Cultural+Diversity



What sets Brazil apart from other countries is its cultural diversity. Its rich culture and diverse group of individuals provide Brazil with the key to the future.

During the month that we spent in Brazil, we realized that Brazil prides itself in its people. There are few places in the world that enjoy the diverse cultural groups that reside in this country. This allows for different ideas to flourish and alternative methods of doing business arise. But what was most notable in the trip and discussed in lectures and business visits, is the difference in economic status of Brazilians. While some people are extremely wealthy there is a large group of individuals that are extremely poor. These drastic changes in spending power affect the way businesses operate in Brazil and led to different marketing techniques for the two groups.

In the lecture by Professor Motta, we discussed in further debt this problem of “Marketing to the Poor” and the implications to the Brazilian economy. When 24.9% of the population makes minimum wage versus .6% making twenty times minimum wage, businesses have to adapt their products and marketing strategies. In two of the visits that we had we saw the different strategies that are used for the two groups. In the Instituto Genesis we were presented with a case in which a student creates internet access to people in the favelas. We saw the approach he takes to business and how he markets to them. He offers low-cost products and provides on-time services to his clients.

On the other hand, we visited H.Stern. Their target markets are high-income individuals and travelers. They pride themselves in high quality and beautiful pieces that exemplify a life of luxury and beauty. This difference in marketing demonstrates that the level of income and availability of credit is always important for Brazilian businesses. Thus this cultural diversity plays a pivotal role in the different business sectors in Brazil.

The disadvantage of this economic inequality is that it is hard to grow as a nation, when a large portion of society has a low purchasing power. In addition, this causes great price differences from place to place; which adds to the uncertainty of individuals. On the other hand, the advantage of having great cultural diversity is that it provides businesses with a greater variety of markets in which to operate. They can sell relatively cheap products or they can decide to sell high-end products as well. Most importantly, greater diversity amongst groups led to the creation of more diverse ideas. This is what attracts many people to Brazil, the ability of different groups of people to live together in one area.

Companies in the upcoming years can definitely capitalize on this as they look to start businesses in Brazil. Companies can use this to their advantage if they understand their target market and how this group views the product that they are being marketed. This was the case with Kodak, an example given to us by Professor Motto. They were able to sell to lower-class individuals when they understood what these people valued and how they were willing to pay for this product.

As more and more companies look to Brazil as the new place to do business, it is important to keep in mind social responsibility. It is not about exploiting individuals, instead is about enriching and taking advantage of this great opportunity to learn from its rich diversity.