The Portuguese Cork Association (Apcor) and the Ministry of Economy and Innovation (MEI) sign the contract for the implementation of the Intercork Project – International Campaign for Cork.
The programme, budgeted on 21 million Euros, has as its objective to promote the cork stoppers and construction and decorative materials – as being the main products of the industry and covering in its whole around 90 per cent of what is produced.
This Project benefits from a backing of 80 per cent from the Compete Programme – (Operational Factors of Competition Programme) – of the QREN (National Strategic Reference Board) and is inserted in the Cork Industry Support Plan (PAIC).
Intercork will have 15 million Euros for the promotion of the cork stoppers, reaching countries such as France, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany and USA. The target-audience is the consumer, wide distribution, wine industry, leaders of opinion, Professional organisms (oenologist schools and associations, wine producers, etc.), the media (wine, lifestyle, tourism, and gastronomy), distributors and importers of some markets and universities/ laboratories of some markets.
Sustainability (ecology, CO2 retention, Biodiversity), the oak cork as a synonym of wine quality, oak cork as the consumer’s preference, cork as an ally of tradition and as image of the wine industry, and positioning against other seals – namely in technical issues – highlighting the quality of the cork are some of the key issues to be communicated.
In the case of construction and decorative materials, the campaign will reach the USA and Canada, Germany, Russia, Japan, Belgium, Holland, China and the United Arab Emirates, and will be directed at architects, engineers, designers, decorators, retailers, importers and distributors, technical schools, universities, design centers, final customers and the Media.
Cork will be communicated as a natural, modern and elegant product, with a prevalent eco-design image, and its unique technical and sensory characteristics, allied to comfort and the aesthetics of the product.
There is also a foreseen budget of 2.5 million Euros to develop a set of actions which will be transversal to the whole campaign, such as the creation and production of information and communication supports, as well as the development of the Apcor website.
“Intercork is the biggest communication Project that Apcor has ever developed. This facts leads to, on the one hand, a great responsibility and commitment from all the industry and the Apcor team, so that the campaign is in fact one of inversion in favour of cork in international markets, and, on the other hand, the acknowledgement of the vital importance that the cork industry represents to our country”, states Joaquim Lima, Director of Apcor.
The start of the campaign is predicted by the end of 2009 and will run for 24 months.
For more information, please contact:
Joaquim Lima
Director
Tel. 227 474 040
Tel. 918 101 882
E-mail: realcork@apcor.pt
www.apcor.pt
Notes to the editor:
APCOR – Portuguese Cork Association
APCOR’s mission is to represent and promote the Portuguese Cork Industry, with more than 250 members, representing around 80 percent of the total national cork production and 85 percent of all cork exports. APCOR is also responsible for promotional activities, with added value to cork, on both a national and international scale, providing, in addition, an extensive Information Resource Centre on cork.
