Even the best-known global brands reflect local realities
Claudia Navarro (MBA鈥03) is Coca-Cola鈥檚 Chief of Marketing for Latin America, but her climb through the company鈥檚 ranks started out at their Toronto office. 鈥淲e need to be part of the global conversation, but also be relevant locally,鈥 Navarro told Forbes Espanol. One example is the brand鈥檚 famous Christmas branding. The Atlanta-headquartered soda company famously copyrighted the stereotypically ruddy and white-bearded Santa Claus, but in Latin America, that image is 鈥榯ropicalized鈥 to better reflect local realities. 鈥淲e want to encourage acts of kindness that generate a multiplier effect,鈥 she says. 鈥淲e live in tense times and have lost the ability to empathize. With our Christmas activities, we want to awaken the Christmas spirit and the Santa Claus in each of us鈥.