Jamaica Blue rewarded for its brand re-invigoration

Coffee chain returns to its Jamaican roots with refreshed branding that has seen it collect a brand transformation gong

Rosalyn Page (CMO)
26 June, 2019 11:00

Coffee chain, Jamaica Blue, has overhauled its branding to re-connect with the inspiration of Jamaica and won itself an award for its efforts.

Underpinning the new brand identity for the 25-year-old network, which has 170 cafes in seven countries, is an energised brand evolution strategy to inform both current and new customers of the promise that Jamaica Blue is the place to ‘escape and refresh’. Underpinning this ambition is a return to its Jamaican roots, with work extending through all aspects of marketing and customer experience.

Getting there involved extensive customer research to understand brand perceptions from both customers and non-customers. This informed its brand proposition document, designed to bring the Jamaica Blue personality to life.

"We then built a customer experience framework to test our brand proposition document. Mapping customer experiences enabled us to uncover current gaps and opportunities," marketing and customer experience manager, Melissa Wei, told CMO.

Jamaica Blue's strategy is to deliver a passionate and proud story through every aspect of the business and service.

"The creative work was informed by an across-the-board commitment to a customer experience framework that is enabling the brand team to really connect their concepts with the customer journey," said Wei.

The brand rejuvenation process has been recognised with the QSR Media Award for Best Brand Transformation.

“It is our guiding light and we are delighted with the results. Winning this award provides enormous encouragement for us to deliver what we love at Jamaica Blue with revitalised enthusiasm to our marketplace,” Wei said.

Visually, the QSR went for a contemporary revision of its logo, adopting the distinctive triangles of the island’s national flag, which also represents the roots of the brand – the blue mountains of Jamaica. The Jamaican-inspired theme will extend from its marketing, typeface and colour palette, food and drink themes and right through to the future store fit-out and even a Caribbean twist on the music customers will hear in-store.

"Photography had to be immediately identifiable as Jamaica Blue: evocative, fresh and natural. Food preparation and service by our baristas and cooks is now an important part of telling our story of passion and pride. Finally, our new tone of voice ensures our brand personality shines through," Wei said.