Brand Brasil: A Comparative Analysis of the Brazil Country Image in
the United States and Brazil
A thesis presented to
the faculty of
the Center for International Studies of Ohio University
In partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
Masters of Arts
Iara Mara Fonseca Leão
June 2012
© 2012 Iara Mara Fonseca Leão. All Rights Reserved.
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This thesis titled
Brand Brasil: A Comparative Analysis of the Brazil Country Image in
the United States and Brazil
by
IARA MARA FONSECA LEÃO
has been approved for
the Center for International Studies by
____________________________________________________
Yong Wang
Assistant Professor of Marketing
___________________________________________________
José Delgado Costa
Director, Latin American Studies
___________________________________________________
Daniel Weiner
Executive Director, Center for International Studies
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ABSTRACT
FONSECA LEÃO, IARA M., M.A., June 2012, Latin American Studies
Brand Brasil: A Comparative Analysis Of The Brazil Country Image In The United
States and Brazil (115 pp.)
Director of Thesis: Yong Wang
In the past decades, countries have been adopting the trend of creating their own
Nation Brand and to manage them as commercial brands, establishing their brand
identities and brand strategies, resulting in their brand image. The focus of this thesis was
to analyze how Brand Brazil is perceived in the United States and Brazil, by business
people. Brazil developed, officially, its Brand Brazil in early 2000’s, and by 2003 there
was already an Agency, called APEX-Brasil, designated to manage and promote the
image of Brazil abroad. APEX-Brasil, currently, supports 81 sectors of Brazil’s economy,
supports over 10,000 Brazilian companies and has promoted Brand Brazil in over 3,000
presentations worldwide for audiences of entrepreneurs, investors and trend-setters. For
this thesis, an extended focus group study, with instrument containing qualitative and
quantitative written questions in English and Portuguese was conducted. With the results
was possible to set patterns and make comparisons between the perception from NorthAmericans and Brazilians. This thesis also presents recommendations to expand the
promotion of Brazil for the United States market.
Approved: ____________________________________________________________
Yong Wang
Assistant Professor of Marketing
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In loving memory of my mother, Carminha.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to show my gratitude to my family, especially parents Ivens and
Carminha, and my brother Ivens for supporting me, unconditionally, in this journey.
Thank you for motivating me to pursue my goal, which over time also became your goal.
I would like to thank my mother for the numerous messages of support during difficult
moments, and especially for worrying about my academic accomplishment even on her
deathbed. The return to the United States and the conclusion of this degree would not
have been possible if, once again, I did not have the support from my father and brother.
It is a pleasure to thank the members of my committee, Dr. Wang, Dr. Axinn and
Dr. Barr-Melej, without whom this thesis would not have been held. Your help, guidance
and orientation were crucial to me. To my advisor Dr. Wang, who assisted me in this
research and spent countless hours meeting with me to discuss my thesis, reading and
revising my work. To Dr. Axinn who has been helping me since the beginning of this
journey at Ohio University. Whose guidance did not remain only in the academic
environment and became my friend and mentor. To Dr. Barr-Melej, who is my example
of a great professor, and who promptly accepted my invitation to be in my committee.
I would like to thank my coordinator Dr. Delgado, for constant assisting me
throughout this journey. To Professor Gabriela Castaneda, my friend, who since my first
weeks at the university has helped me to improve my academic writing and for the
pleasant conversations. To the loving memory of Dr. William Day, whom I kindly called
"Guigui" and who was very enthusiastic about the topic of my thesis.
To all of my friends in Brazil and to my new friends, who I met during this
journey, and helped me when I needed the most, especially when I was homesick.
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To Centro Universitário UNA, especially Professors Cristiane Serpa and
Frederico Martini, for giving me the opportunity to attend graduate school at Ohio
University and for believing in me. To Ohio University and the Center for International
Studies for making possible to me to pursue my master's degree.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract ................................................................................................................................3
Dedication ............................................................................................................................4
Acknowledgments................................................................................................................5
List of Tables .......................................................................................................................9
List of Figures ....................................................................................................................10
Chapter 1: Introduction ......................................................................................................11
Chapter 2: Literature Review .............................................................................................15
2.1 Brand ........................................................................................................................15
2.2 Nation Brand ............................................................................................................23
2.3 Brazil ........................................................................................................................39
2.4 Brand Brazil .............................................................................................................49
Chapter 3: Methodology ....................................................................................................62
Chapter 4: Research Results ..............................................................................................69
4.1 General Perceptions of Brazil ..................................................................................69
4.2 Statements on Brand Brazil ......................................................................................76
4.3 Positive and Negative Perceptions of Brazil ............................................................78
4.4 Personality Traits Dimensions .................................................................................80
4.5 Familiarity with Brazil .............................................................................................83
Chapter 5: Discussion ........................................................................................................88
5.1 Discussion ................................................................................................................88
5.2 Limitations ...............................................................................................................92
5.3 Recommendations ....................................................................................................93
5.4 Future Researches ....................................................................................................95
References ..........................................................................................................................96
Appendices .......................................................................................................................102
Appendix 1 - Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval ..........................................102
Appendix 2 - Institutional Review Board (IRB) Amendment Approval .....................103
Appendix 3 - Focus Group Study Questions In English ..............................................104
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Appendix 4 - Focus Group Study Questions In Portuguese .........................................110
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LIST OF TABLES
Table
1. The GFK Nation Brands Index - Overall Top Ten Rank ..............................................36
2. The Country Brand Index 2011-2012 ............................................................................39
3. Comparisons Between Brazil And The United States ...................................................41
4. Brazilian Trade Balance 2010/2011...............................................................................44
5. Brazil In The World - Production And Exports Of Selected Products ..........................45
6. Major Countries For Brazilian Exports..........................................................................46
7. Major Supplier Countries To Brazil ..............................................................................47
8. Brazilian Exports To the United States ..........................................................................48
9. Demographic Characteristics Of Participants ................................................................66
10. Elements Of Brand Brazil As Perceived By North-Americans and Brazilians ...........71
11. Themes Discussed on Question Number Two .............................................................73
12. Stereotypes Mentioned by United States Respondents ................................................75
13. Rated Statements on Brand Brazil ...............................................................................77
14. Personality Trait: Sincerity ..........................................................................................81
15. Personality Trait: Excitement ......................................................................................81
16. Personality Trait: Competence .....................................................................................82
17. Personality Trait: Ruggedness .....................................................................................82
18. Personality Trait: Sophistication ..................................................................................82
19. Brazilian Companies and Products ..............................................................................84
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
1. The Nation Brand Hexagon ..........................................................................................35
2 The Country Brand Index Pentagon ...............................................................................38
3. The APEX-Brasil’s Units In Brazil ...............................................................................58
4 The APEX-Brasil’s Units Around the World .................................................................59
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
The practice of considering a country as a brand has become a trend, being
adopted by many different countries worldwide. Brazil has adhered to this approach since
early 2000s, coining and managing the Brand Brazil campaign ever since (Furlan in
Caixeta, Netz and Galuppo, 2006). The image people have of the Brand Brazil may not
match reality precisely, and also it may be dissonant to the image which the Brazilian
Government would like it to be. These misleading perceptions of a country can generate a
negative image for a nation. As a consequence of this, a country may face difficulty in
establishing its product image and gaining its share of the international market (Anholt,
1998).
Brands are usually adopted by enterprises when they want the public to relate to a
product/service and at the same time they want consumers to be aware of who is offering
the items. Brands can also be a tool for creating differentiation from the competitors and
to enhance the value of goods that are offered (Tavares, 1998). By using their brands,
companies expect to create credibility among consumers and potential consumers, as well
as creating a tool to help customers remember about the company and its product.
Moreover, a brand is able to create a relationship between clients and goods or services.
While the companies produce the goods, consumers buy the brand (Aaker, 2007). As the
products cannot speak for themselves, it is the brand that gives meaning to the products
and speaks for them (Tavares, 1998).
The concepts above have primarily been adopted by enterprises; however,
countries started to invest in brands to promote their own national images, as the way
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countries are perceived might impact their international trade, foreign investment and
tourism. Therefore, many countries use the substantial identity they have, and most of the
time they combine these characteristics with the goods they produce, in order to promote
their Nation-Brand (Castelo Branco, 2010). The image people have of a country may
affect the outcome people are expecting. For instance, when it comes to cars, the German
ones are expected to have the best engineering, the Swedish cars to be safe and ecological,
the French ones to have an elegant design, the Japanese cars to be economical and
efficient, and the Italian ones to be stylish and romantic (Anholt, 1998).
The correlation between country image and product image does not need to be
compared only among the same products. The characteristics nations have can be turned
into part of the profiles of these countries, and automatically the products that are
expected from that region will be related to those perceived characteristics. The Brazilian
traits that have been traditionally perceived are: the music and dancing (including samba
and Carnival), ecology, beaches, sports and adventure. These features relate to a young
public and as a result, products that can combine these features and are aimed at younger
consumers are more likely to be expected to be produced in Brazil (Anholt, 1998).
Brazil is a developing economy. Along with Russia, India and China Brazil is
considered part of the “BRIC” - the four largest developing economies in the world. The
BRIC countries represent approximately one third of the world’s population and therefore
hold the largest labor force in the planet. These countries are considered influential in
global affairs and economics (Country Brand Index, 2012). In addition, Brazil and the
United States have been business partners and the bilateral trade between them has a
major impact on their economies. In 2011, Brazil exported goods worth US$25,805
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million to the United States, and imported goods worth US$33,963 million from the U.S.
The exports encompassed different sectors of Brazilian economy, from commodities to
high-finished products (MDIC, 2012). Therefore, the decision to analyze managers from
the United States is due to key role bi-lateral business relationships play in both
economies.
Considering this foundation, the focus of this study is to identify the image which
business people in the United States perceive of Brazil, and to compare the result with the
image the Brazilian Government aims to promote and identify possible discrepancies. An
additional goal of this thesis is to identify the image that Brazilian business people have
of Brand Brazil and compare those images with the images held by business people in the
United States – again looking for similarities and differences among them. Based on the
fact that perception is a relative and subjective reality (CB - Consumer Behavior, 2009),
and that perceptions can be affected by selective attention and exposure to the
information and stimuli, it is likely that the images North-Americans have of Brazil may
not be as precise as Brazilians would like for it to be (CB - Consumer Behavior, 2009).
This thesis is divided in five chapters: introduction, literature review,
methodology, research results, and discussion, limitations and conclusion. The literature
review will cover the definitions of Brand, Nation-Brand, the image of Brazil and the
efforts the Brazilian government is making to promote the ‘Nation Brand Brazil.’ These
definitions will guide the reader in understanding the pillar concept of Nation Brand and
how it applies to the reality of Brazil. The methodology chapter will contain an
explanation of how the research was conducted, and then the research results will be
presented. Finally, the discussion will present a comparison of the findings with the
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literature presented. Also within this chapter there will be a discussion of the limitations
of the study and recommendations for the management of ‘Brand Brazil’ will be made,
along with suggestions for further research.
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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
The literature review aims to cover the basic concepts in order for one to
understand the study of ‘Nation Brand’, and more specifically, to decode the image of
Brazil in order to understand the image that has been perpetuated and the changes
required to improve this image. The literature review is the basis for the analysis of the
results and further development of the objective of this study. This chapter is divided in
four sections. The first section presents an explanation of the basic concepts of ‘brand’,
from a marketing perspective. The second section focuses on the core topic of this study the ‘Nation Brand.’ The third section clarifies some basic information about Brazil, based
on historical and geographic data related to Brazil’s economic development. Finally, the
fourth section discusses ‘Brand Brazil’, the characteristics of this brand and the actions
done by the government in order to promote the image of the country.
2.1. Brand
A brand is traditionally used as a tool to distinguish a company from its
competitors (Tavares, 1998). In order for a brand to be acknowledged by consumers, it
must not only be recognized as part of a product category, but also, it must have some
visibility, credibility and perceived quality (Aaker, 2007). What will differentiate a brand
is a characteristic, a component, a service that creates a key factor to an offer where there
is a significant brand to consumers and that deserves a long term management (Aaker,
2007). A brand represents a value that has been promised, and encourages beliefs,
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emotions and behaviors. It has its own personality; and shows its messages through its
consumers (Kotler and Gertner, 2004).
According to a nation-brand specialist, Simon Anholt (video, 2011), in this field
of marketing there are two words that are often mistakenly used - ‘communication’ and
‘brand.’ To Anholt (video, 2011), these words must be carefully used, as they can carry
different meanings but they have often been used as if they were synonyms. For instance,
the word ‘communication’ is commonly mentioned when one wants to refer to either
information provision, advertising or propaganda. To avoid the misleading use of these
terms Anholt (video, 2011) clarified their meanings.
- Information provision: this can only happen when there is a demand for
information. Only works when people seek and/or request knowledge on a
matter which they need to be informed. Under those circumstances,
information provision is mandatory. This is also the opportunity one has to be
listening to, because when the information is provided, but there is no demand
for it, people are more likely to not be interested and therefore this could be a
waste of resources.
- Advertising: it will only work under two conditions; when there is a product or
service to be offered, and when possible consumers are identified. According
to Anholt (video, 2011), “advertising is about selling and it works like
Information Provision, when you have the permission of the recipient to do it.”
- Propaganda: it is the strategy used when one wants to change people’s opinion
because it is in dissonance with what one wants. However, one does not have
the consent to do so. Propaganda only works under two circumstances: when
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one has unchallengeable authority and when one has total control over all the
communication channels that will reach his audience. The media currently
available make the strategy of Propaganda difficult to execute.
Regarding the misleading use of the word ‘Brand’, Anholt (video, 2011) clarifies
the meaning of the word, by dividing it in three different topics. They are as follows:
- Brand Image: is the idea someone has of your product; it is someone else’s
perception of it. Since it is the perceptions others have, it is not controllable,
and people can have a positive or negative image of your brand. People might
even have some prejudice towards a brand and have it their whole lives. This
image, however, is not determined by the perception one individual has of a
brand, but the image most people have, how the brand is commonly perceived.
As Anholt (video, 2011) states, “each consumer will have a slightly different
view of your brand, your product, your country, depending on their personal
experiences, their culture, their nationality, their level of prosperity.”
- Brand Identity: is how your product will look. This you can actually control.
Brand Identity concerns the parts of a brand that is controllable, such as the
logo, slogans, and packages. However, just making these changes will not
result in a change of the Brand Image.
- Brand Purpose: is the idea of gathering people towards the same goal.
Everyone working knowing what the company/brand purposes are and
strategies are based on that matter.
In order to facilitate the understanding of Brand and its branches, the subcategories of brand will be discussed in the following subsections.
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Brand Identity - Dinnie (2008) defines identity as what something really is,
while image is how something is perceived. According to Aaker (1996), it is mandatory
to have a well-defined ‘brand identity’ that will guide the entity through different
management programs. In addition, the identity must be clear and it should create value
or ‘brand equity’, and the basis for a ‘brand relationship’ (Aaker, 1996). Along the lines
of Simon Anholt, Aaker (1996) defines ‘brand identity’ as something that needs to be
meaningful to the company and that allows it to be distinguished from its competitors.
Moreover, it is imperative for the company to have the core of the ‘brand identity’ wellestablished, or else the firm will not appear to have solidity. It is also important to
consider the future identity of the brand, where the brand is going to, or else, in the long
term, the effort spent to build the brand will not help guide the company in future
decision making (Aaker, 1996).
Martin Roll (2008) defines ‘brand identity’ as “the strategic character that guides
the company and customers (p.100).” To Roll (2008), ‘brand identity’ can be analyzed
from both internal and external perspectives. From the internal perspective, the identity
will guide strategic management of the brand that will include the communication, the
extension of the brand or a specific line, brand architecture, and decisions regarding
associations and partnerships. From the external perspective, the identity will provide
customers an objective notion of what the brand represents, its core, promises and
personality. Therefore, the ‘brand identity’ helps guide the company through its corporate
strategies, as well as helping to shape the connection between customers and the
company (Roll, 2008).
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Brand Personality - According to Aaker (1996), ‘brand personality’ can be
considered as a vehicle to help customers express their own personality. Also, in the same
way one’s personality will influence the relationship with someone else, the ‘brand
personality’ will affect how people will relate to the brand. Furthermore, Aaker (1996)
defines ‘brand personality’ as “the set of human characteristics associated with a given
brand. Thus it includes such characteristics as gender, age, and socioeconomic class, as
well as such classic human personality traits as warmth, concern and sentimentality
(p.141).” As stated by Aaker (1996), it is possible to describe a brand according to three
categories, they are: demographics, lifestyle or human personal traits. For the
demographics, the age, gender, social class and race and taken in consideration. As for
lifestyle the subcategories are activities, interests and opinions. The human personality
traits include characteristics such as extroversion, agreeableness and dependability
(Aaker, 1996). In addition, “the brand personality construct can help brand strategists by
enriching their understanding of people’s perceptions of an attitude toward the brand,
contributing to a differentiating brand identity, guiding the communication effort, and
creating brand equity (Aaker, 1996, p.150).”
As mentioned by Aaker (1996), almost everything that can be related to the brand
can affect its personality. That would include the characteristics of the products from the
brand’s portfolio, or even the product class or the product’s attributes. In addition to these
points, there are characteristics that can affect the brand personality, but they are not
directly related to the product, these would be: the advertising style, country of origin,
company image, CEO identification and celebrity endorsements. Furthermore, there are
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four other characteristics that, although they are not product-related, still have a major
impact on the ‘brand identity’, they are:
- User Imagery: can be based on the target audience or the typical user (those people who
already use the brand) or idealized users;
- Sponsorship: the events a company sponsors, considering the kind of event and main
target, will affect the personality of the brand;
- Age: the time of existence of a company will influence its personality; and
- Symbol: it influences ‘brand personality’ as it can be controlled by the company and is
capable of creating strong associations (Aaker, 1996).
Brand Strategy - According to Aaker (1996), ‘brand strategy’ creates “a business
that resonates with customers, that avoids competitor strengths and exploits their
weakness, and that exploits its own strengths and neutralizes its weakness (p.190).”
When managing a brand, one must be concerned not only about the current scenario of
the brand and plans to solve possible problems, but one must also be concerned to create
assets for the future of the brand. In other words, one must create strategies for the brand;
it can be about the brand identity specification, the class of the product, the role of the
brand for a company’s brand portfolio, or the investment that will be necessary. One can
also to try to identify some key elements that might result in uncertainty and will impact
on the brand strategy. In order to cover the strategic brand analysis, three perspectives
must be considered by those who are managing the brand. These perspectives are:
- Customer Analysis: This will take into consideration the customers’ trends, their
motivations, the structure of the market segmentation and the unmet needs;
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- Competitor Analysis: When analyzing this perspective one should watch especially for
the brand image, the market position, the strengths and vulnerabilities of the
competitors; and,
- Self-Analysis: This third perspective will allow the company to analyze its own image
at the moment, the strengths and weakness of the brand, the heritage of the brand, the
benefits the brand is providing the customers and the brand identity too (Aaker, 1996).
In addition to these perspectives, the relationship people have with the brand
should be taken into consideration. For instance, Aaker and Biel (1993) defined, ‘brand
relationship’ as the interaction between consumers and brands, how customers perceive
the attitude and how they create and interpret the message the brand shows. Like
relationships between people, it might be a good or a bad relationship (Aaker and Biel,
1993). The interaction customers have with brands is similar to an interaction with
another human being. Just as an interaction with another person, those who have the
chance to approach, or in the case of a brand, those who have access to the products or
services, will be more likely to identify the personality traits better or more accurately
(Aaker, 1996).
When it comes to ‘brand strategies’ plans, the brand promotion should be
considered; that will consequently lead to the awareness of the brand. According to Aaker
(1996), creating ‘brand awareness’ among consumers is likely to make the presence of a
specific brand in people’s mind stronger. Awareness can be measured and it is often done
by measuring how well consumers remember the brand. There are four categories: ‘top of
mind’ - the first brand customers remember; ‘dominant’ - when it is the only brand people
can remember; ‘recognition’ - consumers recognize that they have been exposed to the
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brand before; and, ‘recall’ - the brands one can remember when only one class of product
is mentioned. Awareness reflects both knowledge of the brand and the salience of a
brand’s presence in the customer’s mind (Aaker, 1996).
The ‘brand strategy’ however, must have more than an established goal and
advertisement, it is imperative to offer good quality products/services to customers. The
‘perceived quality’ is usually the core of what consumers buy; it is the decisive factor of
the impact of ‘brand identity’ (Aaker, 1996). For Aaker (1996), “even when the brand
identity is defined by functional benefits, most studies will show that perceptions about
those benefits are closely related to perceived quality (p.19).” When the perceptions
people have of the quality of a brand increases, then other elements of perception of that
brand also increase (Aaker, 1996).
Brand Equity - As defined by Aaker (1996), ‘brand equity’ is “a set of assets
(and liabilities) linked to a brand’s name and a symbol that adds to (or subtracts from) the
value provided by a product or a service to a firm and/or that firm’s customers (p.7-8).”
In order to manage brand equity, it is necessary to invest in and promote those assets the
company has to offer, and thus creating value will happen in different ways, since each
company has its own traits and goals. However, when managing brand equity, the
company must be alert that some of the changes in logos, symbols or any other features
might change some of the assets (Aaker, 1996). Björn (2010, p.279) and Dinnie (2008)
define ‘brand equity’ as the value of the brand, and this value is what will make premium
customers willing to pay more for a branded product instead of some unbranded item. For
Björn (2010, p.279) and Dinnie (2008), the decision to add value to a brand must come
from the brand’s owner. When measuring the brand’s value, it is imperative for the
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company to consider two perspectives on the brand equity: 1) the customer’s perception
and behavior and, 2) the financial perspective.
2.2. Nation-Brand
The expression ‘Nation Brand’ was coined and first studied by the researcher
Simon Anholt in 1996. His first publication about this topic was in The Journal of Brand
Management in 1998: the article ‘Nation-Brands of the Twenty-First Century.’ What
Anholt was proposing with his research was that the reputation of countries - and
consequently their cities - could be compared to the ‘brand image’ of companies and
products, therefore a good reputation would be relevant for the progress, prosperity and
management of those locations (Anholt, 2011a). Over the years, the meaning of ‘Nation
Brand’ has become the subject of new research, but in most situations, the expression has
been misrepresented and used as ‘Nation Branding.’ Although the difference between
both expressions might not be clear and the word branding seems indifferent, for Anholt
these terms carry totally different meanings. The expression ‘Nation Branding’ evokes
the idea that simply by advertising a country’s image can be changed, or as Anholt said;
“‘Nation branding,’ a dangerously misleading phrase which seems
to contain a promise that the images of countries can be directly
manipulated using the techniques of commercial marketing
communications” (Anholt, 2011a, p.6).
Despite the fact that the use of ‘Nation Branding’ is in disagreement with what
was proposed by Anholt, this is the expression frequently used in different publications
(Anholt, 2011a). In his latest works, Anholt has been reinforcing the meaning of ‘Brand’
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and ‘Nation Brand’ and the difference between these terms and ‘Branding’ (Anholt,
2011a; Anholt, 2011b; Anholt, 2008). For Anholt, from a commerce-based perspective,
‘Brand’ can mean a design identity, such as logo, packaging, etc.; or the culture of the
company behind the brand; or even the reputation of companies and brands for
consumers. In reality, Anholt says that he is not even sure of what ‘Branding’ means
(Anholt, 2011a), or if it even exists (Anholt, 2011b). He says the most common mistake
is to consider ‘Branding’ as a set of techniques to build and enhance a product’s brand
image (Anholt, 2011b).
One of Anholt’s main arguments against the use of ‘Branding’ is that if this word
is related to some marketing communication tools, when it comes to the image of a
country it is not effective. In Anholt’s words, “countries are judged by what they do, not
by what they say, as they have always been; yet the notion that a country can simply
advertise its way into a better reputation has proved to be a pernicious and surprisingly
resilient one (p.6)” (Anholt, 2011a). According to Anholt (2011a; 2011b; 2008), people
have tried to use brands such as Nike to explain and to justify the use of the word
‘Branding.’ For that, one might use the most common statement, such as the following
one: “Nike’s fantastic brand image is the result of fantastic branding” (Anholt, 2011b).
Anholt responds by explaining that the reason why Nike has a good ‘brand image’ is
because it delivers quality products to its customers. Furthermore, if companies like Nike
are perceived as having a good ‘brand image’ it is because they sustain that image by
producing quality items/services, by having something concrete and not only relying on
advertisements (Anholt, 2011a; Anholt, 2008).
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The following definitions are extracted from academic journals, books and
lectures - these last ones given by Simon Anholt. In order to make clear what ‘Nation
Brand’ is, it is relevant to make a distinction between that and ‘National Brand.’ This last
one refers to the brands from a country, to the products or services produced there, to
whatever is produced in that country and commercialized (Fan, 2010). Now, ‘Nation
Brand’ is the brand that countries have, and involves the ‘brand identity’ of that nation, as
well as the ‘brand image’, which in this case will mean the idea foreigners will have of a
certain country (Fan, 2010). The image of a country is formed by a set of attributes,
consisting of beliefs, ideas and opinions of others about the place. In order for a country
to have a strong image, it must be attractive and, at the same time, it should represent the
true characteristics of the place (Kotler, 2003).
The ‘brand identity’ of a country may encompass the history of that place, the
territory, sports, icons, folklore, landscapes, culture, economics and so on. In addition to
that, the ‘Nation Brand’ will result from the mix of multi-dimensional components. These
components are unique to each country, and create an exclusive culture, which can be
considered as a differentiating factor. These factors will also generate identification
between a country and its target audience. In comparison to companies and the creation
of their own brands, nations have the advantage of already having a history and a culture,
which means they already have their own identity, so it is not necessary to create one
(Dinnie, 2008; Giraldi & Carvalho, 2009; Verlegh, Althuijzen e Vroegh 1999). Just as it
happens with the image of any brand, “a ‘Nation Brand’ image may also decay over time”
(Dinnie, p2008, p.48). If that eventually happens, then it will be necessary to establish
programs to renew the image of the brand (Dinnie, 2008).
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It is relevant to say that even though countries have different attributes that can
generate the ‘Nation Brand’, the ‘brand image’ cannot encompass all possible traits; there
are some characteristics that will prevail. Gathering all possible elements that one country
has and using them all to establish its ‘Nation Brand’ is impractical. The potential
consumers of a ‘Nation Brand’, such as tourists, investors, students and workers will not
be interested in receiving a tremendous amount of information about different aspects of
a country. That would be one of the mistakes listed by Simon Anholt when he explained
how crucial information provision is, that the information should be delivered only when
there is a demand for it. Otherwise it will be a meaningless attempt to promote the ‘brand’
(Dinnie, 2008; Anholt, 2011b).
Images stimulate and influence consumers’ purchase decisions (Parameswaran &
Pisharodi, 1994; Percy 1993; Zaichkowsky & Vipat 1993). “A variety of images (e.g.,
those associated with advertisements, symbols, logos, stores, brands, and corporations)
can enhance or diminish a marketing or advertising manager's ability to cope with
competition
(Parameswaran
&
Pisharodi,
1994,
p.
43).”
Many
researchers
(Parameswaran & Pisharodi 1994; Dobni and Zinkhan 1990; Johnson and Zinkhan 1990;
Villanova, Zinkhan, and Hyman 1990; Hite and Bollizzi 1985; Lindquist 1974-75; and
Gardner and Levy 1955) agree that there are relevant considerations regarding images,
whether for a brand, a company, a product or service. According to Parameswaran &
Pisharodi:
- “Images play an important role in influencing the way the public responds to
brands, products, services, stores, promotion, and organizations;
- Human behavior is guided by individual’s images of their environment;
27
- An augmented product has not only a physical nature, but also a social and
psychological one, and hence the sets of feelings, ideas, and attitudes that
consumers have about products ("their image") are crucial to purchase choice;
- Image is a vital concept for marketing managers; and,
- The effectiveness of image variables depends on the precise definition and
delineation of their various components and the appropriateness and accuracy
with which they are measured” (Parameswaran & Pisharodi, 1994, p. 43).
Chao & Grupta (1995) and Giraldi & Carvalho (2009) state that the way
consumers will perceive products or brands will impact their final purchase decision
when shopping. As one attributes certain characteristics to a nation, the products that will
be derived from that nation will be judged the same way as the nation. Therefore,
countries’ stereotypes will be formed, and they can be divided in three dimensions: the
socioeconomic structure, culture and geography. The socioeconomic structure is the
pattern of interrelationships of the elements of a social system, such as development,
wealth, political power, industrialization and prestige. The geographic dimension
encompasses climate perceptions, landscapes and environmental aspects. Finally, the
cultural dimension refers to the way members of a certain group differ from members of
other groups (Verlegh, Althuijzen e Vroegh 1999; Giraldi & Carvalho, 2009).
Anholt (1998) gives several examples of how characteristics strongly associated
with one country can be used even in foreign countries - by local businesses or through
exported goods - to attract customers who can relate to those traits. For instance, fashion
labels and cars are quite often associated with specific places of origin. In the clothing
industry, stylish items are expected to be from Italy, the chic ones are expected to be from
28
France, daring anti-fashion clothes are expected to be from England, street wear is more
accepted from the United States, while Germany and Scandinavia are acknowledge to
produce weather-proof clothes. The comparison is simple; basically one would recognize
weather-proof coats to have better quality if they are from a Scandinavian country, than if
the provenance is a tropical nation (Anholt, 1998).
Certain brands are so linked to their country of origin that one becomes an
association of the other. This correlation is created and, to some extent, the qualities one
perceives in the brand are also the traits one will associate to the place of origin.
Germany is strongly associated with its developed technology and by association,
products from Germany are often expected to have good quality and high technology.
Cars can be used as example to how the characteristics of a country are the same
ones consumers expect products from those countries to have. German cars are expected
to possess engineering excellence; Swedish cars are perceived as safe and ecological;
French cars are expected to have chic design, Japanese cars are perceived as economical
and efficient, while Italian cars are expected to have sporty style (Anholt, 1998).
In fact, there are some cars, designed by non-Italian companies use Italian words
as their names. Some Japanese cars are called Stanza, Piazza, Cuore (which mean ‘room’,
‘square’ and ‘heart’ in Italian, respectively). Also, some German cars use Italian names:
Vento, Lupo, Corsa, which mean ‘wind’, ‘wolf’ and ‘race’, respectively. This effect also
happens to other products in different market segments.
The reason for the use of a foreign word as a name can be attributed to the image
that the country evokes in people and also the ease of pronunciation. Each country carries
an image that influences the features of their ‘nation brand image’ (Anholt, 1998).
29
Giraldi & Carvalho (2009) and Zhang (1997) agree with Schooler’s (1965)
findings that the ‘country of origin’ will affect the way one perceives products and one’s
consumption decisions. Schooler (1965) was the first author to publish an article
analyzing if the origin of a product would affect a consumer’s purchase decision.
According to Schooler’s (1965) findings, people had different reactions to identical
products whose descriptions would differ only in the place of origin, the “made in” on the
label. That would confirm the theory that the ‘country of origin’ will change consumer’s
perception of the products (Giraldi & Carvalho, 2009). ‘Country of Origin’ (COO) image
concerns the public opinion about the quality of some products and services from other
countries. The ‘Country of Origin Effect’ is related to the influence that the information
about a country will have on consumers’ attitudes and behavior towards a foreign product
or brand Wang & Lamb (1983); Agbonifoh & Elimimian (1999) and Giraldi & Carvalho
(2009). ‘Country of Origin’ can be used as a hint to product quality and performance
when one is not aware of more specific product features. This happens because
consumers are not very familiar with foreign products, as they are with the local ones
(Parameswaran & Pisharodi, 1994; Bilkey 1993; Han and Terpstra 1988; Huber and
McCann 1982; Olson 1977).
For several researchers, Wang & Lamb (1983); Agbonifoh & Elimimian (1999)
and Giraldi & Carvalho (2009), the ‘Country of Origin Effect’ can make it more difficult
for products to enter new markets in different countries, as the bad images possible
customers might have about a country may also be associated with the quality of the
product. According to Dinnie (2008), there are other factors that can impact the way one
perceives the image of a country, for instance, if one has had a personal experience in the
30
country, such as working there, visiting, and living. Also, various pre-existing stereotypes
about a country, the performance of its national sports teams, recent political events, and
the image of the country as portrayed in films, television and other kinds of media can all
play a role in how its products are perceived. These factors can be crucial in determining
the preferences of consumers and they can also be an important source of ‘brand equity.’
In sum, these elements create the image one will associate with each country (Dinnie,
2008, Giraldi & Carvalho, 2009; Verlegh, Althuijzen & Vroegh 1999).
Regarding the ‘Country of Origin Effect’, not only will the country itself affect
consumers positively or negatively, but also, the kind of product, the image of brands and
their products will influence perceptions. Each region will have its own identity and will
create respective brands, which will extol the countries strengths, seeking international
visibility and dissemination of the highlighted features, even if in some cases they have to
adapt to market requirements. Places that have export-oriented industries tend to benefit
from the effects generated by sales to foreign markets. Such benefits include job creation
and increased purchasing power. To succeed with export promotion, one must begin with
a survey of exporters who are active. Then, one must identify the companies and
industries that do not export, but have the potential to do so. The export promotion
agencies should encourage companies to export, and they can do so by sharing
information, or by being brokers, facilitators, trainers and advisers, financiers,
entertainers, defining the target audience, promoters, creators of facilities and developers
of new technologies (Cateora & Graham 2001; Kotler et al, 2005).
For Anholt (1998), there are two kinds of brands, the private ones - created by
companies, and the public ones - they portray the popular culture in a commercial matter.
31
The State is responsible for promoting its own ‘Nation Brand.’ Many products are
associated to their country of origin and the characteristics of nations strongly influence
how the product will be seen and received in another country. It will influence even the
volume of exports. The products which are typically "national" are already accepted and
expected and, for one those that do not fit this pattern or tradition, using symbols
referring to the stereotype of the country can be something favorable. Brands can be
responsible for the way a country is perceived and vice-versa. On most occasions, brands
tend to use typical elements from other countries in order to gain greater acceptance from
consumers (Anholt, 1998).
Countries either have well known attributes that can become a reference for their
brand, or they may have different characteristics that need to be defined in order form
them to be associated with the nation. The measures to be adopted by countries can
enhance traits that are favorable or define its image. These actions should aim to improve
the acceptance of goods from the country and attract investment and promote tourism
(Anholt, 1998).
Since the images of countries have become more important, nations are working
to create ‘brand awareness’ in order to attract tourism, to stimulate domestic investment
and to increase exports. Unbranded nations face difficulty in drawing attention to their
economic and political situations. This might represent a problem since the image and
reputation are attributes of the nation’s brand. The image of a country is the set of beliefs
that consist of descriptions, inferences and information (Dinnie, 2008; Martin & Eroglu,
1993).
32
In order for brands to succeed it is imperative that they deliver what has been
promised, and the use of strong traits facilitates this because it makes it possible for
consumers to know what to expect, and if the brand traits are real it is more likely that the
promise will be delivered. The best way to change the image of a country is by investing
in the development of new ideas, products, policies, services, companies, laws,
infrastructure, arts and science. When some innovations are true and represent the
country’s true positioning on the matter, then people will probably start changing their
opinion about that nation. In order for the image of a country to change, it is necessary to
have more than advertising. Real deeds are necessary. Simply saying why one country is
good in everything will not change someone’s opinion about the reputation of the nation
(Dinnie, 2008).
For Anholt (2011b), “countries are judged by what they do, not what they say
about themselves.” If nations want to promote their brand and show the world a more
accurate image, there are a few things that must be taken into account by whoever is
managing the ‘Nation Brand.’ First of all, countries will need strategies and the way that
they will be able to do so is by making sure of who they are, the relevance of each
country for the world, what is the country’s role in the global scenario. Substance is
another imperative condition for the national image. If countries want to be and mean
something, then there must be something substantial, concrete and not only promises.
Finally, the main condition is to have real deeds, policies, actions. There should be some
creativity in the way countries are ruled, not only on the advertisement level (Anholt,
2011b).
33
Simon Anholt, who is known for conducting research on ‘Nation Brand,’ has
developed a survey that analyzes the image of countries; it is called GFK Anholt Nation
Brands Index. This study is conducted in partnership between Anholt and the marketing
research company GFK Roper Custom Research. For the study, interviewers ask more
than 40 questions about the image of 50 countries to 20,000 people in 20 countries
worldwide. The Index is an analytical ranking of the ‘Nation Brands’ of those 50
countries. The people interviewed are requested to answer questions on six topics:
tourism, exports, governance, investment and immigration, culture and heritage, and
people. There are separate ranks for each of these topics and then there is the final one
that
encompasses
all
the
six
features
(www.gfkamerica.com,
2012;
www.simonanholt.com, 2012). Each of the components of ‘Nation Brand’ is analyzed as
follows:
Exports: in this item, the ‘country of origin’ is analyzed. The main focus here is to
evaluate if the ‘country of origin’ of a product is so relevant for consumers that will
increase or decrease the acceptance of people to buy it. Also, people are asked about the
power of the country regarding science, technology and creativity.
Governance: here the public opinion is measured focusing on the countries’ competence,
the honesty of those governing the country, the respect for citizens’ rights and fair
treatment of them, the countries’ policies regarding peace and international security,
environment protection, and the reduction of world poverty. The respondents also choose
an adjective that can best describe the governance within each country.
34
Culture and Heritage: the focus of the analysis for this topic is to measure the
perception of a country’s ethnicity, contemporary cultural influences in music, movies,
arts and literature, as well as the excellence of the country in sports.
Population: the warmth of the population is measured taking into account whether
respondents would feel welcome when they visit the country that is being analyzed.
Countries are also measured by the population on a personal level - if the respondents
would like to have a close friend, coming from that country - and human resources on a
professional level, i.e., whether respondents would be interested in hiring a well-qualified
person in that country. The respondents are asked to choose an adjective from a list
presented to them, to describe the predominant image they have of the population of each
country analyzed.
Tourism: for this topic countries are analyzed in three areas: natural beauty, historic
buildings and monuments, and the liveliness of the city and its urban attractions.
Respondents are also asked if they would like to visit the country if money was not
important, and which adjectives they would use to summarize the visit, such as romantic,
stressful, spiritual and so on.
Investment and Immigration: in this topic, research analyzes the country’s ability to
attract talent and investment. Respondents are asked to consider whether they would be
interested in studying, working and living in that country, as well as to give an opinion on
the economic prospects of that nation, equal opportunities and the perception that they
have of the country’s quality of life. The economic and business conditions in the
countries - stagnation, decline in growth - are the last questions (www.gfkamerica.com,
2012; www.simonanholt.com, 2012).
35
Figure 1: The Nation Brand Hexagon (Anholt, 2012). Source: The Nation Brands Index
(Anholt, 2012).
The current Nation Brands Index shows that in the general ranking, the United
States ranks first, followed by Germany and the United Kingdom, respectively. The top
ten countries on the list are developed countries; the first developing country ranked is
Brazil, as the 20th among 50 countries (www.gfkamerica.com, 2012). The latest top ten
for Nation Brands Index is as follows:
36
Table 1: The GFK Nation Brands Index - Overall Top Ten Rank
GFK Anholt Nation Brands Index
The Overall Top Ten Rank
2011
2010
1
United States
United States
2
Germany
Germany
3
United Kingdom
France
4
France
United Kingdom
5
Japan
Japan
6
Canada
Canada
7
Italy
Italy
8
Australia
Switzerland
9
Switzerland
Australia
10
Sweden
Sweden
Source: 2011 and 2010 Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands Index
Since 2005, another research company, Future Brand, has also been developing a
ranking to analyze the images of countries - the Country Brand Index. For Future Brand’s
2011-2012 study, people were interviewed regarding their opinion about 113 countries in
five dimensions: value system; quality of life; good for business; heritage & culture; and
tourism. The nations ranked the highest in the Country Brand Index are the ones capable
of working and achieving good results on different dimensions, especially the ones that
will impact life, business and travel. The nations ranked at the bottom of the list have the
37
weakest brands and do not have recognizable profiles in the dimensions. The top ten
countries on the 2011-2012 Country Brand Index are the shown on the following chart.
(Future Brand, www.futurebrand.com, 2012). The Country Brand Index’s dimensions are:
Value System: This is the essence of Country Brand, it is the foundation of Brand
building, and it is the pillar to other dimensions as well. If a nation’s Value System is
weak, then the country’s performance in other dimensions will be affected. The Value
System investigates Political Freedom, Tolerance, Stable Legal Environment, Freedom of
Speech and Environmental Friendliness.
Quality of Life: This is the broadest dimension of the Country Brand Index and it
represents how capable the country is to offer employment, affordable and comfortable
housing, an accessible and competitive education and overall security to its citizens.
Quality of Life will encompass the following attributes; Job Opportunity, Most Like To
Live In, Standard of Living, Safety, Healthcare System, and Education System.
Good for Business: This dimension analyzes the elements that lead to a stronger and
more attractive business environment. Good for Business encompasses Regulatory
Environment, Skilled Force, Advanced Technology and Investment Climate.
Heritage and Culture: This is a supporting dimension that will be a result of the
nation’s ability to transmit its cultural assets, such as language, history, art and cultural
attractions. The attributes analyzed for this dimensions are History, Art and Culture,
Natural Beauty, and Authenticity.
Tourism: this dimension will take into consideration the economy, the media and
entertainment. The economy, in this sense, is analyzed in terms of the competence to
offer accessible, affordable options for travelers - whether on vacations or on business
38
visits. The currency of a country, its exchange rate and infrastructure are relevant points
of influence. Tourism can be affected also by the media’s coverage of economic and
political issues. Also, the entertainment industry can influence tourism depending on how
a nation is portrayed. The tourism dimension is one of the main elements that will
significantly impact a country’s ranking, just as the economy will (Future Brand,
www.futurebrand.com, 2012).
Figure 2: The Country Brand Index Pentagon. Source: Future Brand - Country Brand
Index 2011-2012 (www.futurebrand.com, 2012)
39
Table 2: The Country Brand Index 2011-2012.
Country Brand Index 2011-2012
1
Canada
2
Switzerland
3
New Zealand
4
Japan
5
Australia
6
United States
7
Sweden
8
Finland
9
France
10
Italy
Source: Future Brand - Country Brand Index 2011-2012 (www.futurebrand.com, 2012).
2.3. Brazil
In April 1500 a Portuguese maritime expedition, under the control of Pedro
Álvares Cabral, landed at the northeast region of South America, discovering what would
later be Brazil. As the Portuguese were exploring Brazil, the explorers ended up finding
some trees, the wood of which produced a fine dye. Later this wood was called paubrasil. The indigenous people taught the Portuguese how to extract the dye, in order to
use it. At that time, the demand for textiles and dyes was increasing, and the Portuguese
decided to harvest the brazilwood, or pau-brasil. Consequently, they started the
40
brazilwood trade, the first economic cycle of the Brazilian economy (Fausto, 1999;
Meade, 2004).
By the first half of the 16th century, the European settlers took some crops from
Asia and Africa to the New World. Among the crops brought to the Americas there were
lemons, rice, bananas, coconuts and sugar. This last one, however, became relatively
important in the New World, and specifically in Brazil. For the next three centuries the
production of sugar and the slave system (the settlers used slave labor to crop sugar)
played a central role in Brazil’s economy, politics and culture (Meade, 2004).
Simultaneously to the sugarcane cycle in Brazil, the cattle grazing started in
different areas of the country. The following cycles were the gold and diamond ones,
placing Brazil as one of the largest producers of those items in the world (Machado &
Figuerôa, 2001). The next cycle of Brazil’s economy was coffee production. The rubber
cycle came by the end of the 19th century, in the Amazon region. After the rubber boom,
the Brazilian economy became a diversified one, especially due to the industrialization
process that occurred in the 20th century (Machado & Figuerôa, 2001).
Brazil is located in the eastern side of South America, by the Atlantic Ocean. The
total area of the country corresponds to 8,5km², and it boarders all countries in South
America, with the exception of Ecuador and Chile. Brazil has approximately 203 million
people, and 67% of this total corresponds to the population between 15-64 years of age.
The population growth rate in Brazil is 1.134% and the life expectance is 72.53 years.
The urban population in Brazil corresponds to 87% of the total population, and the major
cities are the following: Sao Paulo (19.96 million people), Rio de Janeiro (11.83 million
people), Belo Horizonte (5.73 million people), Porto Alegre (4 million people) and
41
Brasilia (3.78 million people). The capital of Brazil is Brasilia and, for the first time, the
person who is running the country is a woman, President Dilma Rousseff. Nowadays,
Brazil is the 8th largest economy in the world, sustaining a GDP (Gross Domestic
Product) of over 2 trillion dollars (The World Factbook, www.cia.gov, 2012). Table 3
shows a comparison between Brazil and the United States.
Table 3: Comparisons between Brazil and the United States.
BRAZIL
UNITED STATES
5th Largest Country In The World
3rd Largest Country In The World
Total Area: 8,5km²
Total Area: 9,826,675km²
Coastline (Atlantic Ocean): 7,491km
Coastline: 19,924km (Atlantic & Pacific
Oceans)
Natural Resources: Bauxite, Gold, Iron
Ore, Manganese, Nickel, Phosphates,
Platinum, Tin, Uranium, Petroleum,
Hydropower, Timber
Natural Resources: Coal, Copper, Lead,
Molybdenum, Phosphates, Uranium,
Bauxite, Gold, Iron, Mercury, Nickel,
Potash, Silver, Tungsten, Zinc, Petroleum,
Natural Gas, Timber
Population: 203,429,773 (5th Largest
Population In The World)
Literacy: 88.6% Of The Population
Natural Hazards: tsunamis; volcanoes;
earthquake activity around Pacific Basin;
hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of
Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the
Midwest and Southeast; forest fires in the
west; flooding; permafrost in northern
Alaska
Population: 313,232,044 (3rd Largest
Population In The World)
Literacy: 99%
Education Expenditure: 5.08% Of GDP
Education Expenditure: 5.5% Of GDP
Independency: September 7th 1822
Independency: July 4th 1776
GDP: US$2.284 Trillion (2011)
GDP: US$15.04 Trillion (2011)
8th Largest Economy In The World
2nd Largest Economy In The World
Natural Hazards: Recurring Droughts,
Floods
And Occasional Frost In The South
42
Table 3 (continued)
BRAZIL
UNITED STATES
GDP Per Capita: US$11,600
Labor Force: 104,3 Million (6th Largest In
The World)
Unemployment Rate: 6.1% (2011)
Population Below Poverty Line: 26%
(2008)
Budget
Revenues:$1.005 trillion
Expenditures: $930.9 billion (2011)
Taxes and other revenues: 39.9% of GDP
Public Debt: 54.4% of GDP (46th in the
world)
Inflation Rate (consumers prices): 6.9%
Agriculture Products: Coffee, Soybeans,
Wheat, Rice, Fruits, Vegetables, Corn,
Sugarcane, Cotton, Cocoa, Citrus, Beef,
Pork, Chicken, Dairy Products, Fish
GDP Per Capita: US$48,100
Labor Force: 153.4 Million (4th Largest In
The World)
Unemployment Rate: 9,1% (2011)
Population Below Poverty Line: 15.1%
(2011)
Budget
Revenues:$2.264 trillion
Expenditures: $3.604 trillion (2011)
Taxes and other revenues: 15% of GDP
Public Debt: 69.4% of GDP (30th in the
world)
Inflation Rate (consumers prices): 3%
Agriculture Products: Wheat, Corn, Other
Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, Cotton, Beef,
Pork, Poultry, Dairy Products, Fish
Industries: High-Technology Innovator,
Industries: Textiles, Shoes, Chemicals,
Second Largest Industrial Output In The
Cement, Lumber, Iron Ore, Tin, Steel, World; Petroleum, Steel, Motor Vehicles,
Mining, Aircraft, Motor Vehicles and
Aerospace, Telecommunications,
Parts, Other Machinery and Equipment Chemicals, Electronics, Food Processing,
Consumer Goods, Lumber, Mining
Telephones - Mobile Cellular: 202.944 Telephones - Mobile Cellular: 279 Million
Million (6th Largest In The World)
(3rd Largest In The World)
Internet Users: 75.982 Million (2009) (4th Internet Users: 245 Million (2009) - 2nd
Largest In The World)
Largest In The World
Source: The CIA Factbook, (www.cia.gov, 2012).
Brazil is an emerging market economy that, just as other developing countries, is
an increasingly important actor in the global economy. Along with Russia, China and
India, Brazil constitutes the BRIC (an acronym with the initials of the countries), and
these nations represent the four largest developing economies, among which Brazil is
43
considered to be the rising star (Jensen & Larsen, 2004; Country Brand Index, 2012).
According to Georgieva (2004), the BRIC countries hold the biggest labor force in the
world, the influence they have on global policy is expanding, as well as their geopolitical
relevance in the world (Georgieva, www.worldbank.org, 2004).
In order to calculate socioeconomic development rates in Brazil, one institute is
responsible for this study and it is called Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística
(Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics - IBGE). IBGE conducts the survey that
evaluates those rates, which is called Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílio
(National Survey by Household Sampling - PNAD). This is an annual publication that,
since 1967, has analyzed the general characteristics of the population, such as education,
work, income, and housing (IBGE, n.d.a.). When it comes to measuring the inequality of
income distribution in Brazil, the PNAD has different ways to do that, according to the
focus of the survey. When the target is the market and the analysis of jobs and
employment/unemployment rates, PNAD studies the income of all economically active
people. If the focus is on the standard of living, the approach used is to analyze the
household income per capita (Hoffman, 2000).
Brazil is gaining its share of the international market, and the United States has
been one of the main business partners. In Brazil, the Ministry of Development, Industry
and Foreign Trade (MDIC) is responsible for publishing reports for Brazil’s Balance of
Trade. In 2011, Brazil’s trade flow was registered as US$482.3 billion, compared to
US$383.7 billion in 2010. Brazil’s trade surplus in 2011 reached US$29.8 billion;
meanwhile in 2010 this figure was US$ 20.1 billion (MDIC/SECEX, 2012). According to
MDIC/SECEX (2012), in 2011 the United States imported US$25.8 million from Brazil,
44
ranking as the second largest importer, after China, which imported approximately
US$44 million. The United States remains the major supplier for Brazil, exporting
US$33.962 million, followed by China, which exported US$32.788, and Argentina at
US$16.906 (MDIC/SECEX, 2012).
Table 4: Brazilian Trade Balance 2010/2011
Brazilian Trade Balance 2010/2011
US$ Millions
2011
2010
∆% 2011/10
Exports
256.040
201.915
268
Imports
226.243
181.768
245
Surplus
29.797
20.147
479
Trade Flow
482.283
383.684
257
Source: SECEX/MDIC, 2012.
45
Table 5: Brazil’s World Ranking - Production and Exports of Selected Products 2011
Brazil’s World Ranking - Production and Exports of Selected Products
2011
Products
Production
Exports
Sugar
1º
1º
Coffee
1º
1º
Orange Juice
1º
1º
Ethanol
2º
1º
Beef
2º
1º
Tobacco
2º
1º
Soy Beans
2º
2º
Leather and Fur
2º
4º
Chicken Meat
3º
1º
Iron Ore
3º
2º
Shoes
3º
6º
Soybean Oil
4º
2º
Soybeans Residue
4º
2º
Maize
4º
3º
Airplanes
4º
4º
Pork Meat
4º
4º
Cotton
5º
5º
Cars
5º
12º
Aluminum
7º
6º
Steel
9º
13º
Source: MDIC; EMBRAER; ABICALÇADOS; ANFAVEA; ACICB; GTIS; IISI;
RFA; USDA; OICA; U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, 2011.
46
Table 6: Major Countries for Brazilian Exports
Major Countries for Brazilian Exports
US$ Millions - 2011
Value
1 - China
44.315
2 - United States
25.805
3 - Argentina
22.709
4 - Netherlands
13.640
5 - Japan
9.473
6 - Germany
9.039
7 - Italy
5.441
8 - Chile
5.418
9 - United Kingdom
5.230
10 - Spain
4.706
Source: SECEX/MDIC, 2012.
47
Table 7: Major Supplier Countries to Brazil
Major Supplier Countries to Brazil
US$ Millions - 2011
Value
1 - United States
33.963
2 - China
32.788
3 - Argentina
16.906
4 - Germany
15.213
5 - South Korea
10.097
6 - Nigeria
8.386
7 - Japan
7.872
8 - Italy
6.222
9 - India
6.081
10 - France
5. 462
Source: SECEX/MDIC, 2012.
48
Table 8: Brazilian Exports to the United States
Brazilian Exports To The United States (Top Ten Most Exported Products)
2012 (Jan/Mar)
Product
Crude Oil
Value
Part.
US$ F.O.B. %
2011 (Jan/Mar)
Value
US$ F.O.B.
Rel. Var.
Part.
12/11
% Jan/Mar
1,909,722.442 83.86 906,432,739 18.43
110.69
Other Semi-Manufactured Iron
520,203,875 7.50
Products
186,305,732
3.79
179.22
Coffee Not Roasted, Not
Decaffeinated, In Grains
287,430,019 4.14
368,756,521
7.50
-22.05
Gross Cast Iron Not Alloyed,
weighting </=0,5% of
Phosphorus
274,043,459 3.95
299,599,174
6.09
-8.53
Chemical pulp wood. Of nonconiferous, soda / sulphate
172,228,610 2.48
205,412,306
4.18
-16.15
Other Aircraft / Air Vehicles,
Weight>15000kg, empty
155,447,855 2.24
62,515,689
1.27
148.65
Other Worked Granite, And Its
107,616,383 1.55
Articles Made Therewith
84,683,983
1.72
27.08
Semi-Finished products, of
other alloy steel
39,547,470
0.80
172.04
107,586,807 1.55
Undenatured ethyl alcohol with
95,195,515
water content <= 1% Vol
1.37
Other Levies
1.32
Source: MDIC, 2012.
91,418,825
-47,034,922
-0.96
-94.36
49
2.4. Brand Brazil
Brazil is a country that has many characteristics that shape its ‘brand image’, but
it took Brazil a long time to understand that and to manage the “Brazil Brand.” As Anholt
said on his first publication about ‘Nation Brand’ in 1998, “Brand Brazil is strongly
biased towards youth market: samba, carnival, music, dancing, gaiety, ecology, sex,
beaches, sport and adventure” (Anholt, 1998, p. 402). These are some of the traits Brazil
is recognized for, although they are part of a cliché. What Brazil needed at the time when
Anholt made such affirmation was ‘brand management’ – to promote the traits Brazil
wants to be known for. Also, brand management would help the national commercial
brands to take advantage of Brazil’s ‘nation image’ and use that for their products
(Anholt, 1998).
As countries promote their own Nation-Brand they are able to present their best
features and often avoid presenting more negatives aspects. The focus should be on
features that might be attractive to investors, tourists and to improve demand for their
goods in foreign markets. Brazil has been doing this promotion, mainly through the
Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (APEX-Brasil) and the Brazilian
Tourism Institute (EMBRATUR). APEX-Brasil’s goals are to encourage Brazilian
exportation worldwide, as well as to help and support small and medium sized enterprises
to export and to achieve a high product quality to compete with goods from other
countries. Meanwhile, EMBRATUR promotes tourism in Brazil, also by using the
characteristics of the country (Anholt1998; Furlan in Caixeta, Netz and Galuppo, 2006;
Ministry of Tourism, 2012, APEX-Brasil, 2012).
50
In order to manage the Brand Brazil, in 2003 APEX-Brasil was designed as the
agency responsible to do so. APEX-Brasil is directed towards the promotion of Brazil
and its products around the world. The work of APEX-Brasil allowed Brazil to diversify
its commercials partners, as well as strengthen its relations with traditional partners. For
each area of the Brazilian economy in which APEX-Brasil is involved, several projects
have been developed. Moreover, since the formal creation of the Brand Brazil, APEXBrasil has been working proactively to advertise Brazilian companies, with promotional
campaigns and international partnerships. (Furlan in Caixeta, Netz and Galuppo, 2006;
APEX-Brasil, 2012).
According to Furlan (2006), in the early 2000s, the president at the time in Brazil,
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, developed a plan to increase Brazilian exports. The core of this
program was the improvement of the quality of national products, so they could compete
firstly in the national market and later internationally, to increase the volume of Brazilian
exports, as well as to add value to these products. In order for the plan to be executed,
there was the need to have an organism manage the program, which needed to be at the
same time autonomous and linked, at an operational level, to the government. For that,
APEX-Brasil was the chosen organization (Furlan in Caixeta, Netz and Galuppo, 2006;
APEX-Brasil, 2012).
At the time, APEX-Brasil only existed as a branch of the Brazilian Service to
Support Micro and Small Enterprises (SEBRAE) and then it received the autonomy that
was necessary to starts its activities. APEX-Brasil focused on promoting Brazilian
companies worldwide, as well as promoting Brand Brazil. The work developed by
APEX-Brasil allowed Brazilian companies to create new business relationships with
51
countries like China, Russia, India and several in the Middle East; also it strengthened
bilateral trade with some traditional partners, like the Unites States and Latin American
countries. Brazil also sought new markets, looking for chances to enlarge its presence in
the international market (Furlan in Caixeta, Netz and Galuppo, 2006).
APEX-Brasil’s headquarters is located in Brasília and it has ten other units in
different parts of Brazil. The agency also keeps units abroad in order to provide local
support to exporters. The units are located in the United States, Cuba, Belgium, Russia,
Angola, Dubai and China. APEX-Brasil helps all size companies on any export stage, but
it focuses on working with small and medium sized firms. “APEX-Brasil provides
services of Information, Building Export Capacity, Trade Promotion, Positioning and
Image, and Support to Internationalization. APEX-Brasil organizes a wide range of trade
promotion activities in partnership with sector organizations, by means of the Sector
Projects” (APEX-Brasil, 2012). APEX-Brasil will also help with trade missions, business
rounds, even helping Brazilian companies to participate in international fairs, with visits
of foreign buyers and trend-setters to learn about Brazil’s business culture and productive
structure (APEX-Brasil, 2012).
APEX-Brasil currently supports 81 sectors of Brazil’s economy, in six categories:
food and beverages, fashion, technology and health care, housing and civil construction,
entertainment and services, and machinery and equipment. APEX-Brasil is currently
supporting more than 10,000 Brazilian companies, and in recent years has promoted
Brand Brazil in over 3,000 presentations abroad for audiences of entrepreneurs, investors
and trend-setters. The agency also supports Brazilian exporters through different units,
called Business Support Centers, located in key global markets. These support centers
52
help Brazilian exporters deal with issues that are common in the internationalization
process. The centers help companies with taxing and credit issues, logistics, the
customization of projects and they also help entrepreneurs to enter markets in different
areas. In 2009, the share of APEX-Brasil in exports represented 16.82% of the total of
products exported (APEX-Brasil, 2012).
In order to attract direct investment to Brazil, there is an Investments Unit, whose
aim is to identify opportunities, by promoting strategic events and by providing support
to foreign investors to analyze the Brazilian market. The projects developed by APEXBrasil have been successful and today the agency has become, internationally, a model
for how to attract foreign and direct investment. Essentially, APEX-Brasil will attract and
support productive capital, which consequently, may bring new technologies to Brazil,
raising the volume of foreign exchange and exports. With respect to international affairs,
APEX-Brasil “coordinates major world forums such as the Brazil-U.S. CEO Forum, the
Brazil-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO), the Brazil-Mexico Forum,
the Brazil-India Forum, among others” (APEX-Brasil, 2012).
In order for APEX-Brasil to accomplish the work it was designed for, the agency
has different branches, or units, that take care of specific activities. The units are as
follows:
Project Unit: this branch is responsible for the analysis, monitoring and follow up of
exports promoting projects. The aim is to increase Brazilian exports, to diversify the
economic sectors, looking for a more active business setting that increases income and
offers new jobs.
53
Imaging and Market Access Unit: this one is responsible for the creation of new
businesses and the administration of Brazil's image. It aims to improve the positioning of
Brazilian products abroad and facilitates the access of Brazilian companies to potential
new markets. To this end, events, such as fairs, are held and the agency can provide a
variety of opportunities for participating companies.
Business Center Unit: this unit is responsible for controlling the operations of facilities
and business centers abroad. By doing so it seeks to facilitate the access of Brazilian
products to foreign markets and reduce the costs of storing the items. The Business
Centers are relevant in what concerns the logistics for small and medium sized companies.
These units help reducing the distance between production and final consumer, also
allowing a reduction in final prices of goods, increasing their competitiveness.
Investment Unit: the goal for this branch is to attract direct foreign investments, which
are aimed at industrial and service sectors and their representatives that maintain
partnerships with APEX.
Commercial Intelligence Unit: it aims to identify potential markets and customers for
Brazilian products, seeks to assist exporters on issues such as, average price, purchase
volume, trends, transport logistics and distribution, competition and tariff barriers and
non-tariff barriers. In order to finish this analysis, specialized consultants in target
markets are hired.
Knowledge Management Unit: this unit’s mission is to contribute to the
internationalization of Brazilian companies, by promoting the creation, maintenance,
transfer, development and application of existing knowledge within the APEX-Brasil.
54
Customer Relations Unit: this branch is designed to maintain relationships between
APEX-Brasil and Brazilian companies that use their products and services at any stage,
whether they are non-exporting firms or are already internationalized and have bases
abroad.
Exporting Industrial Extension Project: This last unit is focused on problem solving
and technical management and aimed at increasing the competitiveness, export culture
and structure of businesses that are exporting from Brazil (APEX-Brasil, 2012).
APEX-Brasil advertises its campaigns and projects through the media, in
newspapers (hardcopy and electronic versions), the events it promotes or participates in,
the APEX-Brasil webpage and through social media. In social media APEX-Brasil is
frequently sharing updates through Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. The agency also uses
social media to share information or news regarding ‘Brand Brazil’, Brazilian companies
or sectors, and business opportunities in the country or international repercussions of
Brazil’s business scene. APEX-Brasil also launched three main projects. They are 1)
Brasil Trade Project (the spelling of Brazil with the letter ‘S’ makes reference to the way
the name of the country is spelled in Portuguese), 2) the Carnaval Project, and 3) the Indy
Race League (APEX-Brasil, 2012).
The Brasil Trade Project serves over 5,000 Brazilian companies and is focused on
promoting Brazilian products through the fomenting of the actions of trading companies
and commercial exporters. The project also works to establish a culture of regular
exportation for micro and small companies. This program also aims to identify the
obstacles that those companies might find when exporting and tries to find solutions. The
project is based on three elements, the Institutional Actions that seek to strengthen
55
different sector and to identify barriers. The second pillar is Sectorial Actions; here the
program will approach micro and small companies to trading companies and commercial
exporters. Finally, the third element is the Promotion of Business; in this case business
meetings will be arranged, both in Brazil and abroad, for trading companies and
commercial exporters to meet international buyers. The intervention of the trading
companies and commercial exporters has its advantages, as they can use their business
relations, contacts, as well as their knowledge in logistics, finance and customs to help
the small and micro companies (Brasil Trade, 2012).
The Carnaval Project or the Brazilian Carnaval - Business and Partnership Project
uses one of the most famous Brazilian events to attract foreign buyers and investors to
visit the country. This project consists of having foreign partners and possible partners in
Brazil to visit different regions of Brazil, during the most acclaimed festivity in the
country. A key purpose is so they can have a sense of the diversity of Brazil, make
connections and also enjoy Carnaval. Since its first edition in 2009 through its third
edition in 2011, more than 400 people - including both Brazilians and foreign
entrepreneurs and opinion-makers - have participated of this program. For 2012
approximately 250 people were expected. This project has received people from different
sectors of the economy, they are: biotechnology, textiles, information technology,
audiovisual production, footwear components, electrical and electronic materials, defense
materials, power transmission towers, musical instruments, wines, fruits, cosmetics,
crafts, and bakery equipment, in addition to the franchise sector among others (The
Carnaval Project, 2012). The president of APEX-Brasil - Maurício Borges, gave the
following declaration about the Carnaval Project:
56
"Besides being an excellent opportunity to earn new customers for Brazilian
products and services, the Brazilian Carnaval - Business and Partnership Project is
very powerful as regards promoting Brazil's image abroad. We show a highly
qualified audience that in addition to a wonderful festival, Brazil has companies
of excellence, with a diversified and competitive production portfolio. I believe
the result of all these meetings will be very positive. The latest editions of the
Brazilian Carnaval - Business and Partnership Project have proven the importance
of this innovative trade promotion tool” (The Carnaval Project, 2012).
APEX-Brasil developed the Indy Race League, an innovative commercial trade
platform that utilizes the environment of the most important category of the popular car
race to promote Brand Brazil abroad. Those invited to participate in the events are
Brazilians entrepreneurs and foreign clients and potential clients. The event lasts three
days; on the first day, guests are received at the airport and driven to the hotel in the city
where the race is taking place, and the guests participate in a dinner with the drivers. On
the second day, the guests are driven to the racetrack, where they can watch the race from
exclusive rooms, there are guided tours during the day, and later the drivers are invited to
join the participants of the project in the exclusive room. On the third day the guests are
driven back to the airport (The Indy Race Project, 2012).
The Indy Race Project is a successful strategy used by APEX-Brasil to promote
Brazil, and it also helps to consolidate the image of Brazil as the world leader of clean
and renewable energy. Since 2009 all the cars in the race are fueled with sugar canebased ethanol that is produced in Brazil. The companies that are invited to this event
generate business, and related revenues are increasing every year. In 2009, the estimated
57
value of Brazilian exports was US$340 million, in 2010 this figure was US$589 million
and in 2011 US$897.6 million. The companies that can participate in the event are the
ones doing business or the ones who have potential clients in the United States and
Canada. However, the companies must fit in the classification of exporter maturity as
intermediate, experienced or internationalized export firms. The classification is decided
by APEX-Brasil according to the volume and value of exports. The Indy Race Project
allows participants to approach clients and possible clients, considering the informal
environment, it enables dialogues between people. The Indy Race is also seen by APEXBrasil as an opportunity for Brazilian products to enter the North-American market,
considering the popularity of the competition among the United States’ population (The
Indy Race Project, 2012).
APEX-Brasil has other projects besides the main ones mentioned previously. The
latest news about APEX-Brasil’s projects is the partnership with the major liquor
distributor in the United States - Southern Wine and Spirits. This partnership will enable
Brazilian wines to be commercialized in the United States, starting in Florida and New
York. Brazilian movies are being promoted at the Cannes Film Festival. Brazilian coffee
has been promoted in the 13ª SIAL China – The Asian Food Marketplace. Another big
agreement has been settled between APEX-Brasil and the Macy’s department store in the
United States. This partnership aims to facilitate the access of Brazilian products to
North-American consumers. With this partnership a new campaign by APEX-Brasil has
been launched, it is called ‘Brasil: A Magical Journey.’ Through this campaign APEXBrasil expects to promote Brazilian fashion and design in the North-American market
58
(APEX-Brasil, 2012). Below are two Figures illustrating the current geographic reach of
APEX-Brasil.
Figure 3: The APEX-Brasil’s Units in Brazil. Source: APEX-Brasil,
www.apexbrasil.com.br 2012.
59
Figure 4: The APEX-Brasil’s Units Around the World . Source: APEX-Brasil,
www.apexbrasil.com.br 2012.
Brazil will host two of the most important sports event in the next several years.
In 2014 the country will host the World Cup and in 2016 the city of Rio de Janeiro will
host the Olympics. For Anholt (Abar & Anholt, 2011), these events will expose Brazil to
the world for several weeks and what people will see and experience will impact how
they perceive the country. Contrary to what most people would think, just the fact of
hosting the events will not improve Brazil’s Nation image. What will happen is that the
public and the press will see the reality of the country and if they think that Brazil seems
better than what they expected, then the image of Brazil could improve, even if
temporarily. On the other hand, if what the foreign public sees is not as good as what they
expected, the image of Brazil may decline and stay low (Abar & Anholt, 2011).
60
As mentioned before, the media and what has been shown from a country can
impact how people will perceive that nation. There is one study done by a Brazilian
journalist that focuses on how Brazil is portrayed, the stereotypes about the country, in
the tourism section in The New York Times newspaper. The reason why the tourism
section was chosen is because of the power it has to affect people’s opinion. When people
are looking for a place to go on vacation and they are consulting a third party for
suggestions, they may search for tourism news. Journalistic texts about tourism can either
be persuasive or connotative, and can also bring a subtle advertisement (Future Brand,
2012; Paganotti, 2009; Jakobson, 1989).
According to Paganotti’s (2009) findings, there are three major regions that are
frequently mentioned in The New York Times; Rio de Janeiro, the Amazon and the
northeast region of Brazil (it is the area that corresponds to the coastline part of Brazil
closest to the Equator line). The Brazilian scenarios that are usually represented are
beaches/coast towns and the rain forest, these are the most often mentioned, but there are
also records of articles about the country side, mountains and urban environment. The
main destinations were Rio de Janeiro (52.38%), Salvador (14.29%), followed by São
Paulo, Petrópolis, Manaus, Marajó and Belém (4.76% each). Concerning the articles
about the Amazon, most of them talked about how the region is a tropical paradise, exotic,
with astonishing natural beauty, but also reinforcing the mythic side of it as well. Other
articles talked about the people and their sense of humor, or how they behave around
foreigners. The festivities are also mentioned, including carnival, music, beverages, and
soccer. Paganotti (2009) noticed that in most cases, the tourism-related journalistic
articles can be a mix of journalism and publicity, but in the end they keep propagating the
61
stereotypes, mostly because that is what readers are looking for, an image that will
confirm their opinion about a country.
This study is designed to assess the degree to which the perceptions of managers
in the United States and Brazil have been shaped to match the existing stereotypes and
the extent to which APEX-Brasil may have influenced perceptions to stretch beyond
those stereotypes to encompass a broader view of Brand Brazil.
62
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
The literature review covered some questions that are relevant to the
understanding of the concepts of Nation-Brand, the image of Brazil and the efforts the
Brazilian government is doing to promote the ‘Nation Brand Brazil.’ Those questions
encompassed the basic notions of what is brand and in which situations can be used. Also,
the literature review discussed what ‘Nation Brand’ is and its applicability; as well as
how the image of Brazil has been perceived, and most importantly, what Brazil is doing
to promote its own ‘Nation Brand.’
For this study, primary and secondary data were used. There was an analysis of
the data that already exists about ‘Nation Brand’ and Brand Brazil and, in addition to that,
a survey was distributed to two focused groups of participants. This research was divided
in two parts:
* Data Collection
In this step, the focus was on gathering information about Brand, Nation Brand, Brand
Brazil, image of Brazil and the answers of the surveys.
* Interpretation of results
After collecting all the information, the analysis of the data and comparison to the theory
was made in order to answer the main question.
Since this research aimed to study the possible gap between the promoted image
of Brazil and the perception of it by North-Americans; the survey was electronically sent
to managers in both Brazil and the United States. The survey was sent to about 100
business people in the United States. In addition, the same survey was sent to a group of
63
100 Brazilian business people. The survey was designed to encompass both quantitative
and qualitative questions. The whole survey consists of twenty questions, fourteen of
them focused on the respondent’s perception of the image of Brazil and the other ones
were demographic questions. Please see Appendix 3 for a copy of the survey in English
and Appendix 4 for a copy of the survey in Portuguese.
The survey was developed in both English and Portuguese. All questions were
literally translated. Those people who were invited to respond the survey were not
pressured to answer it by any means, their choice to respond it was voluntary. The
requirements to qualify to respond to the survey were that each respondent had to be 21
years of age or older, to have college education or professional experience in the
following fields: Business Administration, International Trade Administration, Finance
and Economics. The survey was conducted between February 2011 and December 2011.
In order to invite people who would fit the criteria and send them the electronic
survey, college professors in the fields of Business Administration and International
Trade Administration, in Brazil and in the United States were contacted, and
authorization to forward the survey to their students was requested. Also, colleagues and
former employers of the researcher were also asked to participate, and some people
invited their co-workers to respond the survey as well. The survey was sent through the
website Qualtrics - an internet-based research company. All the responses were
anonymous.
At total, there were seven qualitative questions, where respondents were requested
to freely state their opinions about Brazil. The very first question asked respondents to
describe with the five first words or sentences that would come to mind after hearing the
64
expression ‘Made in Brazil.’ The other questions asked respondents to describe their
perception of Brazil, the positive and negative aspects of the country, to name Brazilian
products/companies/industries. Respondents were also asked to make recommendations
for people buying products from Brazil and to give advice to the government on how to
promote Brazil’s image abroad. These questions focused mainly in showing how familiar
people are with Brazil, its culture and its economy.
The quantitative questions encompassed Aaker’s (1997) five dimensions of
‘brand personality.’ These dimensions are: sincerity, excitement, competence,
sophistication and ruggedness. The focus on these questions was to analyze the ‘Country
of Origin Effect’ regarding Brazil as the country of provenance. In order to build the
quantitative questions, one question related to each one of the dimensions was created
using the CETSACLE method. Each one of these questions had related personality traits
for respondents to rate from 1 to 5 according to how precisely the traits describe Brazil; 1
would be the ‘not at all descriptive’ and 5 would be ‘extremely descriptive.’ For instance,
when analyzing the competence dimension, respondents were asked to rate the extent to
which the terms ‘reliable, secure, and successful’ describe their perception of Brazilian
products.
There were other quantitative questions, also asking respondents to rate 21
statements regarding their perception of Brazil. For these questions the CETSCALE
method was also used, and respondents had to rate how precise each single statement was
from 1 - not descriptive to 5 - extremely descriptive. There were some phrases such as,
‘Brazil is a friendly country’, or ‘Brazilians are well educated’, or ‘Brazil is capable of
achieving high technological standards.’ These specific questions were based on
65
Parameswaran & Pisharodi’s (1994) article on the Country of Origin Effect. In their study
they conducted their research asking respondents their perception of a country and its
products according to some statements they provided and separated in three groups. The
first group was GCA- General Country Attributes, GPA - General Product Attributes and
SPA - Specific Product Attributes. In this study, Parameswaran & Pisharodi (1994) used
some of Parameswaran and collaborators previous works to develop the statements. For
the current research, the 21 statements that were adapted from Parameswaran & Pisharodi
(1994) were placed as a whole group, without dividing the statements in the GCA, GPA
or SPA groups. The other quantitative question simply asked if the respondents perceived
Brazil’s image as positive or negative.
The demographic questions were basic. The questions encompassed the
respondents’ age, sex, level of education, country of residence, occupation, familiarity
with international trade, and how often they would travel abroad. The comparisons of the
respondents from Brazil and United States in the demographic questions are as follows:
66
Table 9: Demographic Characteristics of Participants
Demographic Characteristics of Participants
United
States
Characteristics
Brazil
N = 29
%
N = 26
%
<20
0
0%
0
0%
21-30
6
21%
16
67%
31-40
1
3%
4
17%
41-50
9
31%
2
8%
51-60
6
21%
1
4%
>60
7
24%
1
4%
Male
20
69%
13
54%
Female
9
31%
11
46%
-
-
Age
Gender
Country of Residence
United States
Brazil
27
-
-
23
67
Table 9 (continued)
Education level
High School Graduate
0
0%
0
0%
Technical Degree
2
7%
0
0%
Bachelor’s Degree
16
55%
15
63%
Master’s Degree
11
38%
9
38%
1
3%
2
8%
18
62%
9
38%
2
7%
2
8%
Arts, Entertainment or Sports
1
3%
0
0%
Healthcare or Social Services
0
0%
0
0%
Agriculture
0
0%
0
0%
Administrative
2
7%
7
29%
Production or Construction
1
3%
2
8%
Services and All Other
Occupation
4
14%
2
8%
Occupation
Student
Business/
Management/Financial
Operations
Educational or Training
68
Table 9 (continued)
Are you familiar with International Trade?
Yes
16
55%
14
58%
Somewhat
10
34%
6
25%
No
3
10%
4
17%
Never
3
10%
3
13%
Rarely
4
14%
5
21%
Occasionally
17
59%
10
42%
Frequently
5
17%
6
25%
How often do you travel abroad?
69
CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH RESULTS
This Research Results chapter reports the findings of this research according to
the survey’s responses. The results presented in this chapter encompass the responses of
the United States business people and Brazilian business people. This chapter is divided
in five sections that cluster the questions according to different evaluations of the
perception of Brand Brazil.
4.1. General Perceptions of Brazil
The first question of the survey was a qualitative one that sought to get an
overview of what one thinks when one hears “Made in Brazil”, which associations they
could create. The respondents were asked to list five words or phrases to describe their
thoughts. In order to clarify possible doubts, some examples were given: “when you hear
“Made in France”, you might think of fashion, wine, or elegance. When you hear “Made
in Japan”, you might think of high quality, technology or reliability. When you hear
“Made in China”, you might think of toys, low quality or inexpensive merchandise.” The
responses varied from natural resources, to agriculture products, to industrialized ones,
including also, corruption and bureaucracy, quality and economic growth and
opportunities.
For this specific question there were 125 elements identified by the 28 United
States business people who responded, and 114 characteristics identified by the 24
respondents who were Brazilian business people. Considering a mean for this question,
the average respondent in Brazil was able to identify 4.75 characteristics, meanwhile the
70
average respondent in the United States identified 4.46 characteristics. That means,
respondents from Brazil were able to, proportionally, identify more characteristics.
There were some identical responses from both United States residents and
Brazilian residents. In those cases the characteristics identified were the clichés ones that
have been perpetuating the image of Brazil throughout the years. Among the
characteristics mentioned, there were the agricultural products, such as coffee and cattle;
the exotic factor that still nourishes people’s idea of what Brazil is like; the nature,
including the rain forest, beaches (even beach apparel and bikinis) and energy.
In the responses there were some contrasting characteristics. For instance, while
U.S. managers perceive ‘Made in Brazil’ as something cheap, Brazilians perceived it as
expensive. U.S. managers described low technology and Brazilians high technology.
Tables 10 and 11 exemplify the elements identified by respondents from both countries:
71
Table 10: Elements of Brand Brazil As Perceived by North-American and Brazilians
Groups
Most
Frequent
United States
Brazil
Coffee
Cachaça / Havaianas / Coffee
Carnival / Exotic / Colorful
Joy
Quality: Low, Medium, Average,
Questionable
Quality: Doubtful, Low,
Reasonable, Average, Good
Soccer
Second
Most
Frequent
Third Most
Frequent
Mentioned
Once
Inexpensive
Corruption
Fun / Beaches
Tropical / Carnival
Leather / Shoes / Fashion
Agribusiness / Art craft
Aircraft / Airplanes
Tourism
Portuguese / Soccer / Food
Party / Exotic / Creative
Rain Forest / Natural Resources
Nature / Natural
Orange Juice / Beef / Swim Suits /
Wood Products / Beach Apparel /
Bananas / Health and Beauty Products
/ Sisal / Large Agriculture and Metals
Exports
Beach Apparel / Mineral
Products / Cattle / Agricultural
Products / Green Products /
Wine / Airplane
Ethanol / Emerging Industrial Base /
Imported / Energy Independence /
Growing Economy
Medical Research / SelfSufficient in Petroleum /
Medicine / Technology /
Local Investment / Clean
Energy
72
Table 10 (continued)
Groups
United States
Brazil
Energetic / Loud / Women / Spiritual /
Lively / Rio / Latin / Ethnic Items /
Ethnic Food / Sexy / Adventurous /
Party-Fiesta / Yellow and Green /
Pelé / Music-Samba / Laughter /
Brazil or Brasil / Beer / Artistic /
Healthy / Authentic / Homemade /
Dynamic / Versatile / Young and Up
Lifting / Friendly / Cultural Rich
Summer / Women / Music /
Sensuality / Attractive /
Colorful / Simple / Casual /
Fun / Bikinis / Humanization /
Popularity / Culture / Beauty /
Pride / Smelly / Sophisticated
/ Dance / Artistic / Homemade
/ National / Samba / Receptive
/ Friendly / Politics /
Philanthropy
High Crime / Traffic / High Poverty
Levels / Child Labor / Poor / Cheap
Labor / Under Marketed / Unfair
Income Distribution / Giant
Bureaucracy
Disorder / Political Corruption
/ Troubled Negotiation / Lack
of Commitment / Delay on
Deliver / Taxes / Costs /
Bureaucracy
Cheap / High End Products / Durable
Goods /
High Price / Cost Effective
Opportunity / Distinctive /
Progressive
Originality / Regionalism /
Reliability / Expensive
Same as Mexico References / Not
Made in the USA / Nothing Comes to
Mind
Not Sustainable Forestry
Question number two, in an essay format, asked respondents to describe their
general perceptions of Brazil, inviting them to discuss politics, economy, trade, or sports.
From the United States business people’s responses, almost half mentioned the
stereotypes, which still influence the image of Brazil; the remaining comments varied
from Brazil’s economic growth and potentiality to grow, to different factors, such as
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politics, corruption, economic differences, language and the size of the country. Among
the Brazilian business people, over half of the respondents discussed Brazil’s economic
growth and the potential to grow more. The remaining responses mentioned
socioeconomic issues in Brazil, such as poverty, crime, lack of planning, the need to
invest in infrastructure, and the need to cease corruption.
Table 11: Themes Discussed on Question Number Two
Themes of
Discussion
United States
Brazil
Perceptions Based
on Stereotypes
Jungle / Beach / Sunshine / Fun
/
Warm Happy People /
Energetic / Colorful / Violent /
Loud / Soccer / Pelé / South
American Country / Exotic /
Ethnic / Good Food / Drinks /
Passionate Culture / Rio /
Caribbean Type of Ambiance /
Content / Wild Untamed
Country / Poverty / Slums /
Vacation / Basketball / Free
Spirited / Amazon / Volleyball /
Spiritual / Family Environment /
Portuguese / High Cultural
Diversity / Focus on self / Focus
on Beauty
Culture / Sports / Music /
Socialization / Cheerful /
Mix of Races / Fun /
Creativity / Innovation /
Olympics / World Cup /
Happy People / Natural
Resources / Water
Perceptions Based
on Nature
Rain Forest
Forest
No Earthquakes / No
Hurricanes / Amazon /
Nature Preservation
Perceptions Based
on Ignorance
Do not know much about Brazil
/ Never visited Brazil
/
Undeveloped
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Table 11 (continued)
Themes of
Discussion
United States
Brazil
Trade / Growth Opportunity /
Emerging Country / Growing
Manufacturing Auto Industry /
Fast Growing / Great Place to
Do Business / Investment
Opportunities / Strong Economy
/ Fast Developing / Young
Professional
Population
/
Government Support to Small
Business and Entrepreneurship /
High Technology Products /
Sophisticated
Manufacturing
Sectors / Sugar Base Energy
Consistent
Politics
/
Freedom of Speech /
Growing
Economy
/
Promotion
of
Brazil’s
Nation Brand / Potentiality
to Compete with Strong
Economies / Democratic /
Potential to Be One of The
World’s Greatest Leaders /
Strong Economy / Low
Unemployment Rate / Oil /
Higher Salaries / Life
Quality Improving / Critical
Resources
for
Medical
Researches / GDP Growth /
Soy
Sporadic Violence / Unsafe
Cities / Dangerous / Growing
Disparity
Between
Social
Classes /Politics not Stable /
Expensive Credit / Corruption /
Negative Perceptions Poverty / Long Way to Become
an Economic Hegemony /
Bureaucracy / Not Many
Brazilian Products in The
United States / Not Much Press
in the United States
Government Not Concerned
About Relevant Issues /
Corruption / High Taxes /
Lack of Investments in
Infrastructure / Traffic /
Instability / Violence /
Slums / Drugs / Need to
Invest
in
Education,
Healthcare, Transportation
and Airports
Perceptions Based
on Economic Issues
Geopolitical
Perceptions
Demographic
Perceptions
No Wars / No Retaliations to
Immigrants / Tolerance to
Different
Beliefs
and
Ethnicity
Large Population / Large Cities /
Young Country
Urban Centers / Large Country
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The responses, from both countries, for questions number one and two were
similar, differing only in the number respondents mentioning the same characteristics.
Mangers from both the United States and Brazil mentioned the stereotypes of Brazil, but
it was done by a larger proportion of U.S. managers. The responses show that the
stereotype of Brazil still prevails when it comes to the first impressions of the country.
Both in the United States and in Brazil business people acknowledge that there are other
elements to be added to this image, whether is the growing economy, the technological
research, or in contrast, the corruption or disorder. The main stereotypical words United
States managers used to discuss Brazil are represented in the following table.
Table 12: Stereotypes Mentioned by United States Respondents
Stereotypes Mentioned by United States Respondents
Vibrant
Colorful
Exotic
Fun
Soccer
Warm Happy People
Free Spirited
Rio de Janeiro
Wild Life
Poverty
Dangerous
Spiritual
Energetic
Ethnic
Amazon
Dance
Passionate
Jungle
Slums/Favelas
Caribbean Type Ambiance
Beach
Sunshine
Good Drinks
Rain Forrest
Violence
Sports
Loud
Good Food
Beautiful Women
Focus on Beauty
Pelé
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4.2. Statements on Brand Brazil
The third question of the survey was quantitative and respondents were asked to
rate 21 statements about Brazil. For that, a CETSCALE was created and respondents
would rate each sentence from 1 to 5 according to how much they agreed with it. Number
one meant ‘strongly disagree,’ number two ‘ disagree,’ number three ‘neutral,’ number
four ‘agree,’ and number five ‘strongly agree.’ The purpose of this question was to
identify how precisely statements about Brazil, its population and economy would match
the respondents’ perception. The questions and the means from each group of
respondents are as follows:
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Table 13: Rated Statements on Brand Brazil
UNITED
STATES
MEAN
BRAZIL
MEAN
Brazil is rich in cultural heritage.
4.41
4.58
Brazil is a friendly country.
3.76
4.42
Brazil can be considered as an artistic and creative country.
3.68
4.46
Brazil is capable of achieving high technological standards.
3.57
3.83
Brazil is a country of hard-working people.
3.33
3.96
Brazilian products are sold in many countries.
3.25
3.83
The workforce in Brazil has technical education.
3.21
2.67
Brazil is economically developed.
3.15
3.48
Brazilian people have technical skills.
3.14
3.58
Brazilian products are overall excellent.
3.14
3.13
Brazilians are well-educated.
3.07
2.29
Brazil is a politically free country.
3.07
3.67
Regarding international affairs, Brazil is an active actor.
3.04
3.54
It is difficult to find spares for Brazilian products.
3.04
2.46
Brazilian products have high quality.
3.00
3.33
Brazilian products are cheaply put together.
3.00
2.21
2.89
3.38
2.79
2.96
Brazil is known for its industrial products.
2.71
2.38
Brazil has high standard of living.
2.59
2.38
“Made in Brazil” means unreasonably expensive and
luxurious.
2.00
1.96
STATEMENTS
Brazilian products are long lasting and do not need constant
repairs.
Brazilian products are easily available in/for foreign
countries.
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The means for these statements are remarkably similar across the two groups of
respondents. The statements with the highest means for the United States respondents
show some similarity in their means. Respondents from both Brazil and the United States
consider Brazil a friendly, artistic and creative country. Regarding education in Brazil,
respondents from the United States have a tendency toward a positive response, while
Brazilians do not consider the quality good enough. There is a similar finding with regard
to technical education. Brazilians see themselves as hard-working people, and although
some United States respondents might agree with that, most of their responses were
marked as neutral. When it comes to Brazil as a country capable of achieving high
technological standards, United States business people were predominantly neutral about
it, but some respondents acknowledge the potentiality. The majority of the Brazilian
respondents agree that it is a possibility for Brazil.
The general neutrality of the responses given by the United States respondents
shows their unfamiliarity with Brazil. If they had negative images about the country they
could have rated the questions negatively, however, they rated almost three fourths of the
statements, mainly, as neutral. Also, there is a slight difference between how Brazilians
see their country and their national products compared to the United States business
people.
4.3. Positive and Negative Perceptions of Brazil
The fourth question asked respondents to identify positive aspects of Brazil
“Made in Brazil,” while question number five asked about the negative aspects. Both
questions were in essay form. From the 29 United States business people who answered
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the survey, 25 responded to this question. For the Brazilians, all the 24 business people
who answered the survey commented on this question. From the United States
respondents, over one fourth claimed they did not have information about Brazil and
could not answer the question, or they had a notion of what Brazil can produce, but still
were not sure. Over one fourth of the United States respondents mentioned the economic
growth, the potentiality of the country, the quality and price of Brazilian goods. The
remaining respondents - slightly less than half of them - cited the stereotypes, the answers
were: natural, authentic, fun, Rio, Carnival, beach, and women.
For Brazilian business people, the positive aspects of the country and its ‘Nation
Brand’ can be divided in three groups: ease of life, quality and economic factors. In the
ease of life group, respondents acknowledge as positive Brazil’s originality, creativity,
beauty, culture and joy. When it comes to quality, Brazilian business people consider the
national products to have good quality and they expect continuous improvement of
Brazilian goods. Also, they acknowledge that Brazilian quality standards are high and
that helps in leveraging the consumption of local goods. For the economic factors they
mentioned the industrial base, agriculture, entrepreneurship, easy maintenance.
Considering the negative aspects, most of the United States business people are so
unfamiliar with Brazil that they could not cite any negative aspects, they only mentioned
that they did not see many Brazilian products, they did not know any Brazilian brand
name. The respondents who could list negative aspects mentioned the quality of products,
as well as crime, poverty and safety.
Brazilian business people perceive as negative aspects for the country or its image
some infrastructure problems, such as means of transportation and roads being poorly
80
maintained – both factors that may cause delay in the delivery of goods. For Brazilians,
the educational system needs to be improved, including providing young people with
professional skills. Issues like corruption, crime and poverty denigrate the image of the
country, as they mentioned. Another point that was mentioned was that the image of
Brazil is often portrayed to attract tourists, by promoting stereotypes, instead of also
promoting Brazilian products, industries and brands.
For question number six, when asked if overall, they perceived the image of
Brazil as positive or negative, the majority of the responses from both countries was
positive. However, there is a discrepancy between the results. From the 24 Brazilian
business people who responded the question, 23 people said that Brazil’s image is
positive. For the United States respondents this proportion changes; from the 28
respondents, 22 said that Brazil has a positive image, and 6 said the image was negative.
4.4. Personality Traits Dimensions
The seventh to the eleventh questions discussed the personality traits that can be
perceived about brands, according to Aaker’s (1997) brand personality traits. The
personality traits are sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication and ruggedness,
and each question focused on one of the personality traits. For questions number seven to
number eleven of the survey, the CETSCALE was used, requesting respondents to rate
the features from 1 (not at all descriptive) to 5 (extremely descriptive). The next five
tables show the elements of personality trait rated by business people in the United States
and Brazil, and the respective means to those elements.
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Table 14: Personality Trait: Sincerity
Elements
United States Mean
Brazil Mean
Cheerful
3.71
4.42
Friendly
3.63
4.38
Family-Oriented
3.25
3.21
Original
3.38
3.71
Down-to-Earth
2.92
2.88
Wholesome
2.87
3.25
Honest
2.71
2.79
Table 15: Personality Trait: Excitement
Elements
United States Mean
Brazil Mean
Exciting
3.86
3.63
Spirited
3.83
4.17
Young
3.82
3.83
Trendy
3.70
3.46
Daring
3.57
3.38
Unique
3.48
3.54
Imaginative
3.26
3.67
Contemporary
3.14
3.50
Up-To-Date
3.04
3.38
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Table 16: Personality Trait: Competence
Elements
United States Mean
Brazil Mean
Intelligent
3.30
3.29
Hard Working
3.22
2.92
Successful
3.09
3.08
Reliable
2.78
3.04
Technical
2.78
2.83
Leader
2.70
2.58
Secure
2.52
2.88
Table 17: Personality Trait: Ruggedness
Elements
United States Mean
Brazil Mean
Outdoorsy
3.22
2.83
Rugged
3.13
3.13
Tough
2.87
2.92
Table 18: Personality Trait: Sophistication
Elements
United States Mean
Brazil Mean
Glamorous
3.32
2.71
Charming
3.30
3.54
Upper Class
2.96
2.75
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4.5. Familiarity with Brazil
Question number twelve asked respondents to name, in an open-ended question,
Brazilian products, companies or industries that are competitive internationally. For the
United States business people, three respondents could not name any Brazilian product,
company or industry. Also, six respondents listed Brazilian aircraft company, naming
EMBRAER, and Brazilian airlines. The other items mentioned were: agricultural
products - mainly coffee; banking; clothes and shoes; commodities in general, such as
mining, gas and oil; and some media companies. Some people responded oil, others
petroleum, or Petro Brazil, and Petrobras (which is the name for the Brazilian energy
company).
Also,
respondents
mentioned
multinational
companies
that
have
manufacturing plants in Brazil, such as Volkswagen, General Motors and Ford.
For Brazilians, the competitive industries are: commodities, mining, steel, fashion,
food, sports, entertainment, petroleum, arts, aircraft, liquor, art craft, cosmetics and civil
construction. To be more specific, Brazilians cited the national liquor called cachaça;
some agricultural products, such as coffee, sugar, soy, corn; cattle and chickens. A
chocolate company called Garoto was mentioned, as well as the food company Sadia,
and a beer and soft drink company called AMBEV and its traditionally Brazilian soft
drink called Guaraná Antarctica. For Brazilians, the national fashion industry is also
competitive abroad, mainly the bikinis and the brand of sandals called Havaianas.
Brazilian art also received some recognition, whether through music, dance or art craft.
The steel industry, the mining industry, natural resources, ethanol and tourism were also
listed. Some big companies were mentioned, such as EMBRAER - aircraft; Natura cosmetics; Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) - mining; Gerdau and USIMINAS -
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steel; and Petrobras - petroleum. The following table illustrates the answers given by
respondents in Brazil and the United States.
Table 19: Brazilian Companies and Products
Sectors of the Brazilian
Economy
United States
Brazil
Telecommunication / Safra
Entertainment Industry /
/ Grupo Abril / TAM / Itaú
Entertainment and Services
Arts / Sports / Music /
/ Bradesco / O Globo /
Dance / Tourism /
Energy
Fashion / Beauty
Havaianas
/
Fashion
Industry / Bikinis / O Sandal / Clothing / Natura /
Boticário
Food and Beverages
Coffee / Beer / AMBEV
Garoto Chocolate / Coffee /
Guaraná Antarctica / Cattle
/ Sadia / Cachaça / Corn /
AMBEV / Restaurants /
Chicken / Sugar
Housing and Civil
Construction
GAFISA
Civil Construction
Machinery / Equipment /
Industries
EMBRAER / Military
Hardware / Votorantim /
Paper
Manufactures
Commodities
Agriculture / CSN /
Petroleum / Steel Products
Ethanol / Petrobras /
Commodities / CVRD /
Soy / Agribusiness /
Gerdau / Mining Industry /
UIMINAS / Steel Industry
/ Natural Resources
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The thirteenth question was also open-ended, and asked respondents which piece
of advice they would give to clients, or friends, or family when they are deciding about
buying Brazilian products or services. Most of the United States respondents said that
their advice would be to do research on the company and/or product before buying it.
Others said that in a retail situation they would tell people to buy and try it, but in a
wholesale situation, the recommendation would be to seek legal orientation. Some
responses contrasted with other. On one hand some answers showed that people in the
United States perceive Brazilian products to have low quality, and consequently the price
should be lower than in the United States, Germany and Japan. On the other hand, other
respondents saw Brazilian products as having good qualities, just as in the United States
or Europe. Also, some of the respondents did not want to write their recommendation, as
they think they do not know enough about the country to start with. Meanwhile, the main
recommendation Brazilians made were to investigate the source of the product, and to
certify that the product comes from the mentioned country.
Question number fourteen was also an open-ended essay-type question.
Respondents were asked to write their recommendations to the Brazilian government and
to Brazilians, in order to promote the image of Brazil abroad. The majority of the
responses from the United States business people recommended that Brazil should
expose its ‘Nation Brand’ more, that marketing strategies should be pursued in order to
promote Brand Brazil, so that foreigners can become more familiar with the country. As
one of the respondents mentioned:
“Tell US people more about Brazil and how it has changed over the last several
decades. How open is the government to outside investment, what about import
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duties and tariffs. How safe is the country and how are the people improving
themselves? We in the US know and hear very little about Brazil. Just old times
views and experiences to draw on”.
Other responses from the United States business people mentioned that Brazil should
import technical expertise and should try to learn from companies that have already
proved to be successful. For another respondent, the Brazilian government should “work
with the private sector to identify a solid and simple message that can be used in all
channels of communication”. Also, as a respondent said, Brazil should “stop fuelling
corruption, lower imports, taxes and start incentivizing education.” Finally, other
respondents did not have any recommendations, as they are not familiar with Brazil and
its image.
The recommendations made by Brazilians also encompassed some marketing
strategies in order to promote the image of the country abroad. However, other issues
were discussed by Brazilians too. The respondents mentioned also about the structural
changes they consider relevant in order to help improving the image of Brazil abroad. For
instance, Brazil should continue to promote the country the way it has been, so that
gradually people can start to see Brazil as more than an agricultural country. There
should be a focus to improve the tourism industry, the infrastructure to have tourists, for
instance, one of the respondents said: “Brazilians should be even more receptive in what
concerns tourism, by improving their language skills, so that foreigners could feel more
comfortable when visiting Brazil”. Education is also a major concern for the Brazilian
respondents. They think Brazil should invest in education, in the healthcare system, and
decimate crime rates. Another recommendation was to keep investing in the people and
87
the economy, so that over time foreigners will acknowledge Brazil for those features,
instead of promoting the same things that will encourage the current stereotype of Brazil.
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CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION
The present study researched how North-Americans and Brazilians perceive the
Brand Brazil and what the Brazilian Government is doing to promote its ‘Nation Brand.’
The premise for this research was that the image of Brazil that is promoted is not the
same that is perceived. As results showed, this premise was confirmed to be true. There is
a difference between the attributes of Brazil that have been promoted and how people
perceive Brazil. Most of the respondents answered the questions based on the
stereotypical image of Brazil; the majority of these answers were from the United States
respondents, although Brazilians used stereotypes to describe the country as well.
5.1. Discussion
The results of the survey show three patterns of how business people in both the
United States and Brazil can describe Brazil. First pattern: Brazil is described according
to stereotypes - joy, beach, soccer, cheerful, Carnival. Second pattern: when describing
Brazil, respondents also mentioned or commented about Brazil’s economy and industries:
economic growth, oil, ethanol, EMBRAER. Third pattern: respondents could not describe
Brazil, as they mentioned, some of them have never been to Brazil nor have enough
information to comment on the country’s image.
The majority of the United States respondents used the stereotypical attributes to
describe the image of Brazil. There was emphasis on the hyper sexualized image of
Brazilian women, on the sunny beaches and Carnival, also on fun, coffee and soccer.
Some United States respondents were able to mention Brazil’s emerging industrial base,
89
ethanol, investment opportunities, oil and clean energy. Others showed concern for
environmental issues, mentioning the Amazon, natural resources and the lax attitude from
the Brazilian government to preserve nature. Some of the different aspects of the image
of Brazil overlapped on the same responses. The remaining respondents from the United
States were ignorant about Brazil and said they could not answer the questions.
Brazilian business people who responded to the survey mentioned the
stereotypical image of Brazil, when discussing the image of the country. Moreover, they
were able to discuss more about other issues, such as the Brazilian economy and
industries, the way Brazil is perceived abroad, and even socioeconomic and
infrastructural issues. As one can imagine, Brazilians respondents, unlike some of the
United States respondents, were able to mention something about Brazil on each question,
whether positive or negative. Based on the perception of United States business people
and Brazilian business people, one can identify that there is a gap in how the image of
Brazil is perceived in the United States and Brazil. This finding reinforces the idea of
perceptions being subjective and therefore different people will have different
perceptions, as proposed by Babin and Harris (2009).
The findings from the analysis of the literature review, essentially from the
section ‘Brazil’, show that most of the plans from APEX-Brasil to promote Brazil fall in
a business-to-business context. That means that most of the projects developed by APEXBrasil focus on the integration of Brazilian entrepreneurs and foreign entrepreneurs and
investors. The projects’ aim is to enhance the relationship between businesses. Some of
them include in the target audience trend-setters, but the focus remains on businesses.
One can understand these projects and their audiences, by thinking about the mission of
90
APEX-Brasil: the promotion of Brazil and Brazilian exports, the improvement in quality
for Brazilian products and the diversification of international markets. These goals are
commonly targeted on the business-to-business context.
APEX-Brasil has also developed some business-to-consumer projects to focus on
the relationship between businesses and consumers. This means that the focus will not be
on a foreign company, but on the foreign consumer. The project ‘Brasil: A Magical
Journey’ in partnership with the Macy’s department store is an example of APEX-Brasil
developing business-to-consumer plans. With this project people shopping at Macy’s will
have access to Brazilian products, and with the promotion in the stores, customers will
become aware that they can buy Brazilian products. This project allows the promotion of
Brazil and Brazilian products and makes the items accessible for consumers. With time
this project can create awareness among United States public about Brazil.
The work APEX-Brasil has been developing enables Brazilian exporters to
interact with clients, possible clients and investors in a business to business relation. In
the case of this research, there are some elements that can be considered to promote
Brazilian products and brands. For instance, United States respondents described Brand
Brazil as outdoorsy, and this can be explained by Brazil being associated with nature,
outdoors sports and activities. Since the public acknowledges these traits for Brand Brazil,
then companies in related segments could take advantage of this recognition and try to
enter or to expand their participation in the United States’ market. This could be an
opportunity for companies that produce furniture for outdoor places, as patios, or specific
footwear, apparel and accessories for outdoor activities.
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The results showed some discrepancies in how business people in the United
States and Brazil perceive Brazil. For instance, on question number three respondents
were invited to rate if they agreed that a statement about Brazil was true. One specific
statement was about Brazilians being well educated and the mean rating for the United
States respondents was higher than the Brazilian respondents’ mean rating. Two
observations can be made on this result. First, Brazilian respondents are judging from a
perspective of former students in Brazil’s educational system. Meanwhile the United
States respondents are judging from an outsider’s perspective. Second, one should
consider that the respondents from both the United States and Brazil were business
professionals with a college degree, and that most of them had experience with
international trade. Consequently, there is a possibility that some of the United States
business people had had previous experience with some Brazilian business people. Also
taking into account that Brazilian business people would speak in English while doing
business with companies from/in the United States, it is likely that the Brazilian
respondents have a higher education than the average. Then again, the perceptions are
influenced by experiences, and if that is the experience United States respondents had,
then it is understandable why they rated more highly than Brazilians respondents on this
specific statement.
When it comes to high technological standards, Brazil is not commonly perceived
by the United States business people as capable of developing such items. However, a
minority acknowledge that Brazil is capable of developing technology for the extraction
of petroleum in the Atlantic Ocean, and to create and assemble airplanes. EMBRAER
was the most common company mentioned by the United States business people; perhaps
92
that happens due to the fact that the United States has imported several EMBRAER
planes and some information is available on business media. By contrast, EMBRAER
products are not advertised to the general public. For instance, some of the fleet of
aircraft for domestic flights for American Airlines are from EMBRAER. During
commercial flights, the flight attendants mention briefly that the aircraft is an EMBRAER,
but there is no mention to country of origin. Also, in the safety instructions manual in
those aircraft, the only mention of Brazil is in one sentence: “Final assembly of this
aircraft was completely in Brazil.” There is no mention of Brazilian technology. One
could justify that by the simple fact that people do not acknowledge Brazil as capable of
developing the technology for and assembling aircrafts, passengers could be afraid of
flying through that company and might not fly with the company again. Nonetheless,
Brazil is not being giving the credit for its high technological standards.
5.2. Limitations
The limitations for this thesis are related to three topics: Number of respondents,
literature review on Nation Brand, and information about APEX-Brasil. This study had
only 29 respondents from the United States and 26 respondents from Brazil. If there were
at least one hundred responses from both the United States and Brazil, then some further
analyses and comparisons could have been done. Therefore, it is suggested that future
research on this topic should attempt to increase the number of respondents.
The literature on Nation Brand is limited, especially if one takes into account that
this is a fairly recent field of research. As mentioned previously in this paper, the first
93
publication on Nation Brand is from 1998. With more literature available the literature
review for this thesis could have been richer.
The third limitation was faced in gathering information about APEX-Brasil and
its projects. The information available is mainly sourced from APEX-Brasil’s own
webpages. If it were possible to gather more information about APEX-Brasil and even to
interview a representative from the agency the literature on Brazil would be enhanced.
5.3. Recommendations
Contrary to Anholt’s theory, it is also important to promote a nation’s brand
through marketing strategies, using communication methods. The work APEX-Brasil is
doing is improving Brazil’s balance trade, but not yet the general public image of Brazil.
The promotion of Brazil is being done through substantial deeds, not only advertisement,
as recommended by Anholt. However, there is a prevailing image of Brazil that has not
been changed yet. The following recommendations are focused on what can be done to
improve the outcomes from the promotion of Brand Brazil abroad.
- APEX-Brasil should continue to promote business-to-business partnerships. The work
APEX-Brasil is doing has been effective and should be maintained.
- APEX-Brasil should expand its business-to-consumer projects. By doing so more
people would have access to Brazilian products and would be aware of the product’s
country of origin.
- APEX-Brasil should manage to advertise Brand Brazil during Indy Races. Since
APEX-Brasil already has private events for the races if APEX-Brasil could expand the
94
project and also advertise to the general public, during commercials for instance, then
it could create awareness among more people about Brazil.
- APEX-Brasil should advertise Petrobras and Brazilian ethanol during Indy Race
commercials. Since APEX-Brasil and Petrobras are already sponsors for the races, and
also by the fact that all the cars are fueled with Brazilian ethanol, these deeds could be
advertised. It would be a way to show the United States public a little bit of Brazil’s
technology and quality standards.
- APEX-Brasil should display its webpages (including social media) in languages other
than Portuguese to enable more people to have information about Brazil. If the
information is provided in different languages, then more people would be able to read
it and to know more about Brazil and APEX-Brasil. The Ministry of Tourism’s
website, for instance, can be displayed in Portuguese, English, Spanish, French,
German and Italian.
- APEX-Brasil should advertise on Google and link the advertisement to key words
about Brazil. By simply googling ‘Brazil’ there is no mention to APEX-Brasil or to
Brazil’s industrial sector and to business. The first website linked is from Brazil’s
Ministry of Tourism and even the CIA Factbook link for Brazil is available. Usually,
the search recommendations Google gives are for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Brazilian hair
blowout, Brazilian steak houses, Brazilian bikini wax, Brazilian butt lift (exercises and
surgery) and how to date Brazilian women. If one just types the word Brazil into the
search engine and clicks on images, they will consist of Brazil’s maps and flags,
images of Rio, the national soccer team and semi-dressed women. This could be an
opportunity to promote APEX-Brasil’s webpage.
95
- The Brazilian government should provide structural improvements in:
- Education
- Security
- Infrastructure
- Roads
- Airports
Most of Brazilian business people who responded to the survey mentioned that the above
areas need to be improved. Especially considering that in the near future Brazil will hold
two of the main sports even on the planet, the World Cup and the Olympics. If Brazil, by
the time of these events, improves the conditions of the elements that denigrate the
country’s reputation, then the foreign public will have the chance to see a different reality
and their perception of Brazil would also improve. If substantial changes do not happen
before the event, then it will only perpetuate the stereotype and negative references to
Brazil.
5.4. Future Research
For future research the improvement of the perception of the image of Brazil in
the United States could be studied. With a larger number of respondents different theories
could be analyzed. Research can be conducted on the image of Brazil only in the
business-to-business context or only in the business-to-consumer context.
96
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102
APPENDICES
Appendix 1. Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval
103
Appendix 2. Institutional Review Board (IRB) Amendment Approval
104
Appendix 3. Focus Group Study Questions In English
Your opinion matters to us, please provide your true view points. This questionnaire is
anonymous. Your responses, if you agree in participating, will be used for research
purposes through Ohio University. If you have any questions regarding this study, please
contact Iara Leão - [email protected] or [email protected], (1) 740 818-1410.
_________________________________________________________________
- What does “Made in Brazil” mean to you as a Brand? Please list 5 words or phrases.
(For instance, when you hear “Made in France”, you might think of fashion, wine, or
elegance. When you hear “Made in Japan”, you might think of high quality,
technology or reliability. When you hear “Made in China”, you might think of toys,
low quality or inexpensive merchandise.)
__________________________
____________________________
__________________________
____________________________
__________________________
- Can you describe your general perception of Brazil? Feel free to talk about any aspect:
Politics, Sports, Economy, Trade, and anything else you would like to share.
- According to the following statements, please rate your perception of Brazil and/or
“Made in Brazil” on a 1-5 rating scale. (Please put an X in the appropriate box.)
Example
Chocolate is delicious.
Statements
Brazil is a friendly country.
Brazil can be considered as an artistic
and creative country.
Strongly
Disagree
1
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
Agree
2
3
Disagree Neutral
x
5
Agree Strongly
Agree
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
105
Statements
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree Neutral
Agree Strongly
Agree
Brazilians are well-educated.
Brazil is a country of hard-working
people.
The workforce in Brazil has technical
education.
Brazil is capable of achieving high
technological standards.
Brazil has high standard of living.
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
Brazilian people have technical skills.
1
2
3
4
5
Brazil is a politically free country.
1
2
3
4
5
Brazil is economically developed.
1
2
3
4
5
Brazil is rich in cultural heritage.
Regarding international affairs, Brazil
is an active actor.
“Made in Brazil” means unreasonably
expensive and luxurious.
Brazil is known for its industrial
products.
Brazilian products are sold in many
countries.
Brazilian products are long lasting and
do not need constant repairs.
Brazilian products have high quality.
Brazilian products are cheaply put
together.
It is difficult to find spares for Brazilian
products.
Brazilian products are easily available
in/for foreign countries.
Brazilian products are overall excellent.
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
- What are the positive and negative aspects you perceive of Brazil and/or “Made in
Brazil”? Please provide any words that come to mind:
Positive: ______________ _______________ _______________ _______________
106
_______________ ______________ ________________ _________________
Negative: ______________ _______________ _______________ ______________
_______________ ______________ ________________ _________________
- Overall, do you perceive Brazil as (please mark with an X your choice):
______ Positive
______ Negative
- When it comes to “Sincerity”, how would you evaluate the brand “Brazil”? Please rate
each characteristic on a 1-5 rating scale. (Please put an X in the appropriate box.)
Not At All
Descriptive
Hardly
Descriptive
Descriptive
Very
Descriptive
Extremely
Descriptive
Down-to-earth
1
2
3
4
5
Family-Oriented
1
2
3
4
5
Honest
1
2
3
4
5
Wholesome
1
2
3
4
5
Original
1
2
3
4
5
Cheerful
1
2
3
4
5
Friendly
1
2
3
4
5
Sincerity
- When it comes to “Excitement”, how would you evaluate the brand “Brazil”? Please
rate each characteristic on a 1-5 rating scale. (Please put an X in the appropriate box.)
Excitement
Daring
Not At All
Descriptive
Hardly
Descriptive
Descriptive
Very
Descriptive
Extremely
Descriptive
1
2
3
4
5
107
Not At All
Descriptive
Hardly
Descriptive
Descriptive
Very
Descriptive
Extremely
Descriptive
Trendy
1
2
3
4
5
Exciting
1
2
3
4
5
Spirited
1
2
3
4
5
Young
1
2
3
4
5
Imaginative
1
2
3
4
5
Unique
1
2
3
4
5
Up-to-date
1
2
3
4
5
Contemporary
1
2
3
4
5
Excitement
- When it comes to “Competence”, how would you evaluate the brand “Brazil”? Please
rate each characteristic on a 1-5 rating scale. (Please put an X in the appropriate box.)
Not At All
Descriptive
Hardly
Descriptive
Descriptive
Very
Descriptive
Extremely
Descriptive
Reliable
1
2
3
4
5
Hard Working
1
2
3
4
5
Secure
1
2
3
4
5
Intelligent
1
2
3
4
5
Technical
1
2
3
4
5
Successful
1
2
3
4
5
Leader
1
2
3
4
5
Competence
108
- When it comes to “Sophistication”, how would you evaluate the brand “Brazil”?
Please rate each characteristic on a 1-5 rating scale. (Please put an X in the appropriate
box.)
Not At All
Descriptive
Hardly
Descriptive
Descriptive
Very
Descriptive
Extremely
Descriptive
Upper Class
1
2
3
4
5
Glamorous
1
2
3
4
5
Charming
1
2
3
4
5
Sophistication
-
When it comes to “Ruggedness”, how would you evaluate the brand “Brazil”? Please
rate each characteristic on a 1-5 rating scale. (Please put an X in the appropriate box.)
Not At All
Descriptive
Hardly
Descriptive
Descriptive
Very
Descriptive
Extremely
Descriptive
Outdoorsy
1
2
3
4
5
Tough
1
2
3
4
5
Rugged
1
2
3
4
5
Ruggedness
- Which Brazilian products/companies/industries do you consider competitive
internationally?
- What advice would you give to your clients/friends/family when they are deciding to
buy Brazilian products/services?
109
- What should Brazilians or/and the Brazilian Government do to promote the image of
Brazil?
-Age: _____ <20
_____ 20-30 ____ 30-40 _____40-50
_____ 50-60
_____ >60
-Sex: _____ Male _____ Female
-Country of residence: __________________________________________
-Education level: ___High School ___ Associate ___Undergraduate ___Graduate
-Occupation:
___Student
___Business/management/financial
operations
____Educational or training ____Arts, entertainment or sports ____Healthcare or social
services
____Agriculture
____Administrative
____Production
or
construction
___Services and all other occupations
-Are you familiar with international business? ____Yes ____Somewhat ____No
-How often do you travel abroad? ___Never ___Rarely ___Occasionally ___Frequently
Thank you for your participation!
Iara Leão
110
Appendix 4. Focus Group Study Questions In Portuguese
A sua opinião é importante para nós, por favor forneça o seu verdadeiro ponto de vista.
Este questionário é anônimo. As suas respostas, se o (a) sr. (a) concordar em participar,
serão utilizadas para fins de pesquisa através da Ohio University. Se o (a) Sr. (a) tiver
dúvidas sobre este estudo, por favor entre em contato com Iara Leão [email protected] ou [email protected], (1) 740 818-1410.
_________________________________________________________________
- O que “Feito no Brasil” significa para o (a) sr. (a) como uma marca? Por favor liste 5
palavras ou frases. (Por exemplo, quando o (a) sr. (a) ouve “Feito na França”, o (a) sr.
(a) pode pensar em moda, vinho, ou elegância. Quando o (a) sr. (a) ouve “Feito no
Japão”, o (a) sr. (a) pode pensar em alta qualidade, tecnologia, ou confiabilidade.
Quando o (a) sr. (a) ouve “Feito na China”, o (a) sr. (a) pode pensar em brinquedos,
baixa qualidade, ou mercadoria barata.)
__________________________
____________________________
__________________________
____________________________
__________________________
- O (a) sr. (a) poderia descrever a sua percepção geral sobre o Brasil? Sinta-se a vontade
para escrever sobre qualquer assunto:
Política, Esportes, Economia, Comércio e qualquer outro assunto que o (a) sr. (a)
queira
compartilhar.
3) De acordo com as afirmativas a seguir, classifique a sua percepção sobre o Brasil e/ou
“Feito no Brasil” em uma escala de 1 a 5. (Por favor, marque com um X a sua resposta.)
Exemplo
Chocolate é delicioso.
Discordo
Plenamente
Discordo
Neutro
Concordo
Concordo
Plenamente
1
2
3
x
5
111
Afirmativas
Discordo Discordo
Plenamen
te
Neutro
Concordo Concordo
Plenamente
O Brasil é um país amigável.
1
2
3
4
5
O Brasil pode ser considerado como um
país artístico e criativo.
1
2
3
4
5
Os brasileiros são bem instruídos.
1
2
3
4
5
O Brasil é um país de pessoas
trabalhadoras.
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
O Brasil tem alto padrão de vida.
1
2
3
4
5
Os brasileiros tem habilidades técnicas.
1
2
3
4
5
O Brasil é um país politicamente livre.
1
2
3
4
5
O Brasil é economicamente desenvolvido.
1
2
3
4
5
O Brasil tem um patrimônio cultural rico.
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
A força de trabalho no Brasil tem ensino
técnico.
O Brasil é capaz de atingir altos padrões
tecnológicos.
Quanto à política internacional, o Brasil é
um participante ativo.
“Feito no Brasil” significa
excessivamente caro e luxuoso.
O Brasil é conhecido por seu produtos
industriais.
Produtos brasileiros são vendidos em
muitos países.
Produtos brasileiros são duradouros e não
precisam de reparos constantes.
Produtos brasileiros tem alta qualidade.
Produtos brasileiros são motados com
baixa qualidade.
É difícil encontrar peças de reposição
para produtos brasileiros.
Produtos brasileiros estão facilmente
disponíveis em/para outros países.
Produtos brasileiros, em geral, são
excelentes.
112
- Quais são os aspectos positivos e negativos que o (a) sr. (a) percebe do Brasil e/ou
“Feito no Brasil”? Por favor forneça quaisquer palavras que lhe venham a mente:
Positivos:______________ _______________ _______________ _______________
_______________ ______________ ________________ _________________
Negativos:
______________
_______________
_______________
_______________
_______________ ______________ ________________ _________________
- De maneira geral, o (a) sr. (a) percebe o Brasil como sendo (por favor marque com um
X a sua resposta):
______ Positivo
______ Negativo
- Em se tratando de “Sinceridade”, como o (a) sr. (a) avalia a marca “Brasil”? Por favor
classifique cada característica em um escala de 1 a 5. (Por favor, marque com um X a
sua resposta.)
Nada Descritivo
Pouco
Descritivo
Descritivo
Muito
Descritivo
Realista
Extremame
nte
Descritivo
1
2
3
4
5
Foco na família
1
2
3
4
5
Honesta
1
2
3
4
5
Saudável
1
2
3
4
5
Original
1
2
3
4
5
Alegre
1
2
3
4
5
Amigável
1
2
3
4
5
Sinceridade
- Em se tratando de “Entusiasmo”, como o (a) sr. (a) avalia a marca “Brasil”? Por favor
classifique cada característica em um escala de 1 a 5. (Por favor, marque com um X a
sua resposta.)
113
Nada Descritivo
Pouco
Descritivo
Descritivo
Muito
Descritivo
Ousada
Extremame
nte
Descritivo
1
2
3
4
5
Na moda
1
2
3
4
5
Emocionante
1
2
3
4
5
Animada
1
2
3
4
5
Jovem
1
2
3
4
5
Imaginativa
1
2
3
4
5
Única
1
2
3
4
5
Atualizada
1
2
3
4
5
Contemporânea
1
2
3
4
5
Entusiasmo
- Em se tratando de “Competência”, como o (a) sr. (a) avalia a marca “Brasil”? Por
favor classifique cada característica em um escala de 1 a 5. (Por favor, marque com um
X a sua resposta.)
Nada Descritivo
Pouco
Descritivo
Descritivo
Muito
Descritivo
Confiável
Extremame
nte
Descritivo
1
2
3
4
5
Laboriosa
1
2
3
4
5
Segura
1
2
3
4
5
Inteligente
1
2
3
4
5
Técnica
1
2
3
4
5
Bem-sucedida
1
2
3
4
5
Líder
1
2
3
4
5
Competência
114
- Em se tratando de “Sofisticação”, como o (a) sr. (a) avalia a marca “Brasil”? Por favor
classifique cada característica em um escala de 1 a 5. (Por favor, marque com um X a
sua resposta.)
Nada Descritivo
Pouco
Descritivo
Descritivo
Muito
Descritivo
Classe alta
Extremame
nte
Descritivo
1
2
3
4
5
Glamurosa
1
2
3
4
5
Charmosa
1
2
3
4
5
Sofisticação
- Em se tratando de “Resistência”, como o (a) sr. (a) avalia a marca “Brasil”? Por favor
classifique cada característica em um escala de 1 a 5. (Por favor, marque com um X a
sua resposta.)
Resistência
Resistente
Resistente a ambientes
externos
Rustíco
Nada Descritivo
Pouco
Descritivo
Descritivo
Muito
Descritivo
Extremame
nte
Descritivo
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
- Quais produtos/empresas/indústrias brasileiras o (a) sr. (a) considera competitivos
internacionalmente?
- Quais conselhos o (a) sr. (a) daria para seus clientes/amigos/familiares quando eles
optarem por adquirirem produtos/serviços brasileiros?
- O que os brasileiros e/ou o governo brasileiro deveriam fazer para promoverem a
imagem do Brasil?
115
-Idade: ____Menos de 20 anos
____20-30 anos
____30-40 anos
____40-50
anos ____50-60 anos
____Mais de 60 anos
-Sexo: ______ Masculino _______Feminino
-País de residência: _______________________________________________________
-Nível de Escolaridade: _____ Ensino Fundamental ____Ensino Médio ____Ensino
profissionalizante _____Ensino Superior ____Pós-Graduação
-Ocupação profissional: ____Estudante ____Gestão/Finanças/Economia ____Educação
____Artes, entreternimento ou esportes ____Saúde ou serviços sociais ____Agricultura
____Administração ____Produção ou construção ____Serviços e outras ocupações
-O (a) sr. (a) está familiarizado com Comércio Exterior? ____Sim ____Um pouco
____Não
-Com qual frequência o (a) sr. (a) viaja para o exterior? ____Nunca ____Raramente
____Ocasionalmente ____Frequentemente
Obrigada pela sua participação!
Iara Leão
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