Website Globalization and E-Business Brazil

Globalization Partners International White Paper | 2012

1 of 16 Website Globalization and E-Business | Japan www.globalizationpartners.com© Copyright 2008 - 2012 Globalization Partners International. All rights reserved.

The Website Globalization and E-Business Brazil paper was researched and written by:

Martin Spethman Managing Partner Globalization Partners International [email protected] Phone: 866-272-5874

Nitish Singh, PhD, Author of “The Culturally Customized Website”, “Localization Strategies for Global E-Business”, and Assistant Professor of International Business, Boeing Institute of International Business, John Cook School of Business, Saint Louis University. [email protected] Phone: 314-977-7604

The Website Globalization and E-Business Series includes a series of brief reports on country-specific website globalization and e-business topics. The series includes:

• China• Japan• Germany• US Hispanic Market• Brazil• India

• Russia• Argentina• France• United Kingdom• United Arab Emirates

Globalization Partners International helps companies communicate and conduct business in any language and in any locale by providing an array of globalization services including:

• Translation• Multilingual Desktop Publishing• Software Internationalization & Localization• Website Internationalization & Localization• Software and Website Testing• Interpretation (Telephonic, Consecutive, Simultaneous)• Globalization Consulting• SEO (Global Search Engine Marketing)

To learn more about Globalization Partners International, please visit us at blog.globalizationpartners.com.

Website Globalization and E-Business Brazil

This series of reports is meant to be a primer on e-Business as well as a collection of language, culture and website globalization facts by country. These reports are by no means a complete coverage of these topics. For more comprehensive or customized reports on country-specific Website Globalization and E-Business topics, please email [email protected].

No material contained in this report may be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission of Globalization Partners International. The information contained in this White Paper has been obtained from sources we believe to be reliable, but neither its completeness nor accuracy can be guaranteed.

© Copyright 2008 - 2012 Globalization Partners International. All rights reserved. ® All Trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All graphics used in this report were provided by Flikr, Google Images and other free internet resources for pictures.


LBrazil is the fifth largest country in the world and seventh largest in terms of internet usage (internetworldstats.com, 2011)

LBrazil is a federative republic consisting of 26 states and a federal district called Brazilla,which is the capital. (www.eiu.com, 2011)

L The majority of internet users in Brazil are from the upper and upper-middle classes.

L In late 2011, Brazil proposed a pan-South American broadband network, to bring down per-user cost access to the Internet. (www.engadget.com)

L The retail sector of Brazil is considered the largest in Latin America and has continued to expand rapidly since 2004. (www.eiu.com, 2011)

L Television is the most popular type of media in Brazil as it is less expensive than other types of media, including magazines and newspapers. Television viewing is considered a leisure activity. Brazil has the third largest television market in the world. (euromonitor, 2011)

L The government has been working on digital inclusion programs such as funding internet cafés to help the lower income groups gain access to the internet.

I. Market Introduction and Stats

Fast Facts Numbers

General Stats GDP $ 2,090,314 (IMF 2010)

GDP Growth 7.5% (www.cia.gov 2010)

Population 192.3 (Wikipedia, July 2, 2011)

Population Growth 2.75% (Cia World Factbook, 2010)

Internet Internet population 75.982 million (www.cia.gov 2009)

Future Internet Population Estimates 9% Growth Rate

Summary Sheet has been compiled through the use of sources from academia

Stats/Source Online Activities

Usage Statistics • 75.9 million or 37.4% of the population (as of 2010, according to internetworldstats.com/ top20.htm)

Top Web Applications

(www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/BR 2011)

• Google.com.br• Facebook.com• Google.com• YouTube.com• Uol.com.br• Live.com (Windows Live)

Top Brazil Online Marketplaces

• www.americanas.com.br• www.livrariasaraiva.com.br• www.webmotors.com• www.marketplace.com.br• www.mercadolivre.com.br

The Brazilian Online Consumer

(Hofstede, Geert. Culture’s Consequences, Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2001)


II. Brazil Culture and the Online Consumer

Brazil Culture and Values

Although known as a popular tourist destination, Brazil is the “B” in “BRIC,” which stands for Brazil, Russian, India and China (four of the globe’s largest emerging economies.) China is Brazil’s largest export market, followed by the USA.

Brazil has an extremely diverse mix of cultural values, heavily mixed by Portuguese, African and Native American culture. In the last two centuries, the culture was also influenced by an influx of German, Italian, Spanish Japanese and Arab immigration. Language and religion are dominated by Portuguese influences.

Since about 99% of Brazil’s population speaks Portuguese, this is one of the strongest unifying influences in Brazilian culture. Brazilian Portuguese is a variant of European Portuguese, which is spoken by substantially fewer people.

Brazilian culture has received worldwide attention in areas like architecture, visual arts and cinema. Television plays a key role in Brazilian popular culture, with telenovelas being considered a significant element in national identity and unity.

Brazil is ranked as high in “Traditional Values” and relatively balanced between “Survival” and “Self-Expression values” according to the cultural map of the world based on the World Values Survey.

Insights into Brazilian Consumer Values:

LVanity: Brazilians put high on appearance. Looking good is an integral and important aspect of their culture. (Euromonitor, 2011)

LNational Goods: Whenever possible, Brazilians prefer to purchase products made within their own country. (TGI, 2011)

L Frugality: Brazilians enjoy saving money for larger purchases, such as a house. Therefore, they often look for a deal when purchasing other items. (TGI, 2011)

Brazilian Consumer Decision Making:

� Women: The decision-making power of women in Brazil has increased which has resulted in many companies tailoring products and services to the interests and needs of this new group. (Euromonitor, 2011)

� Generosity: 80% of Brazilian consumers prefer brands that support good causes, compared to 62% of global consumers. (trendwatching .com 2011)

Cultural Values

Collectivism: This value indicates how closely a

society is knit. In collectivist cultures like Brazil, the

needs, values and goals of the family and societal

unit take precedence over individual goals. Group

consciousness and family are major values that guide

people’s behavior.

Power Distance: This is a belief in authority and

hierarchy (high power distance). Cultures like Brazil

that are high on power distance accept power and

hierarchy in society and are low on egalitarianism. In

such cultures, less powerful citizens are accepting of

unequal power distribution in society.

Uncertainty Avoidance: This is the importance of

predictability, structure, and order (high uncertainty

avoidance), versus a willingness for risk-taking and

an acceptance of ambiguity and limited structure

(low uncertainty avoidance.) People from cultures

high on uncertainty avoidance like Brazil tend to have

low tolerance for uncertainty and avoid ambiguous

situations. Conflict and competition as threatening.

Security is valued over adventure and risk.

Masculinity-Femininity: This is a belief in

achievement and ambition (masculine), versus a belief

in nurturing and caring for others (feminine). Masculine

cultures like Brazil value achievement orientation,

material possessions and success.

High-Low Context: To communicate effectively

across cultures, the correct level of context must be

determined. This context can be labeled as high or

low on a sliding scale. High context societies, like

Brazil, have close connections among group members.

Everyone has a similar, intrinsic knowledge-base.

There is little information that is explicit. High context

cultures use more symbols and nonverbal clues

to communicate, with meaning embedded in the

situational context.


II. Brazil Culture and the Online Consumer

Brazilian Consumer Segments:

Market segmentation is an exercise in carefully identifying profitable and accessible consumer segments based on socio-demographics, geographics, and psychographics. Segmentation is unique to each company and product. Some general insights into the Brazilian consumer segments have been divided into demographic and specific consumer segments.

�Tweenagers: These consumers are between the ages of 10 – 13 and are the most profitable for marketers as they have substantial purchasing power. They are highly influenced by the media and very loyal to brand names. In addition, they are interested in a wide variety of products which include leisure, electronics, fashion and cosmetics. �Teenagers: This consumer segment is between 14 – 19 year old and represents one of the largest groups in Brazilian Society. They are responsible for purchases equaling more than $34 million dollars per year. Teenagers are extremely loyal to brand names and have a strong influence on purchasing decisions of their families and parents. They are primarily interested in technology, and products/services to enhance appearance. �Studying Age: This consumer segment is between 18 – 22 years old. Although, the level of disposable income varies between students who continue to live at home and those who attend college away from home, both groups have similar interests. Furthermore, this population represents 8-9% of the total population of Brazil. They are interested in leisure and technology products, as well as services and products that will help them to attain their education. �Young Adults: This consumer segment is between 23 – 29 and usually has just started their first job and beginning their independent lifestyle. The primary purchasing interests of this segment are household items, furniture, electrical appliances, as well as leisure and technology items. In addition, young adults usually explore and develop new interests and enjoy going out with friends to the movies, clubs and pubs. �Middle-Aged Adults: This consumer segment is aged 30 – 59 years old and usually has children. Their purchasing is usually focused on the family, which include food, travel, leisure and technology. This group is also focused on appearance and will spend income on products and services designed for enhancing beauty. �Baby Boomers: These consumers are between the 40 – 59 years old. They are settled into life, occupy key jobs, might still be supporting a family and children, and are attempting to keep up with technology trends in order to maintain their job. They are interested in technology, continuing education courses for career advancement and business-related travel. Also, they are interested in financial planning and healthcare. �Pensioners: This consumer segment is 60 years and older and is the fastest growing segment. They prefer traditional forms of payment, namely cash. Approximately 25% are responsible for maintaining a household and 68% decide on what to purchase for the family. Pensioners consider shopping to be a leisure activity and like to spend their time making choices.

Demographics Definitions

Ì Geographics: The geographical distribution of the market being analyzed. The criteria used to segment these consumers can be country, region, town, etc. For example, consumers can be segmented by residence or work. (about.com)

Ì Psychographics: The criteria used to segment consumers based on lifestyle, attitudes, personality, buying motives, and/or extent of product usage. (about.com)


Portuguese is considered a Romance language like French and Italian. Brazilian Portuguese, a dialect, is the official language of Brazil and is spoken by 154 million people. (answers.com, 2008) Brazilian Portuguese has been influenced by the languages that it displaced in Brazil, primarily in terms of vocabulary, but also in the phonology and grammar. There are words that are used today in Brazilian Portuguese that originated from the Tupi-guarani and Yoruba languages.

Unlike other Romance languages, Portuguese has maintained the stressed vowels of Vulgar Latin which make it unique. In addition, Brazilian Portuguese is written using the Latin alphabet and utilizes several accent marks. These include the circumflex accent, the grave accent, the tilde, the cedilla and the dieresis mark. There are also spelling differences between European and Brazilian Portuguese. Some examples of the differences in spelling and writing varieties are:

Language Facts/Tips

Ì Diacritics: These marks, placed above or below letters usually represent vowel sounds or other modifiers.

Ì Verb Tense: There are several verb tenses in Brazilian Portuguese that differ from European Portuguese including você and seu.

Ì Pronouns: The use of pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese is different than those of European Portuguese and the usage depends on the sentence and the use of possessive pronouns.

III. The Brazilian Portuguese Language

Portuguese Pronouns

European Portuguese

Brazilian Portuguese

Eu Canto Eu canto

Tu cantas Você canto

Ele (a) canta Ele (a) canta

Nós cantamos Nós cantamos

Vós cantais Vocês cantam

Eles(as) cantam Eles (as) cantam

Possessive Pronouns

Teu livro Your book

Seu livro Your /hi/her book

O livro dele His book

O livro dela Her book

O livro deles Their (masc.) book

O livro delas Their (fem.) book

Possessive Pronouns Brazilian Portuguese Translation

Anómíno Anômíno Anonymous

Facto Fato Fact

Ideía Idéia Idea

Direcção Direção Direction

Óptimo Ótimo Great

Frequente Freqüente Frequent

Voo Vôo flight

Quick Facts on Brazilian Portuguese

• Brazilian Portuguese Writing System• The Brazilian Portuguese Language• Brazilian Portuguese Document Translation• Brazilian Portuguese Localization

• Brazilian Portuguese Translation Services• Brazilian Portuguese Website Translation• English to Portuguese Translation


IV. Website Globalization

Whether you are trying to launch a multilingual website in order to expand the markets for your products and services, or you are trying to increase your company’s global operational efficiencies by developing multilingual extranets and intranets, Website Globalization is a requirement to make either a reality. In order to enable your web presence to communicate, conduct and complete international e-Business, you need to translate (globalize) your website.

Website translation is also known as “Website Globalization”. In order to truly “translate” a website into other languages you may need both Internationalization (I18n) and Localization (L10n) services.

Internationalization (I18n) involves enabling the backend of a website to handle different languages, character sets, currencies, submit form data, site search capabilities, etc… and involves understanding what database and content management systems you are using to author, store and publish your site’s content.

Localization (L10n) involves translating and localizing the front end of your website into different languages ensuring all content (text and graphics) is translated in an accurate and culturally correct manner.

The next two pages detail the steps that may be performed in a typical website globalization project. The tables list the team members, tasks and standard quality assurance steps utilized in translating a website.

+

7 of 16 W

ebsite Globalization and E-Business | Brazil w

ww

.globalizationpartners.com

IV. W

ebsite GlobalizationGO!

Source File Review

Project Kick-O

ff

Subject Matter

Training and Research

Glossary

Developm

ent

Cultural Correctness A

ssessment

Translation, Editing and Proofreading

Localization of all G

raphics

Formatting of

Language D

ocuments

Localization of M

ultimedia

QA

/ TestingD

elivery to Client

Final Edits and A

rchiving of FilesSEO

and Internet M

arketing

Team

Account Manager

•Project M

anager•

Localization Engineers•

Internationalization Engineers•

Web CM

S Specialists•

Web Designers

•W

eb Developers•

Global SEM Specialists

•

Account Manager

•Project M

anager•

Lead Translators•



Web CM

S Specialists•

Web Designers

•W

eb Developers•


•

Project Manager

•Lead Translators

•Editors &

Copy Writers

•

Project Manager

•Lead Translators

•Editors &

Copy Writers

•

Project Manager

•Lead Translators

•Editors &

Copy Writers

•

Project Manager

•Lead Translators

•Editors &

Copy Writers

•

Project Manager

•Lead Translators

•Editors &

Copy Writers

•Desktop Publishers

•Localization Engineers

•W

eb Designers•

Project Manager

•Lead Translators

•Editors &

Copy Writers



•W

eb Designers•

Project Manager

•Lead Translators

•Editors &

Copy Writers



•W

eb Designers•

Web Developers

•

Project Manager

•Lead Translators

•Editors &

Copy Writers


•Internationalization Engineers

•QA-Testers

•W

eb CMS Specialists

•W

eb Designers•

Web Developers

•

Project Manager

•Project M

anager•

Desktop Publishers•


Project Manager

•Lead Translators

•Global SEM

Specialists•

Tasks

Companies w

anting to translate •

their website put together all of

the source files from their site

(called a”Localization Kit”) for a globalization services provider to analyze.The files are prepared in order

•to utilize a translation m

emory

tool workflow

and preserve any m

ark-up/formatting code

in order to save time and costs

with desktop publishing the

language versions.A proposal is generated based on

•an array of factors including w

ord counts, localizable graphics, target languages and any content m

anagement system

s and w

orkflows to be used.

A Project “Kick-Off” includes •

and confirms the follow

ing:

The project team

9

Project schedules 9

Project specifications 9

Workflow

requirements

9

Comm

unication 9

channelsReview

& approval

9

opportunitiesReview

current 9

web authoring and

publishing workflow

.

A Globalization Services •

Team (GST) w

ill review/study

any reference materials

provided, including source files, dem

os and general client inform

ation.

In addition, there may be

•client-specific training for translation team

s related to the subject m

atter of the w

ebsite.

Translation teams develop

•and m

aintains client specific glossaries leveraging any existing client glossaries and the latest industry-specific dictionaries.

Before the actual translation •

begins, the source web

content and overall site design and feature set is review

ed for basic cultural correctness and custom

izations that may

be required.

An array of issues are •

reviewed ranging from

the need to culturally custom

ize graphics and adding local phone num

bers to com

prehensive customization

of website features based on

locale specific cultural values.

Translation is performed

•by a base translation/copy w

riting team, and editing/

proofreading by a second linguistic team

.

All translations are completed

•by hum

an translators, utilizing translation m

emory technologies that

ensure an efficient and consistent translation.

All embedded translatable

•text com

monly found in

navigation buttons, web art

and other web graphics are

pulled from graphics and

translated using the standard translation w

orkflow.

The translated text is then •

incorporated into the original graphic, adjusting as required, to create a language or “localized” version of the graphic.

Many w

ebsites have an array •

of linked documents w

hich may

require localization.

Formatting or desktop publishing (DTP)

•of these docum

ents includes formatting

the target language documentation to

match the original source docum

ents in term

s of layout, fonts, graphics, and overall design.

Adobe PDF’s can be created and •

optimized for screen or print and linked

off of the new w

ebsite.

Many w

ebsites incorporate various •

multim

edia components w

hich may


Multim

edia must be analyzed

•individually for num

erous items. These

items range from

determining w

ord counts in screen text, audio scripts and graphics, to the analysis of the types of assets and how

they were digitized and

included in your multim

edia.

All multim

edia can be localized and •

tested to play in any target languages.

GPI provides basic Online Localization •

Quality Assurance (QA) as a standard line item

for all website projects.

This QA checks the language versions •

of your site under selected browser-OS

combination for any cosm

etic or linguistic issues, and w

ill help identity basic functionality issues as w

ell.

Typically all testing is client-driven and •

GPI’s professionals can work side by

side with your expert users to perform

Internationalization (I18N

), Localization (L10N

) and/or Functionality Testing, onsite or offsite.

After the website and all com

ponents •

have been localized, final draft sets of the source files in all target language versions are provided to the client.

Client may review

and approve all web

•content for both translation accuracy and design correctness.

Another round of QA is performed once

•language versions of a w

ebsite are in their final hosting environm

ent

Client provides any final comm

ents for •

the translation and formatting.

Comm

ents are incorporated and final •

websites and docum

ents are produced.

GPI ensures the client’s Translation •

Mem

ories and Glossaries are updated w

ith any final linguistic changes and the final project folder, including all source files are securely stored for future revisions if required.

GPI recomm

ends the client plan on and •

conduct some form

of global internet m

arketing (IM) and/or search engine

marketing (SEM

) in order to drive traffic to your new

language sites.

This may include global search engine

•optim

ization of the localized web

content, submission of pages to key

country (locale) search engines and pay-per-click m

arketing campaigns

through services like Google AdWords

or Overture.

Quality Assurance

GPI follows a com

prehensive, custom

izable and fully docum

ented Quality Control Process. Each step in our translation w

orkflow includes

a series of checklist-based quality audits to ensure the accuracy of the translation and desktop publishing. Our client’s QA and w

orkflow processes can also be easily

incorporated into our workflow

.

Clients are given an opportunity to review

and approve at several stages in the docum

entation translation process.




Clients are given an opportunity to review and

approve at several stages in the documentation

translation process.




8 of 16 W

ebsite Globalization and E-Business | Brazil w

ww

.globalizationpartners.com

IV. W

ebsite Globalization

GO!

Source File Review

Project Kick-O

ff

Subject Matter

Training and Research

Glossary

Developm

ent

Cultural Correctness A

ssessment

Translation, Editing and Proofreading

Localization of all G

raphics

Formatting of

Language D

ocuments

Localization of M

ultimedia

QA

/ TestingD

elivery to Client

Final Edits and A

rchiving of FilesSEO

and Internet M

arketing

Team

Account Manager

•Project M

anager•



Web CM

S Specialists•

Web Designers

•W

eb Developers•


•

Account Manager

•Project M

anager•

Lead Translators•



Web CM

S Specialists•

Web Designers

•W

eb Developers•


•

Project Manager

•Lead Translators

•Editors &

Copy Writers

•

Project Manager

•Lead Translators

•Editors &

Copy Writers

•

Project Manager

•Lead Translators

•Editors &

Copy Writers

•

Project Manager

•Lead Translators

•Editors &

Copy Writers

•

Project Manager

•Lead Translators

•Editors &

Copy Writers



•W

eb Designers•

Project Manager

•Lead Translators

•Editors &

Copy Writers



•W

eb Designers•

Project Manager

•Lead Translators

•Editors &

Copy Writers



•W

eb Designers•

Web Developers

•

Project Manager

•Lead Translators

•Editors &

Copy Writers


•Internationalization Engineers

•QA-Testers

•W

eb CMS Specialists

•W

eb Designers•

Web Developers

•

Project Manager

•Project M

anager•

Desktop Publishers•


Project Manager

•Lead Translators

•Global SEM

Specialists•

Tasks

Companies w

anting to translate •

their website put together all of

the source files from their site

(called a”Localization Kit”) for a globalization services provider to analyze.The files are prepared in order

•to utilize a translation m

emory

tool workflow

and preserve any m

ark-up/formatting code

in order to save time and costs

with desktop publishing the

language versions.A proposal is generated based on

•an array of factors including w

ord counts, localizable graphics, target languages and any content m

anagement system

s and w

orkflows to be used.

A Project “Kick-Off” includes •

and confirms the follow

ing:

The project team

9

Project schedules 9

Project specifications 9

Workflow

requirements

9

Comm

unication 9

channelsReview

& approval

9

opportunitiesReview

current 9

web authoring and

publishing workflow

.

A Globalization Services •

Team (GST) w

ill review/study

any reference materials

provided, including source files, dem

os and general client inform

ation.

In addition, there may be

•client-specific training for translation team

s related to the subject m

atter of the w

ebsite.

Translation teams develop

•and m

aintains client specific glossaries leveraging any existing client glossaries and the latest industry-specific dictionaries.

Before the actual translation •

begins, the source web

content and overall site design and feature set is review

ed for basic cultural correctness and custom

izations that may

be required.

An array of issues are •

reviewed ranging from

the need to culturally custom

ize graphics and adding local phone num

bers to com

prehensive customization

of website features based on

locale specific cultural values.

Translation is performed

•by a base translation/copy w

riting team, and editing/

proofreading by a second linguistic team

.

All translations are completed

•by hum

an translators, utilizing translation m

emory technologies that

ensure an efficient and consistent translation.

All embedded translatable

•text com

monly found in

navigation buttons, web art

and other web graphics are

pulled from graphics and

translated using the standard translation w

orkflow.

The translated text is then •

incorporated into the original graphic, adjusting as required, to create a language or “localized” version of the graphic.

Many w

ebsites have an array •

of linked documents w

hich may


Formatting or desktop publishing (DTP)

•of these docum

ents includes formatting

the target language documentation to

match the original source docum

ents in term

s of layout, fonts, graphics, and overall design.

Adobe PDF’s can be created and •

optimized for screen or print and linked

off of the new w

ebsite.

Many w

ebsites incorporate various •

multim

edia components w

hich may


Multim

edia must be analyzed

•individually for num

erous items. These

items range from

determining w

ord counts in screen text, audio scripts and graphics, to the analysis of the types of assets and how

they were digitized and

included in your multim

edia.

All multim

edia can be localized and •

tested to play in any target languages.

GPI provides basic Online Localization •

Quality Assurance (QA) as a standard line item

for all website projects.

This QA checks the language versions •

of your site under selected browser-OS

combination for any cosm

etic or linguistic issues, and w

ill help identity basic functionality issues as w

ell.

Typically all testing is client-driven and •

GPI’s professionals can work side by

side with your expert users to perform

Internationalization (I18N

), Localization (L10N

) and/or Functionality Testing, onsite or offsite.

After the website and all com

ponents •

have been localized, final draft sets of the source files in all target language versions are provided to the client.

Client may review

and approve all web

•content for both translation accuracy and design correctness.

Another round of QA is performed once

•language versions of a w

ebsite are in their final hosting environm

ent

Client provides any final comm

ents for •

the translation and formatting.

Comm

ents are incorporated and final •

websites and docum

ents are produced.

GPI ensures the client’s Translation •

Mem

ories and Glossaries are updated w

ith any final linguistic changes and the final project folder, including all source files are securely stored for future revisions if required.

GPI recomm

ends the client plan on and •

conduct some form

of global internet m

arketing (IM) and/or search engine

marketing (SEM

) in order to drive traffic to your new

language sites.

This may include global search engine

•optim

ization of the localized web

content, submission of pages to key

country (locale) search engines and pay-per-click m

arketing campaigns

through services like Google AdWords

or Overture.

Quality Assurance

GPI follows a com

prehensive, custom

izable and fully docum

ented Quality Control Process. Each step in our translation w

orkflow includes

a series of checklist-based quality audits to ensure the accuracy of the translation and desktop publishing. Our client’s QA and w

orkflow processes can also be easily

incorporated into our workflow

.














0

50

100

001050

Unc

erta

inty

Avo

idan

ce In

dex

Masculinity - Femininity Index

Masculinity - Femininity vs. Uncertainty Avoidance

Arab World Argen�na Australia Austria BrazilCanada Chile China Colombia Costa RicaCzech Republic Czech Republic Denmark East Africa EcuadorEl Salvador Finland France Germany GreeceGuatemala Hong Kong Hungary India IndonesiaIran Ireland Israel Italy JamaicaJapan Malaysia Mexico Netherlands New ZealandNorway Pakistan Panama Peru PhilippinesPoland Portugal Russia Singapore South AfricaSouth Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland TaiwanThailand Turkey U.S. Hispanic Market United Arab Emirates United KingdomUnited States Uruguay Venezuela West Africa

0

50

100

001050

Indi

vidu

alis

m -

Colle

c�vi

sm In

dex

Power Distance Index

Power Distance vs. Individualism - Collec�vism

Arab World Argen�na Australia Austria BelgiumBrazil Canada Chile China ColombiaColombia Costa Rica Czech Republic Denmark East AfricaEl Salvador Finland France Germany GuatemalaHungary Hong Kong India Indonesia IrelandIran Israel Italy Jamaica JapanMalaysia Mexico Netherlands New Zealand NorwayPakistan Panama Peru Philippines PolandPortugal Russia Singapore South Africa South KoreaSpain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan TurkeyU.S. Hispanic Market United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States UruguayVenezuela West Africa

Tables and section based on the book, “The Culturally Customized Website: Customizing Web Sites for the Global Marketplace” – by Nitish Singh and Arun Pereira. Cultural maps are from Hofstede, Geert. Culture’s Consequences, Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organization Across Nations Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2001)

Cultural Customization: Key Issues

The basis for cultural customization of websites is a theoretically-sound, empirically-validated framework built on five unique cultural values that account for similarities and differences across global cultures. Research studies indicate that attitude towards websites, interactivity and usability of web sites, as well as purchase intentions at web sites are enhanced when sites are congruent with the target customers’ cultural predispositions.

The cultural customization framework is drawn from established research and is based on five unique values: Individualism-Collectivism, Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Masculinity-Femininity, and Low-High Context. (See page 4 of this report)

These five predominant country cultural values can be represented in comparison to other countries using the maps below:

V. Brazilian Cultural Correctness and Web Customization

Ì Brazil

Ì Brazil

Cultural Maps for Brazil


The Cultural Customization Scorecard

Once we have identified the country’s predominant cultural values using the cultural maps, the next step is to evaluate the website on the relevant cultural values. This can be done using the Cultural Customization Scorecard. The scorecard is produced by analyzing the site on the features that conform to the cultural values of that market The cultural values for Brazil are Collectivism, Masculinity, High Context, Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance. These are carefully derived based on the cultural distinctions that are meaningful to the members of a given society.

The cultural values of interest for the Brazil are Collectivism, Masculinity, High Context, Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance. These are carefully derived based on the cultural distinctions that are meaningful to the members of a given society. (For a detailed cultural analysis of your web site please contact [email protected])

The Cultural Customization Scorecard™ - Brazil

Values Individualism Collectivism Uncertainty Avoidance

Power Distance

Masculinity Low Context

High Context

Cultural Scores

Cultural Customization (Examples)

Â Collectivism: Brazil is a collectivist culture. Websites may be culturally customized by emphasizing collective themes like family and community. For example, Häagen-Dazs has a section entitled, “Imprensa” in which they feature pictures of their customers enjoying Häagen-Dazs at their own social gatherings.

ÂMasculinity – Femininity: Brazil is a masculine culture. There are numerous ways that masculinity can be depicted on a website, including highlighting achievement orientation, success, product durability, as well as adventure and fun. For example, Colgate has a colorful page that is dedicated to their special promotions.

V. Brazilian Cultural Correctness and Web Customization

Grading Scale:

> 90% Excellent Customization on Cultural Value

70-89% Good Customization on Cultural Value

< 70% Poor Customization on Cultural Value


Â High-Low Context: When customizing a site for a high-context culture like Brazil, elements like harmony and aesthetics should be considered.t For example, LG emphasizes harmony on their website in their choice of colors and images. Furthermore, on their Brazilian website they have a special multimedia section on “experience LG”. This is an interactive section which enables the user to choose different multimedia commercials and advertisements, giving them a unique experience.

Â Power Distance: Brazil scores high on Power Distance. Some ways to customize a site for this value is to highlight awards and honors that the company, its employees or brand has received. For example, Colgate has a page dedicated to their executive management team containing a professional picture and brief biography of each member.

Â Uncertainty Avoidance: As Brazil is a very risk-averse society, it is important to reduce risk, anxiety and uncertainty that these consumers might have shopping online. For example, Motorola Brazil has the product features of the phone clearly listed along with a picture of the product so the consumer knows exactly what they are buying. Stating the company’s business practices and offering online or live customer support are other ways to build online shopping confidence.

V. Brazil Cultural Correctness and Web Customization


Web Site Customization Considerations

Symbols and Icons

There are many symbols and icons that carry special cultural meaning in Brazil. It is important to be aware of them to avoid inappropriate use or cultural blunder.

Some examples:

LThe Fig: This is a good luck sign that is made by placing the thumb between the index and middle fingers while making a fist. It is also considered a national symbol of Brazil.

LHandkerchiefs: In the Brazilian culture, handkerchiefs symbolize grief and mourning, especially when given to a person.

LBad Luck: It is considered bad luck to walk under a ladder. In addition, it is considered bad luck to either cross paths with a black cat or to see a black cat through the rungs of a ladder.

LMoney: If a purse or wallet is left on the floor, the owner’s money will disappear. If sugar is put in the cup before coffee or tea, the person will become rich. If lentils are eaten on January 1st, the person will make good money throughout the next year.

LVulgar Symbols: The O.K. sign made by a circle of the first finger and thumb is considered a vulgar symbol.

Colors

In Brazil, certain colors carry specific meaning and symbolize aspects of their culture.

� Purple: The color of mourning � Black: The color of mourning, grief or formality � Red: Strength, reliability, happiness and prosperity




Spatial Orientation:

Spatial Orientation means how the web content is structured. According to Barber and Badre (1998), spatial orientation has a direct effect on website usability because it effects the visual perception. The spatial orientation for Brazil needs to take into account the complex usage of accent marks so that they are clearly displayed. They prefer a clear, concise navigation that clearly shows products. In addition, the navigation bars should be detailed, with “fly-out” navigational menus. Both the top and left navigation panes should be utilized.

Text Length:

When translating a document or website, it is important to take into account how the length of the text will change after translation. There are a variety of reasons why text expansion occurs. Equivalent phrases in a target language may have more characters or words than in English, and some cultures prefer using a more formal style than other cultures, avoiding abbreviations, for example. Additionally, for both documents and websites both line and page breaks may be different in the localized version than in the English version. Finally, the layout of the document or website itself may change depending on the direction of the text. For example, Arabic is a bi-directional language and is read right-to-left, which will not only switch the layout of the text, but also the graphics, the tool bars, the navigation bars, and the binding of the book, etc... Similarly, some languages like Chinese and Japanese can be displayed either in left-to-right character rows or vertical character columns, and the choice influences how document elements such as graphics, figures, tables, call outs, etc. are arranged in the final document or webpage.

There can either be text expansion or compression when a document or website is translated from English into a target language. For example, Portuguese can expand up to 35% when translated from English. With document localization, there are several steps that can be taken to help preserve the integrity of the look and feel “layout” of the document. These include:

LUsing a larger font in the original language, if it is expected the language will expand during translation. This will help to develop a better feel for the final size of the document and how the document elements will be laid out relative to the text. If the text is expected to shrink, use a slightly smaller font for the same reasons. L Tables and graphics may need to be resized or changed. Some, like the vertical Chinese or Japanese layout, will require more finessing than others.


The key to promoting a website internationally is to create localized content, localized keywords, register local domain names and then promote it through local search engines, affiliate marketing, online and offline branding and positions.

A search engine marketing campaign for Brazil should be multi-dimensional, including not only localized organic search content, but also localized pay-per-click campaign advertisements. Furthermore, landing pages in Brazilian Portuguese can be a useful tool in an overall search engine marketing strategy.

Long-term search engine marketing plans should include the use of keywords in both Brazilian Portuguese and English. Brazilian Portuguese may be the primary language of business in Brazil, but many Brazilian internet users visit English language websites for content.

The top level domain in Brazil is .br. Other domains that are popular in Brazil are .com, .org, .net, .info, and .biz. It is advisable to have a local legal representative if a non-Brazilian company would like to obtain a local domain, such as .com.br. The domain needs to be registered at registro.br.

VI. Internet and Search Engine Marketing for Brazil

Brazil Commerce Payment Options

Brazilians prefer to have multiple payment options when purchasing online. It is advisable to include credit card and Boleto (a local bank invoicing system), instead of the standard PayPal.

Ì Banco de Brazil Ì Banco Itaú Ì Caixa Econômica Federal Ì Banco Bradesco Ì ABN Amro Real Ì Unibanco Ì Santander Banespa Ì Banca Safra Ì HSBC Ì Votorantim

Most Popular Search Engines

(www.seowarrior.net/title-search-engines-in-south-america’s-biggest-country-brazil)

Ì Google Brazil (http://Google.com.br) Ì MSN (http://Br.MSN.com) Ì Yahoo! (http://Br.Yahoo.com) Ì Aonde (http://aonde.com) Ì Achei (http://www.achei.com.br)

Most Popular Brazil Online Product Purchases

(www.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/fashion/10iht-ronline.html)

Ì Home appliances Ì Books/magazine & newspaper subscriptions

Ì Health/beauty/medicine products Ì Computer products Ì Consumer electronics

It is recommended that firms plan on and conduct some form of global search engine marketing (SEM) in order to drive traffic to their new language sites.

This may include global search engine optimization of your localized Web content, submission of pages to key country (locale) search engines, and a pay-per-click marketing campaigns through services like Google Adwords or Overture.

For more information on Global SEM Services, see www.globalizationpartners.com/SEM

Americanas.com.br utilizes a layout that is easily navigated by utilizing the contrasting colors of red and white to separate the navigation panes from their commerce section. In addition, their commerce section clearly displays the items by type, – showing a brief product description with price. Additional information is available, if the item is clicked on.

References available upon request.


Search Engines

Resources

ßGuiaWeb www.guiaweb.com

ßAonde (Portugese) www.aonde.com

ßArgos www.argos.com.br

ßBoibaeo (Portugese) www.boibao.com.br

ßBrazil Crawler www.brazilcrawler.com

ßBrazil Studies Guide www.umich.edu/~port150

ßBrazilis www.brazilis.com.br

ßBuscador www.uol.com.br/busca

ßBuscapique www.buscapique.com/busqueda

ßBuscar www.buscar.com.br

ßBusca Site www.buscasite.com.br

ßDMOZ dmoz.org/Regional/South_America/Brazil

ßGigabusca (Portugese) www.gigabusca.com.br

ßGuiaweb www.guiaweb.com

ßGoogle Brazil www.google.com.br

ßOndeir www.ondeir.com.br

ßOndeachar www.ondeachar.com.br

ß Ponteiro www.ponteiro.com

ßRadaruol www.radaruol.com.br

ß Terra www.terra.com.br/busca

ß Todobr www.todobr.com.br

ßUOL www.uol.com.br/erros/index.htm

ßYahoo! Brazil dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Brazil

ß Zarp www.zarp.net

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Resources

Useful Links

ßDelta Translator www.deltatranslator.com/delta/accents_.htm ßOrbilat: Brazilian Portuguese Grammar www.orbilat.com/Languages/Portuguese-Brazilian/Brazilian-Grammar.htm ß Languages on the Web: Brazilian Portuguese www.lonweb.org/link-brasilian.htm ß Topics Magazine: Brazilian Superstitions www.topics-mag.com/internatl/superstitions/brazil.htm ßWikipedia: Brazilian Culture en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Brazil ßBrazil Search Engines www.philb.com/cse/brazil.htm ß Internet World Stats - Brazil www.internetworldstats.com/south.htm ß Internet Law Library - Brazil www.lawmoose.com/index.cfm?Action=SearchEngine.Search&New=Yes&CKS=WorldLaw ßViva Brazil www.vivabrazil.com ßCIA World Factbook - Brazil https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html ß InfoPlease - Brazil www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107357.html ß Lonely Planet - Brazil www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107357.html ßGeographia - Brazil www.geographia.com/brazil/ ß The Library of Congress, Country Studies: Brazil lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/brtoc.html ßBBC News, Country Profile: Brazil news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/country_profiles/1227110.stm

ßU.S. State Department - Brazil www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35640.htm ß Economist.com, Country Briefings: Brazil www.economist.com/countries/Brazil ßGSM World - Brazil www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_br.shtml ßBrazil: Virtual Tour www.v-brazil.com ß Top Web Application in Brazil www.readwriteweb.com/archives/top_web_apps_in_brazil.php ßBrazzil Magazine www.brazzil.com ßWorld Travel Guide: Brazil www.worldtravelguide.net/country/39/country_guide/South-America/Brazil.html ßWorld Newspapers - Brazil www.world-newspapers.com/brazil.html ßGringoes www.gringoes.com ß Info Brazil www.infobrazil.com ßBusy Trade - Brazil brazil.busytrade.com ßBrazil Facts brazil.busytrade.com ß Portals of the World - Brazil www.loc.gov/rr/international/hispanic/brazil/brazil.html ßCountry Studies - Brazil countrystudies.us/brazil ß Internet Public Library - Brazil www.ipl.org/div/news/browse/BR ß ICL - Brazil www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/br__indx.html

ßDoing Business - Brazil www.doingbusiness.org/ExploreEconomies/?economyid=28 ßBrazil Internet Access Providers herbison.com/iap_meta_list/iap_meta_list_br.html ß Export.gov - Brazil Internet E-Commerce FAQ www.export.gov/sellingonline/Internet_Environment/Brazil.asp ß Linked Words: Brazil SEO Marketing www.linkedwords.com/local-search/local.php?REQ=Brazil%20SEO%20internet%20marketing ßSun Microsystems: Brazil Project research.sun.com/brazil ßBrazil Travel www.v-brazil.com/science/internet.html ßWikipedia: Internet in Brazil en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_in_Brazil

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