| The National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, founded in 1927 , is an independent Non-for-profit organization for the collective of over 560.000 coffee growers of Colombia. Within Colombia, the Federation provides a network of agricultural expertise and quality control to insure the highest standards for Colombian Coffee. Around the world, Federation offices work with appropriate trade and media channels within each country to promote the consumption of Colombian Coffee.
To promote Colombian Coffee consumption it was first necessary
to let consumers know why Colombian Coffee is a better product,
hence to teach them the amount of care and labor that goes into
growing and harvesting Colombian Coffee as well as the ideal climatic
conditions that are hard to find in other countries.
The initial educational campaign consisted on
television commercials that would show Juan Valdez, Colombian
Coffee's longtime spokesperson, in the coffee fields hand-picking
the beans at the moment of prime ripeness. This helped consumers
understand that Colombian beans are grown and picked by dedicated
men, with little or no help from machines in excellent climatic
conditions with plenty of rain, sun, and volcanic soil.
At this point consumers became convinced of Colombian Coffee's
superiority. This campaign started in the early sixties and carried
on throughout the early eighties.
Much in the tradition of the quality-oriented eighties consumer,
Colombian Coffee launched a campaign that would address this concern
and desire for quality products which are almost invariably associated
with a high profile image.
This gave birth to the image campaign which had
as its main purpose to create a positive image of Colombian Coffee
among consumers as well as one of superiority. The campaign focused
on illustrations of extreme demand in humorous, sophisticated
settings. Planes, trains, and automobiles would make 180º turns
in order to get Colombian Coffee. This campaign, which won numerous
industry awards including Effies, CLIO's, and ADDY's, portrayed
Colombian Coffee in a very positive light and built high awareness
for the brand as it enhanced its image.
At this point consumers were willing to consume Colombian Coffee
for two reasons: they understand it is a better product and they
like their being associated with a product that has an image.
This campaign began in the early eighties, and even though it
has undergone minor executional changes it continues to run today.
Now that consumers were predisposed to buy the product, they
needed to know how to go about buying it and where to find it.
Colombian Coffee is not a brand, it is an origin present
in several brands of coffee. Most brands of coffee will blend
Colombian Coffee with other origins. Many roasters have launched
high end brand extensions which consist of exclusively 100% Colombian
Coffee. In order to guarantee to consumers that these brands consist
of 100% Colombian Coffee, the National Federation of Coffee Growers
of Colombia had a logo designed that would be present in all the
brands that consist of exclusively this origin - See
Juan Valdez and Logo -.
Print ads were created to create awareness of this logo which
was portrayed in humorous and unexpected ways such as on a cow
with "cream good enough for Colombian Coffee," on a crossword
puzzle, on Egypcian pyramids, and on a tennis racket.
In addition, a television campaign was launched where Juan Valdez
and his faithful mule appeared in a kitchen cupboard or in a supermarket
isle. In these very same commercials consumers were told that
finding a 100% Colombian Coffee brand is as simple as looking
for Juan Valdez i.e. the Juan Valdez logo on a coffee can or
package.
This campaign started shortly after the logo was created in
1981 and continues to run today to remind consumers how to buy
the product.
The 1990's: The "Grab Life by the Beans" Campaign The 1990's
signaled the introduction and surge of the espresso bars which
brought with them a new generation of younger coffee drinkers.
Café de Colombia recognized this growing group of younger
consumers and addressed it in its communications mix. For this
it created a parallel print campaign featuring Juan Valdez "grabbing
life by the beans," or having fun with diverse adventure or extreme
sports such as surfing, snowboarding and hang-gliding.
During the begining of the twenty first century, the Juan Valdez character has continued to enjoy significant popularity. In September 2005 the Juan Valdez character was awarded the title of Advertising Week´s "Advertising Icon of the year". During this contest, organized in New York, Juan Valdez received over 200.000 votes and defeated other well recognized characters such as Geico´s Geco, the energizer Bunny and Double Mint Twins.
Advertising Partners
In order to launch its initial advertising campaign back in
the late 1950's, the National Federation of Coffee Growers of
Colombia hired the New York based agency Doyle Dane Bernbach to
create an advertising campaign that would set their product apart.
DDB, under the direction of the Federation created the character of Juan
Valdez ®, to represent the typical coffee grower in
Colombia and launched the educational campaign that made Colombian
Coffee a household
name , and created the Juan Valdez Logo in the 1980´s.
The agency later merged with the Chicago based agency Needham
Harper Steers to become DDB Needham Worldwide Advertising
and with BBDO Worldwide, all three under the ownership of Omnicom,
today the second largest advertising group in the world.
In 1993, given the unique marketing service requirements of
the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, DDB
Worldwide Marketing was created as a division of DDB Needham
Worldwide Communications Group, Inc. Today DDB Worldwide Marketing
provides worldwide assistance and media assignments in North America
and Europe.
Over the last few years, the Federation has strenghtened its Public Relations and media strategy and has worked eith Weber Shandwich.
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