Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Courtesy of

By Peter Smith, brand manager, Alicorp


Masstige: a word used to refer to a massive and at the same time prestigious product, even if it may sound like a contradiction. This new and interesting marketing tendency is awakening the interest of businessmen that face the continuous challenge of positioning products to maximize the impact on the consumer.

Business psychology, and especially that which involves decision making by the potential client, is a subject that absorbs all marketers. With the objective of identifying trends in the psychology of decision making of the American consumer, the marketing specialists of the Boston Consulting Group, Michael Silverstein and Neil Fiske, have conducted extensive studies since 1998, and identified an emerging profile of consumption that they baptized as “masstige.” The word derives from “mass” and “prestige,” and has been described as prestige for the masses.

Info provided and translated by the
American Chamber of Commerce of Peru (AmCham Peru)

Info provided and translated by the
American Chamber of Commerce of Peru (AmCham Peru)

Info provided and translated by the
American Chamber of Commerce of Peru (AmCham Peru)

(By Jacqueline Saettone, translated Joe Lara)

Andy Warhol, the famous American artist who converted common consumer products and pop icons into art, knew how to cultivate and sustain his reputation throughout his career. When he died in 1987, his patrimony was valued at US$700 million. However, that figured dramatically reduced to US$220 million just six years later.

What happened?

In the years following Warhol’s death there was a major economic recession and Warhol’s reputation deteriorated so much that his patrimony was reduced to the price of his art.

Picasso’s case was different. His art was valued somewhere between US$500,000 and US$800,000 in the early 80s. In 1993, after having faced the same economic recession as Andy Warhol, his art was estimated to be valued between US$2 million and US$3 million. Why was there such a difference?

One of the reasons for Picasso’s surge in value was that there was a systematic effort to improve Picasso’s image. An art collector who owned 88 different Picasso pieces hired Sotheby’s, the famous auction house, to help sell off his collection.

Sotheby’s, looking to grab the attention of potential buyers worldwide, organized a tour featuring the 88 Picasso pieces. The tour stopped in every major art hub in the world. Knowledge and demand consequently increased, as well as the prices collectors were willing to pay.

The same thing is true for organizations, companies, and even countries. Naturally, the process is much more complex than the previously mentioned examples, but the principles are pretty much the same.

Courtesy of

(By Marcos Wieland, Partner, Biztank Consulting)

Marketing is usually associated with consumer product companies. Nonetheless, for professional service companies (PSCs) - consulting firms, law firms, auditing, design, and publicity companies, etc. - the decision to adopt this practice shouldn't take a back seat. PSCs should understand the essence of marketing, how to adapt to it and, especially, its impact on profits.

The subject of marketing has always existed: presenting a proposal with value to a group of clients so that it is profitable and sustainable has been and continues to be the reason for any company or business to exist.

To the extent that marketing has been evolving, the understanding of formal marketing and its value for the organization became generalized. From being seen as only appropriate for companies of mass consumption goods (B2C), marketing is now also being valued by companies in other sectors in which the client is not necessarily an individual.