PROJECTS / The Genuine Origin Coffee Project, Journey to Origin

GO Brand Elements

Website - Homepage

Website - Explore Origins (1 of 2)

Website - Explore Origins (2 of 2)

Website - Origin Detail

Website - Interactive Flavor Finder

Sales Folio

Postcards from Origin

Origin Fact Sheets

Origin Maps

Asset Production - Origin Video

Asset Production - Origin Photography

Social Media Challenge

Chances are your favorite latté isn't the one from Starbucks. It's probably from the indie roaster that opened up in your neighborhood—the one with the hipster vibe and barista crew to match. They don't brew coffee there, they "craft" it. And don't call it a "business." It's an art. That's specialty, or third wave, coffee and it's one of the largest and fastest growing segments in the food & beverage industry today.

Like many small business owners, specialty coffee roasters use emotional drivers to guide their business decisions more than they do functional benefits. They value a direct connection to producers (aka farmers), thorough knowledge of product origin, and transparency in the supply chain. Leveraging the infrastructure and 100 year heritage of their parent ED&F Man, The Genuine Coffee Project (GO) delivers on all these points like no one else.

Brand Strategy - The project needed to be built 100% from the ground up. So, the first step was to lay a solid foundation. We explored business context, category trends, customer learnings, and competitive landscape and used the collected findings to bring the brand to life in a way that was not only unique, but authentic. By the end of the process we had built a solid foundation—one that focused on GO's commitment to proud, profitable producers and the tireless efforts made on the ground at Origin to produce the highest quality beans for roasters, harvest after harvest.

Concept - If roasters could visit coffee Origins around the world to tour farms, cup coffees, and shake hands with producers, they certianly would; but, the logistics are prohibitive even beyond the obvious time and expense required. To that end, we aimed to take our customers on a "Journey to Origin," offering them a compelling narrative for each location using authentic imagery, real people, and meticulously researched data. From there we connected customers to a menu of products and gave them a simple, straightforward way to buy them.

Brand Identity - The idea of "terroir" resonated strongly with GO. So, we drew inspiration from the earthly elements essential to producing the finest quality green coffee beans and colored the brand with a rich palette of soil and sky. Our font selection was clean and modern reflecting GO's production process, and the variance of bold and delicate font weights gave a nod to the the diversity of coffee flavors on offer. Real people who live and work at Origin are always featured, never stock, and hand-drawn illustrations bring further uniqueness to the brand while emphasizing GO's commitment to artisanal craftsmanship.

Web Presence - The original business plan revolved around a traditional sales force being sent on a door-to-door mission around the country to spread the good word of GO. That changed when we showed them how they could do more to meet their goals—awareness, consideration, transaction, adoption—by shifting their focus online and investing in three essential components: 1) a flexible and scalable e-commerce site 2) an experiential site stocked with deep content that would take customers on a tour of the regions, terroir, and process behind GO coffees, as well as an introduction to the farmers who produce them 3) an always-on blog giving customer's a farm-level view of Origin as provided by the people who live and work there.

Collateral - To communicate the theme of transparency we made good use of die cuts in our materials. We covered off on the usual suspects (business cards, notepads, etc.) and then went beyond the ordinary with more unique items like producer portrait T's, autographed 8x10s, and Origin tattoos.

Sales Materials - Although the numbers of the sales force had been reduced, their strength was not diminished. We armed them with all the info of Origin you could imagine including a sales folio packed with Origin postcards, producer trading cards, and product fact sheets. Their iPads were equally loaded with videos direct from Origin, interactive Origin maps, first person farm walk-throughs, and a novel search tool powered by flavor profiles meant to inspire customer's palates and wake them up to explore new tastes.

Asset Production (Photo & Video) - This was obviously not an experience that could make use of stock photography or canned corporate video, so it was up to us to coordinate a global photo and video shoot at multiple locations in 12 Origins. I had the privilege to shoot some of the Origins myself. For the others, global creative direction and strategy was provided to local talent. Portraits and profiles of different producers were heavily utilized throughout the site, in collateral, for ad placements, and throughout social media. Video footage was edited to every length, from short film pre-roll.

Social Media Challenge - Roasters looooove showing off their coffee smarts and skills. And GO loves showing off the people and places that make quality coffee happen. Utilizing GO's presence at Origin and deep, personal relationships with producers, we staged a social media challenge to locate featured farmers around the world. If roasters could solve a (not so simple) series of clues about m.a.s.l., terroir, local process, types and varieties seeded throughout owned media then they could win a trip to Origin to meet the farmers themselves...and even get an autograph.

Agency

Personal Client

Role

Account Director
Strategist
UX Director
Creative Director
Art Director
Designer
Copywriter
Producer
Photographer
Videographer
Editor

Responsibilities

Creative Strategy
Brand Development
IA/UX
Creative Direction
Art Direction
Design
Copy
Social Strategy
Photography
Video Production
Video Editing

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