MEXICO CITY: After a difficult 2017 when Latin American brands saw a 22% decline in their total brand value, the region has bounced back in 2018 with overall brand value growing by 18% to $130.8bn.

That is according to the latest BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Latin American Brands report, from WPP and Kantar, which notes that Mexico is home to at least a third (35%) of the total ranking value in the region.

Now in its sixth year, the report found Brazil to be a close second with 34% of the total brand value, followed by Chile (16%) and Colombia (7%).

Corona, the Mexican beer brand that is sold in more than 180 countries, topped this year’s ranking with a brand valuation of $8.29bn, which edged it past Skol, the Brazilian beer brand owned by AB InBev ($8.26bn).

The other brands making it into this year’s top ten are the Brazilian banks Bradesco ($7.01bn) and Itaú ($6.19bn); Mexican telecoms group Telcel ($6.05bn); Chilean retailer Falabella ($5.37bn); Brazilian beer brand Brahma ($4.47bn); Brazilian TV network Globo ($4.31bn), which is the highest new entry; Colombian beer brand Aguila ($3.92bn) and Mexican discount retailer Bodega Aurrera ($3.75bn).

According to the BrandZ report, its top ten shows that local financial institutions are performing strongly, but also that parent multinationals – AB InBev owns three of the four beer brands – are investing in their “local characteristics”, enabling them to boost brand value.

In addition, the report stated that “Latin American brands have also benefited from a strong affinity and pride among local consumers for brands from the region, as they believe they better understand their emotional needs”.

“Latin American brands have an in-depth understanding of their local consumers,” said Eduardo Tomiya, managing director of Kantar’s BrandAnalytics in South America.

“The speed at which they can tap into local consumers’ needs with good products and strong marketing campaigns has made many of them more successful and relevant in the region than their global counterparts,” he added. “As a result, Latin Americans have great respect and pride in these brands.”

Sourced from BrandZ; additional content by WARC staff