1. Luis Curiel - SAED, A.C. Collective Brands Experiences with crafts projects in Mexico

2. 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.

4. TOTALS: 12 Craft brabches 28 States 32 Organizations 3,251 Artisans

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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 material 3.Artisans health: Community – Consumer 4.Care for the environment 5.Foster competitiveness collective brands products through quality improvement.

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. Collective brands procedures

18. PROCESO DE GESTIÓN PARA MARCAS COLECTIVAS STAGES /AXISINFORMATIONORGANIZATION TRAININGMANAGEMENT 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