Sorrell: This is the decade of Latin America

Latin American consumers, business and media are critical to marketers' long-term growth, Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of holding company WPP Group, said at the “Brasil Inc 2011” event in New York on Sept. 20.

“This decade ... [is] very much the decade of Latin America, very much conditioned by Brazil,” he said.

Brazil will generate an estimated $700 million in revenue for WPP this year, including $100 million in digital marketing revenue, Sorrell said. WPP in June acquired two Brazilian digital agencies, F.biz and Gringo.

Sorrell also focused on Brazil's status as one of the BRIC countries, alongside Russia, India and China. “What we're seeing is an opportunity for greater concentration and effort and investment in the BRICs,” he said.

People in the U.S. and British marketing industries should not underestimate the capabilities of BRIC agencies, Sorrell said. BRIC agencies are “at least of equal talent” and that companies in the industry need to harness the local talent to build their businesses in those countries," he said. 

“I find American and British creatives particularly arrogant in this area,” he said. “They point at immaturity or the beginnings of economic growth and say that creatively countries such as China or Brazil or Russia lack sophistication. I think that's completely wrong.”