Brazil: coffee branding – relationship between product’s attributes and consumers’

ABSTRACT
This paper aims to evidence the cognitive structure of values of customers of regional brand
from the South of Minas Gerais and Triângulo Mineiro regions. It aimed to identify
perceptions about attributes, consequences, values and connections among these elements
through a hierarchical map of values (HVM). The laddering technique helped in the
collection, analysis and interpretation of field data. Thirty four in depth interviews were
conducted in 7 retail stores, from the cities of Uberlândia and Lavras, in 2008. Results show
that the brand’s regional aspect consists in a buying determinant. The HVM shows that
personal values, such as: well-being and self-accomplishment might be reached through
attributes perceived in the brands. Such perception is shown, mainly, in the chains which
originate in the attributes: ‘from the region’, ‘sensorial characteristics’, ‘pure food’ and
‘cheaper product’. These chains may bring important orientations to marketing practice in
such industry.
Keywords: Regional brands; attributes; values; laddering.
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