Editor's Cut: Significant changes in Latin America
by Ryan Monceaux, Editor In Chief
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MIAMI - Day one of @d:tech Latin America has come and gone and was generally
regarded as a total success. The facilities are first-rate and again,
@d:tech has the top movers and shakers in the industry. Miami has provided
the perfect backdrop for an interesting dialogue on the future and potential
of Latin America in the new economy.
The first day's sessions were highlighted by the opening keynote address by
Sergio Zyman, former CMO of Coca-Cola and the founder of the marketing
consulting firm Z Group. Mr. Zyman dealt with the premise that the era of
marketing as we know it (and e-marketing, for that matter) is over. Zyman's
speech covered a wide assortment of topics and focused on moving e-marketing
from gambling to scientific marketing and on the rules for being a thriving
e-marketer in today's evolving online world.
Zyman pointed out that the first and most important aspect of successful
Online Advertising is strongly researched and scientific marketing. While
that has become a given in the U.S., it is even more important in Latin
America, where less advertising dollars, two major languages and a
spread-out potential user group makes the potentially area difficult to
navigate. With several major obstacles left to overcome before the
Information Superhighway can pave over Latin America, Zyman introduced a few
rules for handling marketing in the region.
One of his first rules was to make certain and not think of e-marketing as
magic in the region. Just throwing money into advertising in Latin America
is not the solution, Zyman said. Instead, proper investment, hard work and
scientific research are the most effective ways to reach the masses in Latin
America.
Another problem in the region (and globally, actually) is that marketers
have not differentiated their products and services from those of their
competitors. Zyman said that to consumers, all of the products look the same
and there is no reason for them to search out and find which is best. He
emphasized defining exactly what your company does as well as enhancing the
value of the services you provide in order to focus in on what is the chief
goal in Latin America: selling a product or service. Zyman said he sees too
many companys straying from this, which ultimately leaves them behind their
competition.
One-to-one marketing is "it" in Latin America. According to Zyman, many
companies have come to the region with the mentality that they will phase-in
developments that other markets already take for granted, thus allowing them
to keep their share in the area. Competing companies will see this and take
advantage of it, leaving those who attempted to nestle into the region in
the dust. Personalized marketing and opt-in programs should be the focal
point of marketing to the area, just as it is in the United States.
Sergio Zyman said that he thinks the Internet will grow 100,000 times faster
in Latin America than most are predicting. He said the region is starved for
the products, services and economic boost that only the Internet can
provide. While many companies have taken advantage of an early window in
getting into the market (the first mover advantage, as he explained it),
there is still a small amount of time to get in on the ground floor on the
Internet, salsa-style.
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