Euro RSCG Examines Mexico.

Euro RSCG Worldwide announced the results of a landmark study. The agency conducted face-to-face interviews with 2,000 men and women, age 18 and older, in Mexico as part of its ongoing Prosumer Pulse global survey.

“Prosumerism in Mexico” explores a broad array of topics, including culture, social and sexual attitudes, patriotism and politics, health and diet, and technology usage. Euro RSCG divided respondents into two groups, based on their survey responses: mainstream consumers (who represented 85% of the sample) and the more empowered “prosumers” (constituting 15% of the sample). Prosumers are a new breed of proactive, influential, information-empowered consumers. They are of particular importance to marketers because their attitudes and behaviors have a strong influence on the product and brand
choices of people around them and, hence, on the success of businesses.

In response to the increasing importance of the U.S. Hispanic market to marketers in Mexico and elsewhere, findings from this study have been compared with those from the agency’s U.S. Latino Prosumer Study, conducted earlier.

The comparison reveals a variety of interesting differences and commonalities.

Among the study’s findings:

* Home appears to be more important to current residents of Mexico than to people of Mexican origin who have emigrated to the U.S. In the Mexico survey, 61% agree home is the center of their lives, compared with just 29% of U.S. Mexicans surveyed.

There’s an interesting dichotomy between Mexicans and U.S. Mexicans with regard to social mores. On the one hand, residents of Mexico are more than four times as likely as U.S. Mexicans (39% vs. 9%) to identify themselves as “traditionalists” who don’t like the way modern life is going. On the other hand, despite their country’s Roman Catholic heritage, Mexico’s population appears to be less conservative in some regards than are Mexicans living in the U.S.

For example, one-third of Mexicans (38% of men vs. 28% of women) agree there’s nothing wrong with extramarital affairs as long as nobody gets hurt; in the U.S., just 9% of Mexican-Americans overall tolerate the idea of extramarital affairs.

* Patriotism is tempered with cynicism. A substantial 89% of those surveyed in Mexico are proud to be Mexican, and 62% agree that people who don’t vote in elections are irresponsible. Yet, 29% admit they are frustrated by politics and don’t vote in most elections, of note given the upcoming presidential elections in 2006.

* A large percentage of the overall Mexican sample (44%) rate themselves as serious-culture lovers who enjoy literature, art-house cinema, fine art, and classical music, significantly more than the percentage of U.S. Mexicans who describe themselves thusly (35%).

* The use of technology and the Internet sets prosumers apart in Mexico; 50% of Mexican prosumers describe themselves as “new technology/gadget” lovers, compared with 25% of prosumers in the U.S. Mexican sample.

* Fully 70% of Mexico respondents chose the self-descriptor “health-minded,” meaning they pay above-average attention to health issues.

Yet, Mexico is ranked the second most obese nation after the United States, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

* Unlike in the U.S., shopping in Mexico continues to be dominated by smaller retail outlets. Corner stores are the most used outlets overall (78%), followed by Mexico’s mas tipicos food outlets-tortillerias, used by 75% of respondents.

* Ambivalence to advertising is more pronounced in Mexico. While advertising retains some of its novelty value, fully 50% of Mexican prosumers agree they are distrustful of advertising and the claims ads make, compared with 24% of U.S. Mexican prosumers.

* Asked to rate several hundred brands in terms of their perceived popularity, Mexicans chose Coca-Cola (soft drinks), Marlboro (cigarettes), and HSBC (banking) as the three brands than have gained most momentum in terms of popularity among consumers in the past few years. Unlike in other markets surveyed, where technology brands dominated, these three brands represent traditional categories.

Tellingly, two are from north of the border.

Marc Lepere, Chief Marketing Officer of Euro RSCG Worldwide, said, “When you ask the question, ‘Where does Mexico belong … in North, South, or Central America?’ there’s no simple answer. It is big and complex enough to defy geographical and cultural pigeonholing.

“One thing is certain: Mexico’s influence continues to stretch beyond its borders in the millions of personal ties between Mexico and the U.S., the growing U.S. Latino population, its membership in NAFTA, and its proximity to all the Americas. For today’s marketers, understanding Mexico’s most switched-on consumers (aka prosumers) is key to unlocking the market, not just in Mexico, but also in the U.S.”

For more information at http://www.eurorscg.com