Photo Credits: Jaggat Images
During a recent factory visit I was introduced to a vendor’s rep, and an interesting thing happened. “This is Mario, from our Latin American team”, the plant manager said. The rep, extending me his hand, replied: “Great, where in Mexico are you based?”.
Actually, I’m based in Miami, Florida, not Mexico, and nobody had mentioned Mexico. The rep, however, had just made an automatic mental association:
Latin America = Mexico.
While some people may regard this small episode as proof of Americans’ lack of international savvy, I view it more as a branding lesson. In an imaginary product category called “Latin America”, the brand “Mexico” clearly dominates the share of mind of the average American consumer. In the US, Mexico is the Coca-Cola of Latin American countries.
In my opinion, these are some reasons why Mexico has been able to achieve such a strong brand position:
Genuine interest in learning about the customer
For all the anti-American rethoric we sometimes hear in Mexican political circles, the truth is that most Mexicans love American culture and products. Big US retailers like Walmart and Home Depot thrive in Mexico. Starbucks is also making a splash and has been chosen #1 among the best places to work. And, while people in other Latin American countries wouldn’t be caught dead watching a game of American football, Mexico has even hosted NFL games, holding the record of attendance for a regular season game with more than 100,000 fans.
Products especially created with the customer in mind
If you go to Mexico and ask for a Corona, you’ll get the “you’re-not-from-here-right?” look. Very few people drink Corona in Mexico, since it is a brand that caters to the American (and international) market. By the same token, Cancun is a city built almost exclusively for the American tourist: it is safe, fun and a good value, but nobody in Mexico will consider Cancun an “authentic” Mexican city. Corona and Cancun are two great examples of products Americans love, created by Mexicans.
Simplification and standardization
If you want your message to spread, you have to make it simple and consistent. Take Mexican food in the US, for example. There are Mexican restaurants in almost every city. Most of them, however, won’t serve you sophisticated Mexican dishes, but a fairly standard menu with different iterations of the same ingredients. This simplified version of Mexico’s cuisine has made the message easy to spread and has exposed millions of people to Mexican food and culture.
Being close to the customer
It is said that geography is the mother of history. If the US shared its border with Argentina instead of Mexico, we’d probably be eating grilled meats (asado) instead of burritos, and drinking wine from Mendoza instead of Corona. The Mexico brand wouldn’t be what it is today in the US if it weren’t for the geographical proximity and the hundreds of years of interaction between our two countries.
In summary, Mexico has done what everybody who wants to build a strong brand should do:
- Understand your customer
- Cater to your customer’s tastes
- Simplify and standardize your message, and
- Stay close to your customer
As a Hispanic-American, I think it is no more apparent the associations a percentage of Americans make of Mexico=Latin America than to those of us who recognize the difference. It can be quite frustrating, and at times, infuriating. Though I agree with most of what you point out, there is another factor to equate: geographic location of those Americans.
While I believe that many Americans living within a certain distance of the American/Mexican border will automatically think Mexico=Latin American, I don’t think it holds true for those living in other areas of the country.
Take, for example, South Florida. The overarching influence is not Mexican, but rather Cuban/Dominican/Venezuelan. Food choices include black beans, chorizo and Presidente beer. Since the sphere of influence is closer to the Caribbean and eastern South American countries, I would argue that they are more inclined to ask “Do you still have family ‘over there’?”
I wonder if anyone has done research on the correlation between proximity to a specific Hispanic culture and their generalized associations by a majority of people?
Hi Leslie:
I don’t know if there is a formal study on that correlation, but I think that what you’re saying makes sense. And you’re also right about South Florida, where I live. But Miami is not a typical American city. Overall I would say that the less contact people in the US have with Latin culture the more they tend to equate Lat Am with Mexico.