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Brazil’s Natura Cleaning Up in Argentina

On March 8, 2011, In a-bric, foreign investment, by InvestBA
Natura Brasil

Natura shares have risen over 500% since the BOVESPA debut in 2004; they trade as SAO:NATU3

What do you get when you combine top quality health and beauty products, competitive pricing, a direct sales model, a commitment to sustainability, a broad social media presence and robust sales channels in some of Latin America’s youngest and fastest-growing markets? You get the stock chart to the left. Sao Paulo-based Natura originally listed on the BOVESPA in 2004, and the shares have risen over 500% compared to a 250% gain for the BOVESPA.

Cronista’s Gabriela Helman says Natura is cleaning up in Argentina’s perfume, cosmetics and personal care sector where the company’s main competitors are L’Oreal, Unilever, P&G and Avon. Natura is now the number three preferred cosmetics brand in Argentina where sales rose 27% last year compared to 8.8% back home in Brazil.

CEO Alessandro Carlucci tells Cronista that Natura plans to start production in Mexico and Colombia this year and replicate the local production model they have carefully crafted in Brazil. Natura outsourced some production in 2010 to Argentina where the company already has a Distribution Center and dedicated business units based in Buenos Aires.

One of Natura’s greatest qualities for the uninitiated is the breadth, depth and transparency of their online presence: the Natural Ingredients site, the Twitter page with 27,000 followers, their Investor Relations site, their YouTube channel, the Natura blog, the list goes on. Obviously this is a great company with a great story, and that is reflected in market share gains in countries like Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru.

For more information on Natura, check out this Company Presentation PDF from the Credit Suisse 2011 Brazil Equity Ideas Conference.

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Argentina Sponsors Pray for World Cup Miracle

On June 8, 2010, In arts & entertainment, foreign investment, us companies, by InvestBA
Argentina Futbol Miracle

With 7-1 odds of winning it all, Argentina's sponsors are hoping for a miracle in South Africa.

Being an Official Sponsor of the Argentine national team has its highs and lows. Just ask The Coca-Cola Company. The Atlanta-based soft drink maker’s corporate logos were visible everywhere at the Estadio Monumental that October night when Martin Palermo scored the miracle goal against Peru in the rain.

A Shawshank moment and dream publicity to be sure. Thirty minutes later in the post-game press conference, head coach Diego Maradona sat at the dais covered with strategically-placed Coke bottles and cordially invited his media critics to give him oral pleasure.

It’s that combination of on and off-the-field unpredictability that raises the stakes for the corporate sponsors going to battle alongside Argentina and the 31 other teams in South Africa. Wharton gives an excellent overview today titled, Why and How Brands Hope to Score at the FIFA World Cup. The hierarchy of World Cup sponsors is explained in detail as are the number of clothing companies vying for team sponsorships “to raise consumption and sales at an exponential rate.”

As always, Argentina suits up with Adidas, while Nike is betting the farm on Brazil and eight other teams. Meanwhile U.S. advertisers will probably get more coverage than the U.S. team: Continental Airlines, McDonalds and Budweiser will collectively invest over US$60 million between now an 2014. In the end, Wharton says, those brands that are most successful are the ones that generate “an emotional connection between the sponsored team, the public and the brand.” For our money, it’s hard to top Argentina beer sponsor Quilmes. Talk about emotional bang for your peso. (YouTube Video)

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Buenos Aires Ad Agencies Give Global Brands Local Flavor

On May 21, 2010, In arts & entertainment, creative class, culture, lifestyle, us companies, by InvestBA
Pecsi Billboard in Buenos Aires

Have a Pecsi: BBDO Argentina tweaked the venerable brand to suit local market tongues and tastes.

The 1985 New Coke launch taught soft drink makers and marketers the risks inherent in tampering with the real thing. Amazing then, that PepsiCo green-lighted a Buenos Aires ad agency’s proposal last year to actually change the name of their world-famous brand.

The idea? Like Nike and Levi’s, Pepsi is one of those U.S. brand names that often proves problematic for native Spanish speakers. In Argentina, the pronunciation usually sounds more like “Pecsi,” so the creative minds at BBDO Argentina reasoned, why not change the name to suit local tongues and tastes? The gamble paid off.

The “Pecsi” campaign, which brought the brand closer to Argentine consumers, was just awarded the Grand Prize at the Wave Festival, the most competitive showcase of Latin American advertising creativity. Another top prize went to Argentina’s Del Campo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi for their successful Chocolatometer campaign for Cadbury. The creative spots feature a chocolate meter mirroring female emotional reactions to romantic situations.

While positive stimulation raises the chocolate bar repeatedly, a George Costanza-like gaffe on the part of the male ultimately leaves the Chocolatometer empty. The tagline: A Man Will Never Be As Good As A Whole Cadbury. Perhaps another sign of global ad spend recovery, AdAge says there were 40% more entries at this year’s Wave Festival which just wrapped up in Rio. (Full article)

For more information about The Creative Class in Buenos Aires, visit our archives and download the new issue of InvestBA Privada.

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Dakar Rally Inspires Major Coke Deal

On April 20, 2010, In buenos aires events, entrepreneurs, by InvestBA
Red Bull truck used in an elaborate drug deal between Spain and Argentina.

And you thought Red Bull gave you wings. Spanish drug dealers smuggled 800 kilos in this vehicle.

While some stories hit on one or two of InvestBA’s main content categories, sometimes we unearth a gem that covers all the bases: Trade, Foreign Investment, Buenos Aires Events, Entrepreneurs, oh and Narcotrafficking (Still not an official Category).

The Argentina/Chile Dakar Rally kicked off in BA back in January, and the event was a major success for the second consecutive year. What has come to light recently is a massive drug deal that some Spanish traffickers had been plotting for over a year, according to INTERPOL.

The cartel used the Rally as a front for shipping a Mercedes-Benz truck emblazoned with fake Dakar and Red Bull logos to BA, driving it to a private residence in a high-end neighborhood, hiding 814 kilos of cocaine in a sub-floor of the vehicle and shipping the truck back to Spain. While traveling in Argentina, the drug runners donned Dakar t-shirts and even posed for pictures with locals on the highway.

When the truck arrived in Spain, it was driven through a high-tech scanner in the Port of Bilbao and the drugs were discovered. Local authorities say the dealers (7 in custody, one in exile in Chile) invested over US$500,000 in the elaborate scheme, but they stood to reap US$32 million selling the drugs in Europe or possibly 2-3x that amount if the product was moved successfully to Asia.

According to Havocscope, the black market online database, the kilos could have fetched upwards of $88,000 in Japan or $146,000 in Australia. Here in Argentina, the bust is being referred to as Operation White Dakar. While Dakar returns to BA in 2011, still no confirmation if the Spaniards will be back next year for another try. (YouTube video)

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Animation Nation: History & Talent Define Argentina Ad Campaigns

On December 12, 2009, In arts & entertainment, creative class, foreign investment, visionaries, by InvestBA
Argentine animators were the driving force behind the brilliant Mama Lucchetti campaign.

Argentine animators were the driving force behind the brilliant Mama Lucchetti campaign.

The best and brightest in the world of animation converged on Buenos Aires last month for the International Animation Festival, Expotoons.

And while animation teams from Germany, France and the U.K. took home first prize in three of the Festival’s main categories, a talented Argentine team took home the gold in the Best T.V. Commercial category for the “Master of the Sopas” ad in the Mama Lucchetti campaign.

A celebration of hard-working, time-starved Argentine mothers, Lucchetti advertisements feature beautiful, bizarre-looking animated characters and the Muppet’s famous Manha-Manha song. The Madre agency and Pepper Melon studio in BA were the driving force behind the new look of Lucchetti, and their website features a fascinating overview of the character design process beginning with pencil sketches.

Variety’s Charles Newbery says its the local mastery of this “old-school skill” that sets Argentine animation apart and puts Latin America in position to challenge Asia for a larger share of the global animation pie. This would truly make the late Quirino Cristiani smile.

Cristiani was the Argentine animation director and cartoonist who directed the world’s first animated feature film using cardboard cutouts and political satire to oppose then-President Yrigoyen. Today, almost a century later, the current generation of Argentine animators are making their own mark, and according to Variety’s Newberrry, “international buyers, distributors and producers are taking note.”

For more information about Argentina creative talent and outsourcing, download the new issue of InvestBA Privada.

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