Monday, September 28 2009
NEW YORK -- Famed cigar maker Ernesto Perez-Carrillo is still a few months away from debuting the inaugural cigar from his newly formed company, but the legendary cigar maker is providing a taste of his unique approach with the launch of an innovative "Coming Soon" website that mashes up Google Maps with real-time short messaging service Twitter.
The new site (www.epcarrillo.com) offers the first look at his new company, EPC Cigar Co., and is constructed in such a way as to celebrate and propagate the passion that people all over the world have for cigars. The temporary website, which acts as placeholder until the full website launches late next month, "scrapes" Twitter to capture and display any "Tweets" that mention the word "cigar" or its euphemisms in real-time anywhere in the world. By using Google Maps, the site then layers the Twitter information over a map to show exactly where that person is located.
Considered one the world's premier cigar makers, based mainly on his success in creating the famed La Gloria Cubana cigar, Perez-Carrillo announced recently that he would forego retirement to start his own boutique brand of cigars under his newly formed company. His limited-edition inaugural cigar is expected to be available for sale in December.
Until then, his newly unveiled website will serve to inform, update and engage cigar lovers while they await the introduction of E.P. Carrillo Edición Inaugural 2009.
"The making of cigars is still rooted in old-school techniques, but the marketing of a cigar brand has evolved tremendously to the point where our creativity and communications are not constrained by any means," said Perez-Carrillo. "We wanted to launch this brand with a website that was truly unique – one that not only would capture the essence of this brand, but to somehow capture the passion that cigar smokers have for cigars."
The main website which launches in October will be the first brand site to be entirely built using the Google Maps interface. Ernesto and DeVito Verdi felt an interactive map would be a great way to share the story behind this new brand. The Google Maps API also lets us include some interactive features that support the larger cigar community. One example is a "Places To Smoke" this page allows cigar fans to upload their favorite spots for enjoying cigars.
Fans can also partake in a geographic journey, as they follow the path from the tobacco farms in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Honduras and Ecuador (where the E.P. Carrillo tobacco is grown), to the factory in the Dominican Republic where the cigars are rolled. Cigar retailers also benefit from this format because the platform pulls in live data from Google, keeping the information current and correct.
"Cigar smokers have such a strong connection to Ernesto that we felt it necessary to create a site that strengthened that passionate bond," said Tyler DeAngelo, digital creative director at DeVito/Verdi, the agency that created the site. "This is not your typical site to support a cigar brand – or any brand – but then again, this not a typical cigar maker, or cigar." (_[ca]__{{{
