Summary: -Unlike first world big city newspapers that are crashing and burning daily, Latin dailies are still the undisputed marketing and advertising kings of the region. Old fashioned newsprint hasn’t been killed by the internet yet- only because of such low internet penetration (between 15-20% and slowly rising) in the home. That’s another great example of the “lag time effect” and it also spells great opportunities for us expats. -As you page through the Latin daily newspapers you can’t help but notices full page ads for supersized 50 grand and up SUV’s on steroids like Ford Suburbans, Yukons and Chevy Tahoes. For many reasons, they’re beyond ridiculous to have down here. So, if dealers place full page ads there must be a nice market for them, right?. But who’s stupid enough to throw good money away like that? (Hint; it’s not expats or even rich narcos) - Some excellent first steps expats and wanabees might want to take on the road to becoming anonymous, nearly anonymous or just basically unobtrusive (it’s all part of the universal expat code) -Even smart, educated, Latins have a terrible ego problems combined with self esteem issues. They want to keep up with the Jones so badly that nothing will stop them (if they have the dough or the credit) from making outright stupid purchases like SUV’s, Rolexes, blackberries and smart phones. Not even the occasional robbery and assault will stop feckless Latins from displaying that they can afford to have the latest first world things. Even so, being Latins, they are never quite up to speed with our US trends. For example, they haven’t yet figured out that Blackberries are actually passé. - I’ve put together a mixed media program specifically for expats and wanabees called the 'New 5 Flags'. Just head over immediately to ExpatWisdom.com and get all the details. I promise you won’t be disappointed. -Follow the link on the main page at www.expatwisdom.com to schedule a consultation with me. If you want to discuss the details of living, working, playing, doing business and/or retiring in Latin America, now you and I can talk about your situation one on one. -MY JANUARY 2013 LATIN AMERICAN SEMINAR IS NOW OPEN FOR REGISTRATION: Folks who are interested in my Expat Wisdom “immersion” seminar should go to www.ExpatWisdom.com to get complete details.
