Culture Within Culture: Latin America

To most people, Latin America has always been difficult to define. You'll occasionally hear it referred to as a geographical territory that includes the entire Caribbean—that is, all the countries in the Western Hemisphere south of the United States. Others define it as a region where Portuguese, Spanish, or French (the Romance languages) are widely spoken or countries with a history of Iberian (Portuguese and Spanish) colonialism.

PR in Latin America

I have always been in awe of the beauty and rich cultural influence Latin America has. Now, as a growing communications practitioner, my respect has grown even more. In Latin America, public relations theory reflects the region's complex history and integrates economic transformation with social concerns. There are six distinct public relations tactics in Latin America. In Brazil, for example, public relations was initially regarded as a kind of journalism. Public relations can also be defined as an activity that aids in selling a product or organization. A third perspective regards public relations as the organization's most refined performance; that is, public relations increase an organization's credibility through ethical behaviors. Another approach to public relations that is focused on workplace morale is motivating. Another strategy confines public relations to the social, technical, and political relationships of a single expert. Finally, another viewpoint regards public relations as the organization of social and cultural activities as an objective.

The Practice

Kara Alaimo four tips for practicing public relations in Latin America.

1. Be Responsive to Citizens.

- According to Pamela Leonard, General Manager of Hill+Knowlton Strategies in Chile, countries such as Mexico and Chile are currently undergoing “a citizen moment, a time of transformation of traditional authority in politics, businesses, and media.” According to Leonard, “today, citizens have a lot of power and are the influencers.” She claims that this is changing the way public relations is practiced by emphasizing corporate social responsibility and responding to citizen demands. “Today, businesses must take the time to understand the expectations of the public — not just their clients, consumers, and partners, but also citizens,” Leonard argues. “What are their broad desires and concerns? What ideals are they now defending?” She also believes that organizations must describe how their actions and presence would benefit “Mrs. Juanita” — a Chilean term for the typical person.

2. Plan for the Region’s “Polychronic” Approach to Time.

- While promptness is anticipated in “monochronic” cultures such as the United States and the United Kingdom, polychronic cultures embrace a more fluid view of time. According to one government affairs specialist, "if someone says, 'Let's do this tomorrow at 10 a.m.,' at 10:05 a.m. in the United States, we're late." We're not late in Brazil a week later; we're just getting started.” May Hauer-Simmonds was an account executive for Burson-Marsteller in Guayaquil, Ecuador. She was in charge of implementing a global strategy devised by executives in Miami, Florida, to launch a new Sony product for the Ecuadorian market. Instead of arranging an event in Ecuador that began at a specific time, the agency prepared an open house so that journalists could attend regardless of when they came.

3. Invest in Relationships

- In Latin America, communicators use what academics refer to as the personal influence paradigm of public relations. This means they put time and effort into developing professional relationships with others before getting down to business. Relationships are frequently formed at the local level. According to Mateus Furlanetto, Head of Institutional Relations for the Brazilian Association for Business Communication, or Aberje, a public relations professional from So Paulo or Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's largest cities, would be considered a foreigner if they attempted to implement a campaign in the Brazilian countryside. In rural places, personal relationships are very crucial. According to Serge Giacomo, GE's Head of Communications and Institutional Relations in Latin America, "outside of a metropolis, it gets incredibly intimate." Your company's top management should be in the same circle as the mayor and local officials, the local elite, and even the priest. To work with specific audiences, you must belong; you must be a member of the same group.”

4. Consider Partnering with Telenovelas.

- Angela Giacobbe, Manager of Communication and Sustainability for the Brazilian maritime and port logistics company Wilson, Sons, believes that partnering with Brazil's ultra-popular telenovelas, or soap operas, cause the country's streets to empty during final episodes and are exported to nations around the world, including Portugal, Angola, and China, can be a successful public relations strategy. According to Giacobbe, product placement on such shows has increased adequate brand memory. Many soap operas have also worked pro gratis with non-profit groups to communicate social concerns such as adoption, cancer, and missing persons.

Representation?

As a takeaway, I wanted to discuss something that I embarked on during my readings this week. As you all have read my blogs, I am sure you have become accustomed to the “pop culture” twist that I use when breathing life into my readings and weekly themes. This week, I had difficulty doing so. That is not to say that there are no references in pop culture that depict Latin culture; however, I could not find a depiction that did not in some way embrace stereotypical ideas of each region. For example, Columbiana, starring Zoe Saldana, involves Columbia by incorporating elements that push the narrative that Columbia is all about drugs, murder, and violence. What can be gained about Columbian culture from this?

Another example was the latest installment of the Purge series. The film The Forever Purge shows the world after the annual purge; however, a group of extremists takes it upon themselves to re-establish the purge. This time instead of targeting the poor, they are targeting the Mexican community. The movie ends with a group of individuals being saved by the Latin immigrants that they were against and having to migrate to Mexico for safety. I can appreciate the film making that Latin community a part of the “hero” dynamic, but I cannot help but wonder why we feed into negativity regarding the Latin American society. As a PR professional, what references and examples do I have to connect and identify with these fascinating and beautiful people. Please do not misunderstand. You can find anything if you look for it; however, when will the beauty of their story be told out loud?