innovativeness, design,
prestige and workmanship). The countries, which were selected, are Brazil, China,
Germany, Hungary, Colombia and Spain due to difference they have with Mexico in
economic, political and cultural aspects.
In the survey people were shown pictures of different kinds of landscapes that are related and unrelated to Mexico, and were asked to rate if they thought it was “Mexican” or
not. Also pictures of food, drinks, dishes and brands were shown and people were asked
if it was Mexican or not. These questions can support again H3a, H3c, H4a and H4b
and it also supports H4d.
Four choices as reasons to go to a “Mexican restaurant or bar” were given in order to
assess reasons why do Germans go to Mexican Restaurants.
All these questions can support H6.
The excel version of the survey is attached at the end of the document.
52
Results and analysis
All the answers are going to be analyzed in this section. Furthermore, the only answers
to the question, whether an individual visited Mexico or not, will be analyzed and compared separately.
A total of 136 people with German nationality answered the online survey, 37.5 % were
men and 62.5% were women. 89% of the people who answered the survey were students. Of all the people who answered the survey only 12.5% had been to Mexico. The
occupations of 11% of the respondents who were not students varied from a student of
high school, to technician and consultant. All the answers from the respondents were
analyzed
Figure 4.1:Occupation of the respondents in percentage
Occupation
Other
11%
Student
89%
Source: own creation
Most of the respondents (91%) were between the age of 19 and 25 years old. The
youngest one was 17 years old and the oldest 65 years old. Only 2% of the respondents
were younger than 19 years old and only 7% were older than 25 years old.
53
Figure 4.2: Age of the respondents in percentage
Age
24
6%
25
4%
Ager>25
7%
Age<19
2%
19
11%
20
10%
23
21%
21
17%
22
22%
Source: own creation
In order to count repeated words, all have been put in 7 different groups with the exception of the words Tequila, Sombrero and Mexico City, because of the quantity of repetitions of these words. The groups of words contain words related to group names.
•
Beach and sun – Beach, sun, warm weather, sand, Cancun, Acapulco, etc.
•
Drugs and crime – Drugs, corruption, drug-cartels, insecurity, etc.
•
Food and drinks – Tacos, Corona, nachos, tortilla, burritos, etc.
•
Party, friendliness – Party, nice people, happiness, spring break, etc.
•
Aztecs and Mayan – Aztecs, Tenochtitlan, Mayan, pyramids
•
USA, Immigration – USA, America, illegal immigration, Mexican-American
border, etc.
•
Other words – Cortes, poncho, Spanish, etc.
54
Figure 4.3: Group of words
Groups of words
100
90
93
80
70
75
60
63
50
40
46
30
38
35
20
10
36
30
17
15
0
Source: own creation
H3a was supported. Germans strongly associate Mexico with words like Sombrero,
beach, drugs, corruption and party. Words related to a beach and the sun were the most
recalled words followed by drugs and crime. The respondents associated the country a
lot with food, even if the food is not really Mexican.
The most popular answers from the Germans that haven’t been to Mexico perceive
Mexicans as friendly (76.3%) open-minded (55.9%) happy (52.7) and corrupt (50.5).
None of the people said that Mexicans were shy. Only 1% responded Mexicans to be
responsible, cheap and close-minded.
55
Figure 4.4: How are Mexicans?
How do you think Mexicans are?
Friendly
Open-minded
Happy
Corrupt
Modest
Hardworkers
Lazy
Calm
Careless
Well-behaved
All other reponses
76.30%
55.90%
52.70%
50.50%
28%
20.40%
17.20%
17.20%
10.80%
5.40%
2%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Source: own creation
Also, those respondents who were in Mexico thought that Mexicans are friendly, open
minded, happy and corrupt. The adjective lazy was chosen for the half of the respondents who were in Mexico. Also trustable (14.30%) and haughty (7.10%) were highly
rated than careless and calm, which does not appear in the following graphic.
Figure 4.5: How are Mexicans? - Germans that were in Mexico
How do you think Mexicans are
Friendly
Open-minded
Happy
Corrupt
Lazy
Well-behaved
Modest
Hardworkers
Trustable
Haughty
All other reponses
100.00%
78.60%
64.30%
64.30%
50.00%
29%
21.40%
21.40%
14.30%
7.10%
2%
0%
Source: own creation
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
56
H3b was supported. Most of the Germans think that Mexicans are friendly, open minded and corrupt. They also think that they are happy. The adjective lazy got more responses from those who were in Mexico than from those who were not. Some of the
respondents who were in Mexico thought that Mexicans are trustable and those who
were not think they are careless.
The presence of countries in people’s minds depends on the knowledge and relation
people have with countries. Moreover, respondents wrote more words about some countries than others. Argentina, Brazil, England, India and Spain were the countries with
more answers. Ecuador, Guatemala, Hungary, Ukraine and Venezuela were the countries with fewer answers.
Figure 4.6: Presence of countries in people minds
Presence of countries in people minds
Ukraine
Rusia
Spain
Portugal
Peru
Panama
Guatemala
Korea
India
Hungary
Venezuela
England
Ecuador
Colombia
Chile
Cuba
Brazil
Argentina
0.00%
Source: own creation
36.20%
86.20%
87.90%
69.00%
55.20%
46.60%
29.30%
62.10%
93.10%
46.60%
48.30%
91.40%
44.80%
67.20%
63.80%
87.90%
98.30%
91.40%
20.00%
40.00%
60.00%
80.00%
100.00%
57
H2 was not supported. Indeed, some countries have a stronger presence in German
minds, but the questions in the survey could not determine whether Mexico has a strong
presence, because Mexico was not an option. Countries with a strong presence are Brazil, England and India, and countries with a very weak presence are Ecuador, Guatemala
and Ukraine.
Corn related products were the most popular Mexican products. Germans mentioned not
only corn, but they also mentioned tacos, tortillas, nachos, etc. Tequila was the second
most popular Mexican product. The brand Sierra Tequila was mentioned 2 times. Food
products like coffee, oranges, bananas and meat were mentioned, however, were less
repeated than dishes like burritos, chili con carne and fajitas. Tourism and souvenirs,
like sombrero, were the fourth popular answer followed by drugs. For beer Germans
referred to Corona beer and in one case to Desperados beer.
Figure 4.7: Mexican products
Mexican products
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
73
62
54
20
14
13
11
9
6
11
Source: own creation
H4a was supported. With the exception to cars from VW, all the products that Germans
associate with Mexico are hedonic.
Only 15.1% percentage of Germans who were not in Mexico answered that they know
about Mexican brands and companies. From those who knew, Corona and Desperados
58
were the most common answers followed by Jose Cuervo. The only Mexican company
by the respondents that was repeated was CEMEX.
Figure 4.8: Mexican brands
Mexican brands
7
6
5
6
6
4
3
3
2
1
1
1
1
Sierra
Tequila
Sol
Taco Bell
0
Corona
Desperados Jose Cuervo
Source: own creation
Figure 4.9: Mexican companies
Mexican companies
3
2
1
0
Source: own creation
59
H4b was supported. Germans are not familiar with Mexican brands and companies. The
3 Mexican brands Germans have mentioned were only alcoholic drinks that were Corona, Sol, and Jose Cuervo. Taco Bell is an American franchise and Sierra Tequila is a
German brand. Desperados, a French beer, was repeated the same amount of times as
Corona.
The Germans that were in Mexico answered the survey with more knowledge of Mexican brands. Beer brands like, Corona (repeated 4 times) Pacifico, Dos Equis, and Estrella were mentioned. They also mentioned companies like Bimbo, Telmex, Telcel,
Pemex, Grupo Modelo and Cerveceria Moctezuma, where the brand Bimbo was repeated 3 times.
Figure 4.10: Mexican brands - Germans that were in Mexico
Mexican brands
5
4
3
2
1
0
4
2
1
1
1
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Source: own creation
Figure 4.11: Mexican companies - Germans that were in Mexico
Mexican companies
3
2
1
1
2
0
Source: own creation
2
2
1
1
1
2
60
Most of all the products and companies mentioned were food-related products (hedonic
products)
Only 55% agreed that German brand products, which are produced in Mexico, are as
good as the ones produced in Germany. From the Germans that were in Mexico, 77%
agreed that the German brands produced in Mexico are as good as those produced in
Germany.
Figure 4.12: Quality of German products from Mexico
Have the German branded products produced in Mexico the
same quality as those produced in German?
Germans that were not in
Mexico
No
45%
Germans that were in Mexico
No
23%
Yes
55%
Yes
77%
Source: own creation
H5 was not supported. More than half of the Germans think that German branded products from Mexico are as good as those from Germany. Respondents who were in Mexico did not agree with the question and favored Mexican manufactured products.
According to the four dimensions of Country Image of Roth and Romeo (1993), the
best-rated country in the survey in every aspect was Germany and the worst was Colombia. Mexico was rated 5th in innovativeness and placed out of 7 with a rating average
of 2.84/5. In design and prestige Mexico took a 4th place with a rating average of 2.14/5
and 1.5/5 respectively.
61
Figure 4.13: Country dimensions of country image
Country dimensions of country image
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Brazil
China
Innovativeness
2.97
2.88
Germany Hungary Colombia Mexico
4.67
2.54
2.25
2.84
Spain
3.25
Design
2.58
1.53
3.76
1.26
1.04
2.14
3.36
Prestige
1.78
0.7
4.58
1.16
0.16
1.5
2.96
Workmanship
1.92
2.95
4.37
1.89
1
1.66
2.13
Source: own creation
The respondents that were in Mexico rated Mexico higher. In all the dimensions it
scored a 4th place. In innovativeness Mexico got the same points as Brazil (3.00/5.00);
in design 2.69/5.00; in prestige 2.69/5.00; and in workmanship (2.65/5.00).
Figure 4.14: Country dimensions of country image - Germans that were in Mexico
Country dimensions of country image
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Innovativeness
Brazil
China
3
3.23
Germany Hungary Colombia
4.69
Mexico
Spain
2.25
2.18
3
3.38
Design
2.5
3.46
4.38
1.17
1.33
2.69
3.77
Prestige
2.92
2.54
4.69
2.25
2.08
2.69
3.62
Workmanship
2.77
3.69
4.00
2.92
2.31
2.85
2.62
Source: own creation
62
Even though the pictures of nature landscapes were from Mexico, with an exception of
the Egyptian Pyramid, some of the respondents, who have not been in Mexico, rated
pictures as “non-Mexican.” A picture of Sonoran desert with a cactus was rated the
highest as “Mexican,” with a rating average of 1.66, being total Mexican 2 and not
Mexican -2. The landscape of the dessert with dunes, that was also Sonoran desert, was
not rated as Mexican with -0.62 in average. Germans recognized the Egyptian pyramid
and most of them recognized a Mayan pyramid, however some did not know that there
are pyramids in Mexico. The volcano Pico de Orizaba, the highest peek of Mexico, covered the 365 days of the year with snow and surrounded by more mountains, was not
seen as a Mexican landscape for the Germans (-0.75). The landscape of the Sierra Madre Occidental had a rating average of 0.22, the landscape was not perceived as very
Mexican for the most of the respondents. In German minds Cabo San Lucas (-0.17) did
not look as a Mexican beach, but Playa del Carmen (0.74) did.
Figure 4.15: Mexican landscapes
Mexican landscapes
2
1.66
Tamul Waterfall
1.5
1
0.5
0.25
Playa del Carmen
0.78
0.74
Cabo San Lucas
0.22
Sierra Madre Occidental
0
-0.5
Pico de Orizaba
Maya Pyramid
-0.17
-1
-0.75
-0.62
Sonoran dunes
-1.5
-2
Egyptian Pyramid
Sonoran desert
-1.75
Source: own creation
All of the Germans that were in Mexico recognized the Maya pyramid of Chichén Itza.
Cabo San Lucas was rated as Mexican with 0.69. The Pico de Orizaba was rated as not
Mexican with -0.23. Sonoran desert was rated Mexican but Sonoran dunes were not.
63
Figure 4.16: Mexican landscapes - German that were in Mexico
Mexican landscapes
2.50
2.00
2.00
Tamul Waterfall
1.62
1.38
1.50
1.00
0.77
0.69
Playa del Carmen
Cabo San Lucas
0.54
Sierra Madre Occidental
0.50
Pico de Orizaba
0.00
-0.50
Maya Pyramid
-0.23
Egyptian Pyramid
-1.00
-0.85
-1.50
-2.00
-1.69
Sonoran dunes
Sonoran desert
Source: own creation
Some of the pictures of the cities showed in the survey were typical Mexican and only
one of them was not. The skyscrapers of Torre Mayor and Reforma (-0.25) were not
seen as Mexican. A picture of Mexico City with high and small buildings was rated as
Mexican (0.61). Also the city of Taxco (0.36), a picture of colorful houses (0.64) and a
picture of a poor city (0.51) with houses with an orange brick façade were rated as Mexican. A picture of a village showing extreme poverty was lowly rated as not Mexican (0.17). The Old Wild West town picture had a rating average of -0.01, some of the Germans perceived this town as Mexican and some of them not.
Figure 4.17: Mexican cities
Mexican cities
2.00
1.00
Torre Mayor and Reforma
0.61
0.36
0.64 0.51
0.00
-1.00
Mexico City
Wild West town
Taxco
-0.25
-0.01
-2.00
Source: own creation
-0.17
Poor village
Colourful Mexican houses
Poor city
64
The Germans that were in Mexico rated all the pictures as Mexicans with the exception
of the picture of the Wild West town.
Figure 4.18: Mexican cities - Germans that were in Mexico
Mexican cities
1.31
1.40
1.23
1.20
Torre Mayor and Reforma
1.00
0.60
Mexico City
0.69
0.80
0.46
Wild West town
0.46
0.40
Taxco
0.23
0.20
Poor village
Colourful Mexican houses
0.00
Poor city
-0.20
-0.40
-0.31
Source: own creation
H3c was partially supported. Most of he Germans that have not been in Mexico thought,
that Mexico is deserted, and did not relate the country to any other landscapes. They
also could not think on Mexican cities variations, whereas respondents who were in
Mexico were able to define with more accuracy cities of Mexico and its landscapes with
more accuracy.
The Sombrero (1.78) and the Mexican backing a cactus (1.75) were rated the highest by
the Germans who were not in Mexico. Also a donkey received a high rating as Mexican
(1.17). The Mariachi was rated low as Mexican with 0.44, however the Aztec Eagle
Knight (-0.04) was not rated as Mexican and people in Peruvian typical costumes (0.27)
and Poncho of Alpaca (0.10) were rated as Mexican. The pictures of Che Guevara and
neither the Salsa dance nor the Tango dance were rated as Mexican. The VW new Beetle was not rated as Mexican with high -1.30.
65
Figure 4.19: What is Mexican?
is Mexican?
2.00
1.78
1.75
Mexican backing a cactus
1.50
Sevillana
1.17
Aztec Eagle knight
1.00
Mariachi
Peruvian costume
0.44
0.27
0.50
0.10
Salsa dance
0.00
Tango dance
-0.04
-0.50
Che Guevara
VW new Bettle
-0.30
-0.32
Donkey
-0.68
-0.88
-1.00
Poncho of Alpaca
Sombrero
-1.30
-1.50
Source: own creation
Figure 4.20: What is Mexican? - Germans that were in Mexico
Is Mexican?
2.00
1.50
1.77
1.69
Mexican backing a cactus
Sevillana
1.15 1.15
0.92
1.00
Mariachi
0.46
0.50
Peruvian costume
0.23
Che Guevara
0.00
-0.50
Aztec Eagle knight
Salsa dance
-0.38
-0.69
-1.00
-1.54
Source: own creation
VW new Bettle
Donkey
-1.15
-1.50
-2.00
Tango dance
-0.31
Poncho of Alpaca
Sombrero
66
The respondents, that were in Mexico, answered correctly to all of the questions on
what is believed to be Mexican with an exception of the picture with the Peruvians
(0.23). The Aztec Eagle knight had a rating of average 1.15 and the VW new Beetle had
0.46 points.
Counting the total number of the respondents, the survey demonstrates that in general
Germans like Mexican food, where most of them like Mexican food a lot. The restaurants that the respondents mentioned were the ones that served Tex-Mex dishes. Therefore H4c was supported.
Figure 4.21: Germans like Mexican food
Mexican food
1%
4% 5%
20%
Don´t like the food at all
Like the food a little
Like the food
Like the food a lot
Favorite Food
70%
Source: own creation
Nevertheless, the main reason why Germans go to Mexican restaurants is due to Mexican food, the second being cocktails. Also, music and atmosphere were a strong reason
to go to Mexican restaurants.
67
Figure 4.22: Reasons to go to a Mexican restaurant
Reasons to go to a Mexican Restaurant
100%
90%
80%
Atmosphere
70%
60%
Music
50%
Cocktails, drinks, Happy
Hour
40%
30%
Food
20%
10%
0%
1
2
3
4
Source: own creation
Showing some pictures of products, the question followed was, why it is believed to be
“Mexican”. The following answers were provided:
1. “Because the product contains beans and corn”
2. “Because corn and beans are related to Mexico”
3. “Because it is a Marketing strategy”
4. “Because the word Mexico make the product exotic”
5. “Because it is spicy”
All the food and dishes, including the Tex-Mex food and dishes, in the survey were
considered as Mexican with an exception of a New Yorker dish with an English name
“Chicken wings”. Half of the respondents answered that Margarita and Brazilian cocktails, along with Caipirihna, were Mexicans.
68
Figure 4.23: What is Mexican food?
What is Mexican food?
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Not mexican
Mexican food
Source: own creation
The Germans that have not been in Mexico, from the 3 pictures of Tacos, 27% answered that the Tex-Mex Taco Shell is a Mexican Taco.
Figure 4.24: Tacos
How are the Mexican tacos?
Mexican opened
Tacos
24%
49%
27%
Source: own creation
Tex-Mex Taco
Shells
Mexican rolled
tacos
69
Only 5% of the respondents who were in Mexico selected the Taco Shell as Mexican.
Figure 4.25: Tacos - Germans that were in Mexico
How are the Mexican tacos?
28%
Mexican opened Tacos
Taco Shells
Mexican rolled tacos
5%
67%
Source: own creation
H4d was supported. Germans do not know how the real Mexican food looks like. The
majority confused it with Tex-Mex food. Also H1 was supported, the image of Mexico
changes if the person visits the country.
From all of the Mexican brands Jose Cuervo (86.2%) and La Costeña (79.3%) were the
brands with higher number of positive answers (Yes). Also Corona (58.6%) and La Sierra (62.1%) had positive answers, but they also had a big quantity of negative responses. From the non-Mexican brands Sierra Tequila (59.8%) was considerate as a Mexican
brand. The Majority of the respondents consider Desperados and Old El Paso as a nonMexican with 54% and 51.7% of negative answers.
70
Figure 4.26: Mexican brands
Mexican brands?
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
No
Yes
20%
10%
0%
Source: own creation
H4b was supported that Germans are not familiar with Mexican brands. The Mexican
brands were confused with foreign produced brands and therefore H6 was partially supported. Products showing features of Mexico or products that are associated with Mexico make consumers to believe that a product is Mexican.