Cuba is only 90 miles away from the United States. However, in certain ways, it is a far more distant and strange market than most Americans are used to. No less so than in its approach to advertising and brand recognition. With the new opening in relations and the surge in interest in the Cuban market by Americans, it serves well to know the limitations of brand promotion that one is likely to meet on the island.
Despite the embargo, Americans have long been able to register their trademarks in Cuba under a general license allowing the expenditure of moneys to register and renew intellectual property in general and trademarks in specific, on the island. Until the early 2000s when the embargo was relaxed to allow the export to Cuba of branded agricultural products, how to develop and promote the brand in Cuba was not much of an issue. Since then, and with the more recent opening, how to use one’s trademark in Cuba and how to build market share has become more important.
