6 Companies/Entities Winning Off Brand Jamaica

Jamaica is one of the more popular countries in the world, which is quite impressive relative to its size. However, foreign companies benefit more from "Brand Jamaica" than the people of Jamaica. According to Carol Simpson, head of the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO): "Jamaica continues to receive some good coverage internationally, which many shout proudly from rooftops. Still fresh in our minds is Tessanne Chin's performance on 'The Voice,' which propelled Jamaica to the top of trending lists last week. Who can forget our athletes' performance in the 2012 Olympics and 2013 IAAF World Championships; our entertainers at BET Awards; the infamous XLVII SuperBowl commercials, and even the massive 2013 Jamaica Diaspora Conference which were extraordinary free promotions for Brand Jamaica. But how much was converted into dollars, jobs? "While brand popularity and recognition are good, it is not the symbols which make a brand great, but the quality, reliability, promise and goodwill it represents. And right now, Brand Jamaica needs backative. Like the person with the big mouth, but no substance or strength for the battle, our cool brand image belies a nation in need of substantive change if we are to convert the brand's goodwill into cash." Below are six brands that are profiting from "Brand Jamaica" with little to no financial benefits to the average Jamaican. Reed's Inc. Jamaican Style Ginger Ale Reed's was formed in 1987 and was listed on the over-the-counter market in 2006 and the Nasdaq a year later. Several attempts to source Jamaican ginger failed due to inconsistent suppliers, Reed said. Instead, his ginger line of products, which gross between US $10 million and US $15 million a year, are sourced in South America and naturally mixed in the United States. Supplying Reed's would increase the island's export market for ginger by a factor of four from 170 tons to 820 tons and translate to some $6 million a year, based on estimates from Reed and the Ministry of Agriculture. "By calling it Jamaica-style ginger beer, produced in the USA, they are taking advantage of the name, reputation and exploiting Jamaica," said Simpson. Puma German brand Puma began sponsoring the Jamaica national team in 2003 and since then its partnership with the country has done wonders for the brand. Puma has seen its sales increase yearly since forming a partnership with Jamaica, especially with the prominent rise of superstar sprinter Usain Bolt. According to Puma's former CEO Franz Koch's letter to its shareholders, 2012 was a great year for the athletic brand: "2012 was an exceptional year for Puma in many ways. First of all, I am happy to see that we finished the year with a satisfactory sales growth rate. Puma’s full year consolidated sales rose by almost 9 percent in Euro terms which enabled us to achieve the record sales mark just short of 3.3 billion Euros. "The success of our Running category was highlighted by the Olympic Games: The outstanding athletic performances of The Fastest Man on Earth, Usain Bolt, who finished his second successive Olympics with three gold medals, was undoubtedly the biggest story of the Games." Puma's brand has undeniably flourished since being associated with Jamaica as seen in the chart below. It would have been great if more of those dollars were reinvested into the country to actually make the products Puma is selling to create more jobs for the Jamaican people. Digicel Digicel is a mobile-phone network provider operating in 31 markets across the Caribbean, Central America, and Oceania regions. The company is owned by Irish entrepreneur Denis O'Brien, is incorporated in Bermuda, and based in Jamaica. It has about 13 million wireless users. In 2001, Jamaica decided to open its phone market up for competition. Digicel first established itself in April 2001 in Jamaica. It grew to 100,000 customers there in approximately 100 days. In the 10 years since the initial launch, Digicel's Jamaican customer base has grown to more than 2 million users. The company has a market share of more than 70% in Jamaica. Building on its success in Jamaica Digicel has leveraged the popularity of Jamaica's athletes and music artists in its advertising to build out a company that did $2.78 billion in sales in 2012, that go back to its home country of Ireland. Volkswagen German carmaker Volkswagen had one of the most talked about commercials in 2013 due its Jamaican themed "Get Happy" ad. In the commercial, an infectiously cheerful owner of a 2013 Volkswagen Beetle--who, despite being from Minnesota, has curiously adopted a Jamaican accent and is followed about by an upbeat reggae soundtrack by Jimmy Cliff -- can be seen spreading smiles among his gloomy colleagues. The ad stirred up controversy with some people deeming it racists and others deeming it fun. Eventually Jamaica's tourists board came out in favor of the ad, with the minister of tourism Wykeham McNeill stating: " is a tribute to the popularity of reggae music worldwide and I salute Jimmy Cliff for being a true Jamaican ambassador through his outstanding music. I urge persons all across the globe to do exactly what the commercial portrays, which is to tap into your inner Jamaican and get happy." The controversy surrounding the ad generated a large amount of publicity for the VW brand. The commercial is still viewed in large number with more than 14 million YouTube views to date. French Band "Jamaica" A French rock band's decision to name itself Jamaica and to title its debut album "No Problem" infuriated the island's intellectual property administrator who says he is powerless to stop the Frenchmen. They aren't Jamaican and don't play reggae, but the band defended its name and title which as a tribute to the island, even though its music isn't representative of the country at all. "We totally reject the use of the name because we have no say in how it is used," JIPO's Simpson told the Observer in an interview. Jamaica's debut album "No Problem" was on the iTunes Top-10 chart in Japan, a traditionally popular market for Jamaican music. The album was released in late August 2010 under labels Ctrlfrk, V2, co-operative music (Europe and Australia) and KSR (Japan). "They are benefiting from the reputation of Jamaica," said Simpson. "One questions the reason behind the band using the name Jamaica and whether it is due to the international reputation that the band is seeking to exploit." Disney Disney has been notorious for infusing Jamaican culture into their brands. Two of the biggest examples of this in its "Little Mermaid" franchise with a character Sebastian who had a Jamaican accent; and "Cool Runnings" the 1993 film loosely based on the story of the Olympic bobsled team. Both "Little Mermaid" and "Cool Runnings" are huge franchises for Disney, grossing more than $211 million and almost $155 million respectively in box-office sales alone. However both films have been controversial in respect to brand Jamaica. The character for Sebastian is often to referred to as one of the most racist characters in Disney history as the Jamaican-sounding crab teaches Ariel that life is better "Under the Sea" because underwater you don't have to get a job. And "Cool Runnings" depicts the story of primitive Jamaicans; worse yet the lead actors in the film weren't even Jamaican.

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