South American Way: Entertainment as a key Marketing Tool

I am currently working on a South American consultancy and these last days I have been immersed in a Brazilian Market research. One of the interesting aspects about Marketing in Brazil is how Brazilian society is strongly influenced by the local entertainment industry, mainly by the daily TV soap opera episodes (more specifically the 9:00 pm telenovela).

If you ask me for a cookie-cutter Marketing/ PR formula to launch a product in the largest Brazilian capitals (such as Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Curitiba and Florianopolis) I would suggest developing an integrated ad/ PR campaign using product placement during one of their telenovelas. But of course, this is just a hypothetical regional approach with no target audience segmentation.

***

Another interesting point is how often entertainers migrate to politics in Brazil. Take for example Gilberto Gil (Brazil’s Minister of Culture), one of the most notorious Brazilian singers, or the former mayor of Sao Paulo and current Minister of Tourism, Marta Suplicy, who is a psychologist and used to offer sex advice on a popular TV show. And also Helio Costa, the Minister of Communications. He was one of the most prestigious hosts of Fantastico, a Sunday night TV newsmagazine broadcasted by Rede Globo.

***

As I was writing the title of this post I remembered a classic performance by Carmen Miranda called South American Way. Always entertaining.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDwQN4UeF8E