As the integration of the two companies takes place, Lycos and terra management face difficult issues in Latin America. Management need to make a decision on two important issues. Management must decide the brand strategy for the region and the best model to apply in the region.
Latin American is a major part of Terra Lycos global reach, leveraging Terra’s strength in the region. Latin American is very important to Terra Lycos because the merged company intends to pursue a global growth strategy. But Terra Lycos must define a strategy for the region. Is it sustainable to have a strategy for Latin American that is different from the global one? Should Terra Lycos pursue a global brand strategy or tailor the brand to each region? Terra Lycos challenges clearly are strategic.
Prior to the merger, Lycos and Terra each has different geographic coverage, with Latin America being the only geographic overlap. At the time of the merger. Terra has a strong, established presence in the region and a location-specific model. Lycos on the other hand, has a regional strategy and was creating the Latin American division. After the merger. Terra Lycos must define it strategy for Latin America. As the integration period begins. Terra Lycos has two Web site and 2 brand names for Latin America: the strong local Terra brand name and the international Lycos brand name