online marketing psychology

March 3, 2010

Brands of Brazil: Vale


Vale, the next in our Brands of Brazil series, has already conquered the world. It is the second biggest mining company in the world.

They are digging up iron ore, copper, nickel, coal and other products all over the world. However the main part of their revenue is generated in Asia.

Vale is also active in logistics and energy, it owns a serious railway and harbor infrastructure and a couple of electricity plants. These activities are meant to allow the company to keep the costs low and diversify the risks of the commodities.

At the moment they are still involved in other operations like steel production. But the aim is to build off these activities and focus on mining.

the brand


In 2007 Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) changed its name to Vale.  A re-branding operation that was accompanied by an investment of $50 million to increase familiarity with the new name and the logo. The name refers to the origin of the company, located in the valley of the Rio Doce river. The logo also reflects the valley.

Because Vale is mainly active on the commodities market, their products are not branded.

Their main brand is the corporate one: Vale


Advertising

Although it is a B2B company, the company advertises a lot to the consumer. These ads appear in newspapers and on TV.

And they don't limit themselves to the Brazilian market. Check this ad featuring football player Ronaldo that aired in China.

The main focus of these ads is on brand building and informing the public what it is that Vale does. The message that is that they are massively investing in the future of Brazil.

One of these investment lead to the creation of the Vale Institute of Technology at the Federal University of ParĂ¡.  The institute has a budget of R$4 million (about €1.6 million) to distribute among researchers masters and doctorates.

The research topics do not only concern engineering but also other disciplines: computer science, aquatic ecology and neuroscience among others.

The invested money, and television spots to make the public aware of this institute, enhances the image of the company. While a company like this, active in such traditional industry, could easily have the reputation of being boring, an initiative like these shows that innovation is important for the company.

Follow this link to discover more Brands of Brazil.

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