Jon Huber has been instrumental in elevating the visibility of CAO cigars and, as Director of Lifestyle Marketing, his work in promoting the brand is now widely recognized. I have had the good pleasure of meeting and chatting with Jon on several occasions and recently, he attended my party in New York at the Davidoff Shop on Madison Avenue. I was able to interview Jon via email and in person so he could give the Stogie Fresh readers some behind the scenes information on the direction of CAO. Below, you will read our recently completed interview; I will also be playing a recording of our live interview in New York on a future Stogie Fresh 5 cigarcast. Thanks to Jon for taking the time to hook up with me for this series of interviews.

DOC: Jon, you and I have met on a couple of occasions, but haven't really hooked up to party. So, let's get properly acquainted. First, I'll introduce myself in one sentence: "Doc Stogie Fresh is an impassioned cigar lover, a master of profundity, an irreverent oaf, and, at times, an open-mouth-insert-foot, cattle prod of perfection who chides the cigar industry to keep pushing the envelope and cranking out cigars that make us all say we've just 'died and gone to heaven.'"

Now it's your turn. In one sentence…

JON: "Jon Huber is first and foremost a very proud and loving father to Liam Vaughn Huber, secondly, he is an incredibly blessed individual to love his work and those whom he works with, and lastly, he is probably the exact opposite of what he appears to be on the exterior."

DOC: CAO has been called the "rock star of the cigar industry." First of all, what does that mean and is it a fair assessment?

JON: Personally, I use the term 'rock star' more as a descriptive and a way of life than as the literal definition of someone who plays rock music in front of an audience. For example, if we come up with an amazing cigar blend I might say, "Wow--this is rock star," as opposed to, "Wow--this is an excellent cigar." 

I believe in the saying, 'Go big or go home.' I believe that life is entirely too short and that everything we do should be done to be the best. (i.e., to "be rock star!")  In fact, I have 'Rock' tattooed on the inside of my right wrist and a nautical 'star' on the inside of my left wrist. It's a constant reminder to 'go big' and not settle for mediocrity. If you're goal isn't to be the best ("rock star"), then why bother getting out of bed in the morning? 

So in that context, yeah...one could say that CAO is "a rock star in the cigar industry."

DOC: Okay, now, no disrespect intended, but Cano (Ozgener) seems like a traditional and conservative guy. From what I've read about him and his background, it seems light years from the "Rock and Rolled Tour" concept and other marketing moves that you've spearheaded for CAO. How have you been able to gain acceptance for your more radical marketing practices?

JON: Are you kidding me?!  Cano IS a 'rock star' in his own right!  He may be conservative and quiet in his appearance; however, his incredible zest for life and his mantra of 'make it happen' are what motivated me some 12 years ago when I began in this business, and they are what continue to motivate me to this day.  I owe a great deal in my life to Cano and I never forget that.

DOC: It's often hard to measure the results of marketing on the bottom line of the company and marketing budgets are often the first to take a hit during tough economic times. Can you tell us why your role as marketing director makes a huge difference, not only to the bottom line of the company, but also to the satisfaction of the cigar consumer?

JON: You WOULD have to ask that question weeks before our annual reviews (lol). I would never be so self-centered as to say that my role "makes a huge difference" to the bottom line of the company. CAO is definitely a 'team sport' and no one person is bigger than the company or the brand.  I'm fortunate to be surrounded by incredibly talented individuals.  That said, if what I do here somehow brings some relaxation or joy or good times to somebody's day or night, then I've been successful.

DOC: We are seeing some cigar companies getting sold off to larger companies: Camacho and CAO, for example. Can you tell us how this has affected your company as a whole and what effect has the sale of CAO had on your role as Marketing Director?  Do you see your role as more or less important, now that the company is under new ownership?

JON: I suppose the most visible direct effect of the acquisition was the appointment of Gary Hyams as CAO Chairman and a restructuring of our marketing department.  Being able to work for Gary and under Mike Conder (Sr. VP of Marketing) has been a gift for me, as they have more combined years of experience in this business than I've been alive, and I've been able to learn a great deal from them. It's dangerous to get to that point where you think you've seen everything and know everything; life is a continual learning process. As to my role being more or less important, I think that everyone's role here is extremely important.  Everyone needs to strive to be the best in their role in order to make 'the machine' hum!

DOC: All right, let's get down to the meat and potatoes, the cigars. After all, it's really all about cigars, right? I know that some people have called into question the quality of CAO cigars because of what they've considered to be the market hype surrounding those cigars. The Vision and the Sopranos immediately come to mind. I overheard people bad-mouthing the Vision before the cigar ever hit the shelves.

I have two things to say about that: the first is that the cigar industry has historically been a leader in providing innovations in marketing. Throughout the history of cigars (at least since the late 1800's), we have seen packaging, cigar size and shape innovations, proprietary fermentation and aging techniques, and even innovations in the equipment used, so that is nothing new. The second thing I have to say is that I don't see any conflict between marketing and the product, as long is there is a great product. In all honesty, sometimes the same cigars that get accused of hype, for whatever the reason, end up being pretty damn good smokes. The Vision and the Sopranos are both great examples.

With these thoughts in mind, can you tell us a little about CAO's processes for insuring that your cigars are not just turds in a pretty package? In other words, where the rubber meets the road, what steps does CAO take to make sure your cigars are great?

JON: Actually, we have plans to release the 'CAO Edición Limitada de la Turd' in the coming year... but it will be in a really pretty box. All jokes aside, I know what you're getting at and I could go on and on about this very topic.  Let's just put it this way--if our cigars were less than excellent, we could probably sell the first facing on presentation and packaging alone, however, there would be zero repeat sales; at some point, the cigar has to speak for itself and sell itself.

Some of our existing brands are 10, 11, 12 years in existence, selling better than ever, and you don't get that sort of longevity in this business without providing a consistently great product at a good value.

In terms of specific 'steps,' we draw test all of our cigars, have become more and more patient about stockpiling and aging tobaccos, we have begun enclosing humidipaks in every box of cigars to ensure the perfect storage conditions during shipping, we have tightened up our quality control even more -- I could go on, but suffice it to say, we know that we are in the cigar business and not the packaging business.

DOC: What things can we expect to see from CAO in the next 6-months that will get us all fired up about your cigars?

JON: Doc, if I answer that question truthfully I'm going to be accused of being the 'CAO hype machine' by all those guys out there who've never smoked our cigars but still choose to slam Vision and Sopranos on the online forums...remember?  <wink>