Village and Rural Branding Analysis of the Villagial Coffee Shop Marketing Communications

The proliferation of coffee shops and the coffee lifestyle of urbanites in Indonesia has kept the enthusiasm of businesspeople in rural areas for developing similar businesses. This article presents a novel study that dissects the unique efforts of the Uwarkop Sebro coffee shop in Cileungsi Kidul, a villagial and rural area in Bogor, Indonesia, from the perspective of the seven dimensions of Village and Rural Branding theory: locality, rurality, spatiality, cultural identity, communality, naturalness, and homeliness. Using a descriptive case study approach, the findings highlight the various modes of communication to market Uwarkop Sebro's brand values. In addition to the prominent locality, rurality, and spatiality, Uwarkop Sebro also excels in communality and homeliness but is weak in cultural identity, where its geographical character located on the edge of West Java (majority of Sundanese ethnicity) and not far from Jakarta (originally Betawi ethnicity), makes the people of Cileungsi have a less assertive culture. In terms of naturalness, apart from Jonggol coffee and the partially unspoiled nature of the countryside, Cileungsi has no other distinctive products. This study is the first to examine rural coffee shops that market their brands by combining a trihelix of brand values: service, specialty produce, and place.