Beyond the BRICs: A Closing Remark

The final chapter “Beyond the BRICs” summarizes the major learnings and key take-aways from this book. First, the dependence of international corporations on emerging markets has never been as strong as it is today, and there is much evidence that local market factors and local consumption contexts matter as a basis for brand success. Therefore, companies that adjust their positioning, product offering, communication, pricing and distribution adequately to the local context can expect a strategic competitive advantage. However, this adjustment should not be confused with “localization” of brands because in many cases foreign brands should intentionally be positioned as foreign brands with a local touch. There is much evidence that up to a certain point, foreign or global brand positioning is superior in the eyes of the majority of emerging market consumers. A strong foreign brand creates differentiation potential and pricing power and is one of the very few competitive advantages that can be sustained. However, a Western-dominated view of the world will be increasingly challenged and the BRICs, the MINTs, the N-11 and the thriving nations in Africa like Ghana are just too interesting to be ignored. The current digitalization of business and marketing will also contribute to a broader view. As more data is collected, this does not only create more complexity, but over time it will help us to understand more about local customer demands and local marketing contexts outside Europe and the U.S.. As a result, the individual demands of consumers in large emerging markets are likely to be better fulfilled in the years to come.