Monthly Archives: January 2013

Marketing strategy: a culture

Sometimes a product plays such an important role in the life of consumers that it becomes part of a country’s culture. One of the most popular products sold in Brasil are flip flops; they are cheap, you can clean them easily, useful for the beach and hot weather, and now a days they are stylish. The most famous brand of flip flops in Brasil and probably in the world today is Havaianas, in fact is so popular that Brazilians don’t refer to them as flip flops anymore but as havaianas. It doesn’t matter if they are actually from the brand or not, they are not called flip flops anymore. I believe a company has achieved a strong level of recognition among its consumer when they use the brand name instead of its actual name.

Early on, Havaianas were seen as a very basic product to own. Their quality has always been really good but its design was fairly simple, people used them for practical purposes. Today, as their design become more and more creative: with many different colours, shapes, and prints, purchasing Havaianas is not a need anymore but a want. The brand has now expanded to Europe and the United States, becoming a luxurious pair of flip flops to own since it is exported from Brasil: a country known for its beautiful beaches, sunny weather, culturally exotic. The brand uses this image Brasil gives out to brand their product, in order words the culture behind the flip flops.

Contrex

One of my favorites ads is one from Contrex, a French water brand. Its campaigns promote health, and how water can help you be more slim. It has become a very popular water in France not only because of its different taste which I adore, but because of its water bottle design. Using pink  and a differently shaped bottle, it appeals mostly to women. But you would be surprised by how many men actually love it. Apart from having a differentiated packaging, their ads definitely were standing out  especially after this one. Filmed in Paris, with spinning bicycle (health promo) and lots of pink! It is a fun ad, unexpected and engages physically with the public.   It has everything to catch the people’s attention. Here is the video:

Contrexteperience

Now a personal fact about me: What I am most passionate about in life is traveling. I love seeing and experiencing new cultures even if it means drastic life changes and lots of hours on a plane. I just love the adventure and the learning experience!