{"id":3499,"date":"2011-09-27T03:22:54","date_gmt":"2011-09-27T03:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/?p=3499"},"modified":"2011-09-27T03:22:54","modified_gmt":"2011-09-27T03:22:54","slug":"cafe-de-colombia-%e2%80%93-branding-at-its-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/2011\/09\/cafe-de-colombia-%e2%80%93-branding-at-its-best\/","title":{"rendered":"Caf\u00e9 de Colombia \u2013 Branding at Its Best"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tedrubin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/284.jpg\" title=\"logo\" class=\"alignleft\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" \/>I met\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.juanvaldez.com\/en\/#\/home\/\">Juan Valdez<\/a>\u00a0&#8212; yes, the \u201cactual\u201d Juan Valdez &#8212; this week (more on that at the end of this post)!\u00a0 The fact that I am genuinely excited about this, and that you likely know who (and what) I\u2019m referencing here says a lot about the success of this brand.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cafedecolombia.com\/\">Caf\u00e9 de Colombia<\/a>\u00a0is a brilliant example of what can happen when relationships are placed in the forefront of all aspects of an industry \u2013 from production, to sales and distribution, to marketing, and beyond.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tedrubin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/SMW_banner1_250x250_Bogota_Reg_reasonably_small.jpg\" title=\"SMW Bogota\" class=\"alignright\" width=\"128\" height=\"128\" \/>I had the honor of spending time in Colombia as part of my involvement in Social Media Week in Bogot\u00e1 (#SMWBOG), sponsored by Caf\u00e9 de Colombia.\u00a0 My colleague, DJ Edgerton, co-founder &amp; CEO of Digital Innovation Firm\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/zemoga.com\/\">Zemoga<\/a>\u00a0asked me to speak at the event, and provided this amazing opportunity to visit coffee-grower farms and directly engage with Caf\u00e9 de Colombia representatives. \u00a0This was one of those \u201cMUST write a blog post!!\u201d experiences!<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tedrubin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/266.jpg\" title=\"pour\" class=\"aligncenter\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tedrubin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/logo11.jpg\" title=\"with love\" class=\"alignleft\" width=\"152\" height=\"132\" \/><\/p>\n<p>First, some history and a few important facts \u2026 then on to what Juan Valdez and Caf\u00e9 de Colombia are doing so very right from a branding perspective.<br \/>\n<BR><br \/>\n<P><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Colombia is the world\u2019s largest producer of mild-washed Arabica coffee.<\/li>\n<li>Early 20<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0century, large coffee plantations broke down and smaller farms began producing coffee\u2026. the beginning of what has now become the norm.<\/li>\n<li>95% of Colombia\u2019s coffee is produced in plantations that are 5 hectares (~ 12 acres) or less.\u00a0 In other words, SMALL.<\/li>\n<li>Independent growers are organized by (and committed to) the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.federaciondecafeteros.org\/particulares\/en\/quienes_somos\/fnc_en_cifras\/\">FNC<\/a>), which was established as a response to the need of better ways to access int\u2019l markets and gain greater stability in producer\u2019s revenues.<\/li>\n<li>The FNC is an NGO that supports coffee growers and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sustainabilitythatmatters.org\/\">sustainable coffee-growing methods<\/a>\u00a0<strong>while positioning Colombian Coffee as the best coffee in the world.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So what is Caf\u00e9 de Colombia doing to gain ubiquity and such impressive market share?\u00a0 Focusing on relationships and human factors in their business and in their marketing!\u00a0 Following is a sampling of what Caf\u00e9 de Columbia does so well.<\/p>\n<p>They are a beautiful example of an incredibly high ROR (Return on Relationship). . \u00a0.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The slogan,\u00a0<strong>100% Colombian<\/strong>, has strong national (in Colombia) and international appeal.\u00a0 This instills pride and a sense of ownership in all aspects of the coffee production\/distribution\/sale cycles\u2026 which comes across to the consumer as QUALITY.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>100% Colombian is not just a slogan \u2013 it is a lifestyle of living 100%.\u00a0 In other words, they are not just selling a coffee product, they are selling an\u00a0<em>experience<\/em>.\u00a0 Consumers worldwide share this \u201cliving 100%\u201d lifestyle experience and feel a sense of relationship to other consumers and to Colombia.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Juan Valdez<\/strong>\u00a0gives the slogan a face.\u00a0 The soft-spoken, gentle Columbian man (and his mule) is familiar to Colombians and Americans alike.\u00a0 Colombians identify with the culture and lifestyle suggested by Juan Valdez, and Americans have a \u201cperson\u201d to associate with Colombia, making 100% Colombian a personal experience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The 100% Colombian slogan suggests \u201cit\u201d (the coffee and the lifestyle) is the real thing.\u00a0 Nothing added, nothing taken away\u2026 just authentic and authentically 100% Colombian.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Juan Valdez is wearing traditional, clothing, has a weathered look, and is always shown with his mule.\u00a0 Nothing about this visual seems contrived or \u201cmanufactured\u201d \u2013 just authentic.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The FNC is known as a highly democratic organization, a fact that scores high points for authenticity by giving the people behind the brand a voice.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The brand is strongly associated with an organization (the FNC) that genuinely cares about serving the growers by supporting them with a social structure for collaboration and sharing of their ideas and resources.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Every person in every part of the coffee commodity process, each relationship, is valued \u2013 and Caf\u00e9 de Colombia consistently tells the story of its growers, product, and country to the market.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The Caf\u00e9 de Colombia industry is built on leveraging networks and each part of the supply chain serving other parts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Juan Valdez and Caf\u00e9 de Colombia understand the value of social networks, sharing stories and information through Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cafedecolombia.com\/en\/familia\">See more about those networks (called \u201cthe family\u201d) here.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As you can imagine, the ROR (Return on Relationship) for Caf\u00e9 de Colombia has been profound, reaching all the way into the nation\u2019s social stability:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Colombian Coffee Sector represents 25% of Colombia\u2019s agricultural GDP;<\/li>\n<li>The Colombian Coffee Sector represents 27% of its agricultural employment;<\/li>\n<li>Two million Colombians directly depend on the income generated by coffee.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So what was it like, visiting the \u201cgrass roots\u201d organizations of this incredible brand?\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/media\/set\/?set=a.10150319279873401.348582.591878400&amp;l=a532767f83&amp;type=1\">Here are a few highlights from my trip<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Juan Valdez!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo.php?fbid=10150319289203401&amp;set=a.10150319279873401.348582.591878400&amp;type=1\">Meeting Juan Valdez<\/a>\u00a0was a shocking surprise. When Santiago, the representative for Cafe de Colombia who so graciously spent the day with us and gave us the tour, brought Juan Valdez from out of a coffee field at our last stop we were so excited. It truly was like meeting an icon!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tedrubin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/279.jpg\" title=\"Juan Valdez\" class=\"aligncenter\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>DJ Edgerton (<a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/wiltonbound\">@wiltonbound<\/a>), my host who introduced me to Cafe de Colombia and Juan Valdez, took the wheel of a Willys Jeep, with me and the inimitable Carlos Pardo\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/pardopaux\">(@pardopaux<\/a>) in the open back, and provided the thrills of the trip with a heart pounding drive up the mountain to a farm owned by Evelio Herrea.\u00a0 There we experienced Chaqueta, an original fresh morning brew sweetened with sugar cane, picked our own beans (you never know \u2026 in the future, the cup you drink may have a bean I picked!), and were walked through the process of preparing the beans for roasting, testing the coffee and best practices.\u00a0 Truly amazing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tedrubin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/2101.jpg\" title=\"group\" class=\"aligncenter\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>We were treated to a traditional Colombian lunch of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bandeja_paisa\">Bandeja Paisa<\/a>\u00a0(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo.php?fbid=10150319287973401&amp;set=a.10150319279873401.348582.591878400&amp;type=1\">a huge plate of varied delicious foods<\/a>) at a beautiful open-air restaurant nestled in a scenic mountain location.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This truly was a remarkable trip, made possible by the amazing and brilliant Zemoga team including\u2026 Operations Director Carlos Pardo who watched over me and saw to my every need, Co-Founder Alejandro Gomez, Head of Social Media Briana Campbell, Tatiana Gonzalez, Jennifer Puglisi and Carlos Ferro.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tedrubin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/219.jpg\" title=\"field\" class=\"aligncenter\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>If you EVER get a chance to spend time in Bogot\u00e1, do whatever you can to take part in the 100% Colombian experience!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ted Rubin<\/p>\n<p><em>Originally posted at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tedrubin.com\/cafe-de-colombia-%E2%80%93-branding-at-its-best\/\">TedRubin.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I met\u00a0Juan Valdez\u00a0&#8212; yes, the \u201cactual\u201d Juan Valdez &#8212; this week (more on that at the end of this post)!\u00a0 The fact that I am genuinely excited about this, and that you likely know who (and what) I\u2019m referencing here says a lot about the success of this brand.\u00a0\u00a0 Caf\u00e9 de Colombia\u00a0is a brilliant example &#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/2011\/09\/cafe-de-colombia-%e2%80%93-branding-at-its-best\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,7],"tags":[1460,1455,1458,1453,1454,1457,1452,32,480,479,1459,1029,3,1456],"class_list":["post-3499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-posts","category-tedrubin","tag-smwbog-ronr","tag-100-colombian","tag-tedrubin-2","tag-cafe-de-colombia","tag-colombian-coffee","tag-dj-edgerton","tag-juan-valdez","tag-marketing","tag-return-on-relationship","tag-ror","tag-smwbog","tag-social-media-marketing","tag-ted-rubin","tag-zemoga"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3499"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3513,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3499\/revisions\/3513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}