José Augusto Saraiva Pinto on the assumptions that undermine international expansion, the judgement behind effective communications and his commitment to closer business relations between Portugal and Korea.
A familiar name, a reputation for quality or a campaign that succeeds at home may mean little to customers in another country. José Augusto Saraiva Pinto has spent much of his career working with these differences. With experience at agencies including Lowe, JWT and Leo Burnett, followed by work in marketing consultancy and international cooperation, he argues that understanding a market must precede investment in promotion. In this interview with The Global Founder, he discusses how companies can assess their appeal abroad, adapt their communications and judge the advice of local partners. He also considers what Portugal and Korea can offer each other through his involvement in establishing the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce in Korea, an undertaking he describes as “the project of a lifetime”.
What matters more: being good, or having others know and believe that you are good?
José, how would you introduce yourself and your work to our readers? What led you to pursue a career in international marketing and communications?
I like to say that I’m a recovering adman. I worked for a long time in advertising and it’s an industry that will always stay in my heart. The international component came later, because I’ve always enjoyed moving and living in different countries and had to do so for family reasons. Those two aspects of my personality turned me into what I am today: a marketing and advertising consultant who also promotes international cooperation. The common thread is the same: reaching out.
You have worked in countries with very different business cultures. What do companies most often misunderstand about the contribution of marketing and communications to their success abroad?
It very much depends on the scale of the company. A multinational and a company that simply exports to other countries are very different and use marketing very differently. And while there are many particular cases, several misunderstandings come to mind, and I would quote but a few: believing that all problems can be solved through large investments or visibility and ignoring the way consumers perceive the specific category, which can be very different. In operational terms, this means that marketing strategy is absolutely crucial to gain that understanding before starting to think about promotion.
At what stage should marketing and communications become part of a company’s international expansion plans? What are the consequences of involving these functions only after the market, budget and commercial partners have been chosen?
Expansion requires a concrete rationale that only strategic marketing can deliver, namely answering the what, where, for whom and for how much.
Strategic marketing, finance and top management must work in tandem to define the shape of the opportunity and only then can you determine what the promotional part of the marketing mix should achieve.
Is there an appropriate time? I would say marketing comes first and only then communication or promotion as a whole.
Therefore, the right time is when the company has mapped out what it wants from the international markets, what is the cost of opportunity, the risks and the different entrance strategies.
Again, all of this applies differently across industries. When you look at online shopping, you find many brands selling internationally on the main platforms no one has ever heard of, so they follow a different path in terms of market strategy: value for money and low risk perception. In these situations, the branded aspects (name, identity) are almost an afterthought.
Success at home can give a company confidence about expanding abroad. Which assumptions about its customers, reputation or appeal are most dangerous to carry into a new country?
Several assumptions carry significant risks: that the brand’s prestige is universal, how humour and communication codes work, or that certain consumer cohorts exist everywhere.
Before entering a new market, how should a company research the buying habits and expectations of its potential customers? What do businesses often overlook in this research?
Research and observation of consumer behaviour online can give you a good idea of how people are behaving and how they see the category, but at the end of the day, no one really knows how consumers will react to something they don’t know. What can be overlooked is the understanding of how these consumers view the category, what their expectations are and how they perceive the brands in that category.
A brand may be well established at home and entirely unknown abroad. How should it determine what will persuade new customers to choose it? Could the answer differ from the reasons behind its domestic success?
The company must understand what makes the brand loved at home, and if those same characteristics apply abroad. For instance, nostalgia is very country-specific and may not travel well. If the appeal can be maintained across cultures and appeal to the same need or perception, then it can work. The competitive landscape can also change things substantially. Change the appeal or target, and understand if there are early adopters on which you can build the brand.
How do you distinguish between the elements of a brand that should remain consistent internationally and those that need to change? Can a company adapt so extensively that it loses the qualities that would have made it distinctive?
The elements that make up the whole experience (product performance, availability, comparative position, perception, tone of voice in communications) must be re-evaluated for the different markets, in full or partially. If the picture that comes out completely differs from the original one, is that necessarily bad? For instance, spam is offered in Korea’s festive season and could not possibly be positioned in a similar way in any other market.
A campaign can be translated accurately and still sound unconvincing or inappropriate. What should companies consider about their language and tone, and who should assess whether the message is suitable for the local audience?
The process starts with brand values, core and non-core, then the advertising language used by the brand. Which elements travel, which don’t. Swatch withdrew an ad campaign and issued an official apology in August 2025 after a model in the advertisement made a hand gesture that Chinese social media users interpreted as mimicking racist slanted eyes. Before that, way back in 2018, Dolce & Gabbana launched its “Eating with Chopsticks” video campaign ahead of a Shanghai fashion show, depicting a Chinese model awkwardly trying to eat Italian food with chopsticks in a condescending tone.
Starbucks found itself recently in hot water over an insensitive promotion in May 2026 after launching a controversial “Tank Day” tumbler promotion on May 18, which coincides with the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising and invoked painful memories of South Korea’s military dictatorship. Truth be told, the fault did not lay with the marketing team at headquarters but the local team, which makes it twice as objectionable. There is a healthy tension between regional and central management, each aiming at exerting influence and not to be seen relinquishing it.
At the end of the day, it’s up to the regional operation to have veto power over an advertising idea but that veto must be very carefully explained, because companies must balance courage with prudence when it comes to marketing messaging and not defaulting permanently to a safe zone.
Companies must balance courage with prudence when it comes to marketing messaging.
Local knowledge is essential, but local advice can also discourage an unfamiliar idea. How should a brand decide when to follow that advice and when to question it? Could you illustrate this with an example from your experience?
This comes very much down to risk assessment. When confronted with a new idea, the company must understand what makes the idea new, how it is likely to be understood locally and if it’s risky or simply bold. While working for an Angolan advertising agency on a brief for a Chevrolet SUV, the creative team came up with a very clever idea: the car that is big enough for your family and for the other family, playing on the insight that some Angolan men have sometimes parallel, “off the books” families. The client didn’t accept it as they thought it could be offensive to the local culture. In my view, the risk was minimal as it would be most likely seen as cheeky and not offensive, but the client was more concerned with being prudent than standing out.
What should a founder look for when choosing a local agency or communications partner? How can they assess the quality of the advice when their own knowledge of the market is still limited?
First of all, the client must map out the known and “unknown unknowns”, because that landscape is what you’ll compare the potential partner against. The desirable partner is able to explain the do’s and don’ts in detail, assess the risk, balance courage with prudence and show good scenario-building capabilities. The undesirable partner never shows doubt in their solutions, shuts out alternatives as “not possible” without further explanation, oversimplifies problems or consumer segments or guides you to simplistic solutions. If the solutions default to using celebrities or an unexplainable need to spend huge amounts of money, be suspicious.
For a company with a limited budget and no established reputation in a new market, what should marketing and communications achieve first? Which activities would you prioritise, and which would you postpone?
Depends what you need to achieve and how much of a novelty you bring. The priority is to gain a deep understanding of your audience to determine which target audience will be the most receptive to your value proposition. This target audience may not be the biggest but they can be the first or most receptive, and build a base for further expansion. One would think this is a simple truth, but when researching the state of communication briefs, most agencies agree the briefs aren’t precise enough – clients greatly overestimate the quality of their own briefs and plans. What companies should avoid are big blowouts that their budget, distribution or product characteristics cannot match. Quoting the original “Top Gun” movie, “Your ego’s writing checks your body can’t cash”.
What evidence gives prospective customers or business partners confidence in an unfamiliar foreign brand? Are there credentials that companies rely on at home that carry little weight abroad?
The riskiest credential is familiarity or notions of “quality”. Perception about these factors can vary greatly and don’t automatically translate. As for evidence, it varies greatly according to product category and price point. If one could distill a handful of rules, factors like reliability, availability, long-term commitment are always necessary building blocks.
Companies can receive press coverage, attract social media attention and hold promising meetings without generating substantial business. How would you assess whether their communications are contributing to commercial progress?
Depends if it’s a launch or if the company has a history in the market. The best place to see the effectiveness of communication are in growth and margin.
If there isn’t a clear marketing strategy, which there often isn’t, how can we hold promotional efforts accountable? Accountable for what?
When a brand struggles abroad, how can its leaders determine whether the problem lies with its communications, product, pricing or choice of market? Could you share an example of a situation in which better marketing was not the answer?
You need honesty and market knowledge and benchmarking, but above all honesty with yourself. Marketing usually gets the blame, more specifically, the “P” for “promotion” that gets the blame: If only our message was clearer, if only we had more budget, if only… If there isn’t a clear marketing strategy, which there often isn’t, how can we hold promotional efforts accountable? Accountable for what? There are examples galore, but we could look at Peloton for guidance. A product that flourished during Covid floundered once the key purchase driver (confinement) was removed from the equation. No amount of marketing investment can bring that golden age back. Actually, the company is only able to grow its profit nowadays by cutting back on marketing and payroll, so that’s a lesson right there. Rolls Royce’s “Spectre” electric coupé’s sales have been falling, and there’s not much marketing can do. Why? Because the customer at that price point (+/- €300k) wants their V12 after all.
Your career includes both early digital communications and the marketing of AI products. As companies use AI to produce content for different markets, where do you see its greatest value, and which decisions still require local knowledge and professional judgement?
One of the great values of AI in marketing is the ability to bring together consumer behaviour indicators that can help shape the message and provide insights into actual purchasing and communication behaviour. That is a priceless set of tools for decision-making. AI’s production capabilities (media buying, GenAI applied to creative) can also help tremendously in down-funnel, tactical activity. Two great fields of action should be reserved for us: 1. Understanding the why and 2. Surprising and disrupting. Remember the data-driven organisation craze from some years back? Suddenly all problems would be resolved by being data-centric. Even Adidas went all-in on this approach, only to rebalance it through pivoting away from a heavy, centralized data-driven and digital-first obsession toward a more decentralized, hyper-local, and product-focused strategy. Without going into the intricacies, we have come to realise that reality is far more complex than we thought, more unpredictable and nothing beats our judgement.
You know Portugal both as your home country and from the perspective of working abroad. What do you think Portuguese companies underestimate about themselves, and what do they sometimes overestimate when taking their business overseas?
We may underestimate just how good we can be. There is an interesting marketing lesson here. What matters more – being good or having others knowing you are good (knowing and believing)? In some sectors we can be very good but we constantly sell ourselves short, also because the home-country brand is not sufficiently well developed. Some countries have branded themselves very well, like Italy, France, the UK, the US or Germany, just to give some examples. Korea has done it very well too. Portugal is known for the natural conditions, wine, food and football, but these do not help much when you want to build consumer brands like Italy has done. When going overseas, we usually don’t take big chances, and most companies are small and medium-sized, with limited budgets, and often underestimate the level of commitment required and expect results straight away. I hear stories of companies that arrive without sufficient marketing printed materials to save money, or who expect B2B meetings to be scheduled overnight just because they’re arriving in town and want people to meet straight away.
Portugal is widely recognised for its tourism and hospitality. What part of the country’s business or creative life would you like the world to know better, and why has it received less attention?
Areas like IT and AI, research, textiles, decoration, academia, and as a gateway to both the EU and Atlantic markets like Brazil and Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa. The world’s attention is limited and perceptions take time to change. Also, country perceptions aren’t homogeneous globally: the understanding of Portugal in European countries differs greatly from that of countries in other regions. This means that you cannot persuade everyone, so we should keep promoting all our country can do in the regions and countries with whom we can establish stronger bonds.
International interest in Korean culture can give Korean brands a receptive audience abroad. How should a company build on that interest without assuming that enthusiasm for Korea will automatically translate into demand for its product?
This will differ greatly between sectors. B2B brands (say industry, automotive, pharma) triumph because of their inherent value. In this case, Korea is renowned for quality and global companies, so it will find an attentive audience the world over. Korea is renowned for quality, modernity and good relations with all countries; this absence of a bad history is quite the advantage. When it comes to services or consumer brands, then it must work as hard as everyone else. Oh, and don’t just slap a K-pop band on something and think this will translate into success. Another interesting aspect of Korean companies going abroad are some modifications in perspective they will need. First, not all consumer markets move as quickly as the Korean, so things can take more time than Korean companies are used to. Second, the work culture of Korea is very specific and does not travel well; managing foreigners as you do Koreans may produce a significant backlash.
Through your involvement in establishing the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce in Korea, what conversation would you like businesspeople in the two countries to be having that they are not having yet?
They aren’t having too many conversations yet, so our work is cut out for us. From the Portuguese side, it’s important for the Portuguese companies to understand Korea as a very attractive market in its own right and a springboard to Asia. It’s a market that requires commitment and speed. From the Korean side, we would like for companies to start seeing Portugal as an excellent partner that can help them reach Europe but also the Atlantic markets. The areas we will focus on for both sides will include AI/IT, renewable energies, industry, technology, research and academic cooperation.
What are your plans for the next few years, and which projects or ambitions are particularly important to you?
My key ambition is to further develop my activity around international connections, both through marketing and communications, as well as build bridges between Portugal and Korea, which is the project of a lifetime.
Connect with José
To learn more about José Pinto’s work in international marketing, communications and business cooperation, visit his website or connect with him on LinkedIn.
Interview by Vasiliki Panayi, Founder & Editor-in-Chief of The Global Founder.
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