Beyond the wall art of Cuban heroes such as Ernesto “Che” Guevara or the billboards protesting the economic blockade of Cuba, there isn’t much to be found in the way of advertising. It’s slowly creeping into the landscape with tourism or medical tourism ads at the airports, but marketing, per se, isn’t what we’ve experience outside of Cuba. The flashing neon signs, the huge billboards everywhere, commercial advertising, it’s just not there. In a way, it’s a refreshing change, but once more foreign businesses set up shop in Cuba, how to market a brand in this country becomes a huge challenge. Exactly how does a company promote itself to the Cuban market?
Promoting a brand presence will involve a host of mechanisms. As usual, a company will begin with an internet and social media profile. As the numbers of entrepreneurs increase, no doubt these people will be seeking ways to promote their businesses. But marketing in Cuba is going to be a very different beast, especially considering most Cubans do not have 24/7 access to the internet.
There will be advertising firms in Cuba in the future. Back in July of 2015, WPP plc, the largest international communications services group with head offices in London and a huge presence in Latin America, became the first international communications group to operate on the Island. In partnership with the government-owned Palco Group, WPP established a permanent executive presence in Miramar, Havana.
WPP is hoping to deliver communications services to the Cuban market and to contribute to the economic development of the island with its international agency network. It also wants to provide its international clients with advice on the institutional and business environment in Cuba for eventual entry into the Cuban market. Since then, not much has been heard, but things generally move a lot slower in Cuba.
We recently launched a project to promote business in Cuba by creating a directory. The end result of this project is a high quality directory for businesses in Cuba. Cuban businesses and international companies operating in Cuba but with headquarters abroad can list and promote their business services and products in this portal.
We also believe that the Cuba Business Directory is also a great way to search for businesses in Cuba.
Adding a business to the directory is quite simple. A company signs up to register and then submits business profile information and photos. The Directory is available in both English and Spanish.
Events, conferences, workshops, forums and festivals which take place in Cuba or abroad and are related to Cuba can also be added and publicized in the Business Directory.
A business listing or upcoming Cuba-related event can include a link to the company website and social media accounts. The business page in the Cuba Business Directory should include a profile of the business and product and/or services description. A maximum of 12 images can be added to the company profile. For Cuban entrepreneurs with startups and not able to afford a fully-fledged website, it’s like a free website on the internet.
In order to maintain a high quality directory focusing solely on Cuban business, all submissions to the Directory are manually verified by our staff.
Sign up to register your business in the Cuba Business Directory here.
