Revista da ESPM - JUL-AGO-2011

ABSTRACTS english R E V I S T A D A E S P M – julho / agosto de 2011 136 Who discovered the new Brazilian middle class? ALFREDO PASSOS PAGE 22 The low income population became C Class, and is now “Middle Class”. What has changed? Income increased, credit increased, but which are the references in products and business services for those customers? The pioneers in the offering of goods and services for that segment of the Brazilian population are not only market leaders but became the references for other business models. Many companies still do not know how to communicate with that target group. Com- panies which are accustomed to talk to the A and B social classes, that is, the richest target groups, now have to address the formerly poor, and do not know how to do it. Thus, a lot of research, studies, and “observing the neighbor” became the best option for those seeking to “talk to the middle class”. Class C: now it’s my turn! CECÍLIA MATTOSO PAGE 30 Now it’s the turn of the C Class! It’s an emerging class that says it despises brands, and cares only for prices but, in practice, is very loyal to brands. A study on evangelical and catholic families shows that the evangelicals are more saving conscious, less subject to what is fashionable, and a lot more entrepreneurial, and planning minded. In relation to the morality associated to “having a bad name” – that is, not being good payers – it can be seen that the D Class population talks about it quite naturally, but members of the C Class were very embarrassed when they admitted having a “bad name”. C Class members display happiness when they are able to enjoy acquiring certain products for the first time. It can be said that, in fact, consumption placed this part of the population in the eyes of the other members of the society. He who enjoys poverty is an intellectual FÁBIO MARIANO PAGE 34 The new middle class is the main battleground for competing companies. Several companies still bet that the lower classes fear and reject products that mean ascent and prominence. On the other hand, companies believe that the consumption habits of the new middle class are guided by reproducing values and behaviors of the upper classes. In fact, the new middle class consists of a mass in transition between economic groups, but mainly in transition between values. Thus, the question: which values are kept, which are abandoned, and which are acquired? The article discusses this recent moving of the new middle class, and points out some of the new values of the group. Will the new C Class go to paradise? CARLOS ALBERTO MESSEDER AND PATRÍCIA REIS PAGE 48 Our objective in this article is to analyze, and discuss the complex process of social climbing that is rapidly bringing social segments to new consumption and sociability spaces from which they have been kept away for many years. Those new emerging segments – the C Class, the new Middle Class – invest growing amounts in information, and education, thus interfering in the traditional definition of citizenship. At the same time, we aim at understanding not only the impact of the presence of these new segments in the production and consumption market but, above all, the consequences already well visible in the field of marketing communication strategies that companies are developing to move those groups. What if… the C Class lear- ned how to manage risks... ADRIANO MALUF AMUI PAGE 60 C Class consumption has increased significantly thanks to its economic growth resulting from a warmed up economy that, on the one hand, generates full employment conditions, and on the other provides financial stability. In doing so, this class may, nevertheless, become the victim of anxiety and decontrol, often consuming in excess or becoming vulnerable to unexpected events. It’s in dealing with problems such as the management of the imponderable (death, ceased earnings, and fails in acquired products) that the offer of the so-called micro- insurances becomes a new vector of economic activity and, supported by available sales channels, compatible costs, and tangible benefits, definitely enters the consumption agenda of the emerging classes Brazilians. More imported products and less jobs EDMIR KUAZAQUI PAGE 68 This emerging market, categorized as C Class, has incorporated part of the lower income segment, possesses distinct characteristics and needs that burden, in the short term, the production of Brazilian companies, forcing them to opt for importing basic, semi-manufactured, and manufactured products, in order to preserve their share of the market, and return on investments. This fact is, actually, part of a trend in worldwide economic transformation, and is due to a series of irregular actions by the Brazilian government in dealing with short term political needs.