Brazil’s image as a social representation process

The image people have regarding products' countries of origin can influence their attitudes toward these products or brands. The aim of the present study is to analyze Brazil's image in light of the social representation theory, considering the process of objectivation. In the literature review, concepts such as perception, projection, social representation and countries' images were issued, in order to ground an empirical, qualitative study carried out with Dutch students. The categories identified were: Population, politics, nature, sports and economy. Results showed that a country's image is a multidimensional concept, which includes elements not only related to the products manufactured in this country. These results can have an important implication for companies, who can adopt more effective marketing strategies for their products abroad.