Luis Curiel - SAED, A.C.

Collective Brands

Experiences with crafts projects in Mexico

Collective brands

• SAED, A.C. Have been involved in developing 32 Collective Brands for crafts under FONART (National Fund for crafts) promotion. This presentation builds on that experience.

• An evaluation process have been done and planning exercises are underway to find out Collective Brands.

CraftsCollective

BrandsStates

Nr. of Artisans

Textiles 6Morelos, Campeche, Aguas Calientes, Chiapas, Durango, Guerrero

754

Natural Fibers

5Puebla, Tabasco, Baja California, Querétaro, Sonora

591

Pottery 6Edo. de México, Tlaxcala, Chihuahua, Guanajuato, Colima, Veracruz

591

Toys 1 Michoacán 67

Maque and Lacquer

1 Guerrero 162

Metal crafts 1 Zacatecas 13

Leather crafts 2 Zacatecas, Tamaulipas 26

CraftsCollective

BrandsStates Nr. of

Artisans

Woods 3 Oaxaca, Yucatán, Hidalgo 141

Stonework and Lapidary

1 Jalisco 18

Paper and Cardboard

1 Nayarit 600

Jewelery 1 Quintana Roo 33

Furniture and Accesories

4San Luis Potosí, Michoacán (2), Tamaulipas

255

TOTALS: 12 Craft brabches 28 States32 Organizations 3,251 Artisans

Promoting Collective Brands I

colective brands were promoted due to government instiutions interests rather than artisans'.

• Even so, promoting an organization to register a collective brand, could be helpful to access markets, if it build on artisan-borne processes.

• In contrast, “promotion” was reduced to a information meeting, where artisans were informed that each “organization” should be formed by five people. It was thought that this may be the easisest way forward and there may be time later to further include artisans.

 

Promoting Collective Brands II

• Collective brands were promoted focusing in protection and with the idea that this kind of brand may help to sell at better prices. A product analysis was absent. (Opopeo chairs)

• Relevant institutions such as state crafts institutes, culture houses or fiscal authorities were not invlolved. With this limited approach, follow-up was not so good.

• Outreach materials were produced, but were not oriented to wide audiences but for to artisans, informing them about the pros of having a Collective brand.

Institutional life

• Artisans organizations have a very irregular meeting dynamics. They do not make formal agreements.

• None of these organizations have their constitutive act.

• There is no strategy to include new members nor to promote the collective brand between artisans.

• Artisans organizations are not registered after fiscal authorities.

• They don't know their tax duties.

Rules for application

• Rules for application were developed by the government institution regarding the production process. Artisans did not participated on its formulation.

• There is a print edition of these rules for application, all of them similiar, but unknown to the artisans.

• The rules are not regarded to ellaborate products under the collective brand.

• No quality criteria are described in the ruels.

• Are not written well.

Brand Use

No internal control for using the distinctive stamp.

Holograms were proposed but they did not fit the products

There is no control on the use of stamps or holograms

There is a case where the stamp control is not in hands of its owners.

 

Considerations to promote a collective brand

Promtion must be seen as an strategy to set quality standards, under principles of:

1.Active social participation, incluiding most of the artisans in the constitution and registering of the collective brand.2.Protect tradition: Techniques, artisanal processes and raw material3.Artisans health: Community – Consumer4.Care for the environment5.Foster competitiveness collective brands products through quality improvement.

• Application rules must clearly consider quality issues on product manufacturing, Only products that keep these rules may be allowed to bear the collective brand stamp.

• Artisans should be the owners and must be the main paticipants on setting up the application rules and the brand image.

• When production is diverse, define production lines and set upm sub categories.

• Do research to recover history and tradition into production: Raw materials, inputs, techniques and iconography.

Considerations about application rules I

• Try graphical products to support the production line and the collective brand

• Standarize raw materials use, times and processes for quality assurance Estandarizar el manejo de materias primas, tiempos y procesos para conservar la calidad

• When developing a sub-product or an innovation, the distinctive collective brand identity signs must be preserved

• Develop a guide to set up application rules that help to set quality standards and production processes.

Considerations about application rules II

• Highlight products quialities: organization, care for the environment and health, tradition recuperation, cultural heritage protection

• Get institutional support to get trade results as intended by the collective brand.

• Get advantage from state products promotion mechanisms.

• A collective brand is not and end on itself, but a mean for competitiveness

Considerations about commercial promotion

• State counterparts should facilitate better uses of the collective brand by its owners.

• Internal mechanisms must be in place to decide which products can bear the collective brand distinctive or stamp

• Educate consumers about the mening of collective brands through outreaching

• Scale-up collective brands to psotion them as state or national assets

Considerations about collective brand use

Go with the artisans organization to do prior research to develop a new product with regional or local identity.

Have a discusion forum and experiences exchange with the owners of collective brands: outline demands and ettention lines

Call profesional services to fill demands from artisans with collective brands

Have an international exchange with European Union countries: negotiation and cooperation

Consideratios for follow-up

STAGES /AXISINFORMATION ORGANIZATION TRAINING

MANAGEMENT

INSTITUTIONAL CONTACT

State Institutes and Artisans Houses:

• Groups identification• CB promotion Manual.• CB Promotion

Open and incluyent call for participants

General framework for:

Industrial Protection

Collective Brands

Limits to participation of state institutions

• Commitments and support

CIVIL ASSOCIATION BASIS

Work with artisans groups:

Diagnostic:

• Existing organizations• Raw materials availability

and supply• Production process• Trading• Promotión and outreach

Getting members into the organization

• Set up follow-up comissions

Associative figure:

• Social pourpose• Members Rights and

duties• Steering body roles• Collective Brands

Ask permit from External Affairs Ministry (SRE)

COLLECTIVE BRAND REGISTERING

SRE process

CB registering process

Brand name and image

Association constitutive Assambly

• Decide legal process responsibles

• Decide comissions to develop appliaction rules

Associations legal framework

• Tax duties

Association Constitutive act Protocolization

• Process with a public notary

Collective brands procedures

PROCESO DE GESTIÓN PARA MARCAS COLECTIVAS

STAGES /AXIS INFORMATION ORGANIZATIONTRAINING MANAGEMENT

COLLECTIVE BRAND SUPPORT

• Application rules proposal.• Image• Brand name

• Application rules Validation and consensus on brand name and image

• Set upm a commision to register the brand

• Outreach materils must have:

• Brand design• Logo• Slogan

• Trade strategy

IMPI Brand register

Outreach materials development

PLANNING

• Diagnostic systematization presentation

• Production process with quality standards

• Appointment of a commiison for quality control

• Improvement plan development

• Quality standards• Development of a

trade plan: strategy and philosophy

• Evaluation and follow-up system

• Get support for percived support needs

• Applied research