Wine marketing used to be about how much discount you could get in the shop from where you bought it. The sector is ripe for change and disruption in how it connects with consumers both in the on and off trades.
60% of consumers drink wine on a regular basis and the UK wine market is the sixth biggest by volume and second by value in the world (IWSR 2015). But growth is going to be tough in the coming months with disposable incomes under pressure and exchange rates forcing importers to review pricing upwards within the next 6 months.
Taking a statistical and historical view the category has been singularly unsuccessful at achieving real consumer engagement with the average retail price stuck at £5.40 (no growth) and the most well known names not being brands – Pinot Grigio, Prosecco, Shiraz, Merlot.
So how wine brands approach the marketing of their brands in the mature UK market, and how they engage with their consumers is going to be key in the battle for trading territory in the coming years.
When looking at success in this area there are few good examples.
Cotes du Rhone has had an excellent marketing campaign ‘Think Red’ which created the UK as the number 1 export market status in 2014 and a Cotes du Rhone is a must stock for the vast majority of outlets serving wine.
Tesco sell one in every four bottles of wine in the UK recently announced its Finest venture into on trade service by opening a pop-up wine bar from 2nd – 13th August.
Aldi did open up a pop-up wine bar 26-28th May to help launch their new on-line wine retail service. Aldi chose a minimalist type of display, which you would expect considering their smaller wine range; whereas Tesco will be putting their full Finest range on offer of 70 wines.
Hats off to both of them for what is a very creative way to gain PR traction, whilst encouraging the consumer experience.
One of the trends in independent wine retailing is the emergence of the ‘hybrid’ wine bar/shop. Vagabond is one of the early adopters and now has 3 stores where they have 100 wines available to just try or buy a whole glass of. If you like the wine that much then you can buy it off the shelf and take it home. Stephen Finch, Founder, said recently that ‘traditional retail for wine is dead’. He asserts the idea that the traditional wine shop is too rigid and not flexible enough to accommodate the modern consumer.
However as examples of wine promotion these are about retailers or a generic name (not a brand) owning the marketing space promoting their brands – ranges, quality, price, stamping their authority on the market.
When it comes to wine brands marketing in such experiential ways there are none to be seen, barring the odd Champagne branding in exclusive spaces such as the Veuve Clicquot bar in the members pavilion of Lords.
They provide lots of point of sale, big umbrellas, ice buckets, and no doubt much more but seldom take ownership of the full space, giving the consumer the experience full on.
Consumers will increasingly want to know what they are buying and feel that the brands and products they buy are as committed to their experience as they are, especially when it comes to their wallets. Further they don’t want the stuffiness and ‘old school’ wine baggage. Sophisticated is how they would like to feel without stepping into ‘being patronised’.
So what is the future of how wine sells itself to us?
Could wine brands use the elements of the hybrid shop – tasting on site, drinking on site, some food service and, perhaps, collaborated with a Vagabond or similar and show us what their brand is about?
Will Tesco Finest open a group of city centre ‘wine’ bars, both promoting their range and quality of their wines?
Well, I’m no soothsayer and on past history, as attractive as this idea is, I would say that these sort of initiatives are less likely than more likely. Wine, as a category, tends to be ultra conservative.
The retailers will continue to own the marketing space until the wine brands start to get creative and use the unfulfilled space where wine brand crosses with experience. I am certain that there is a space there, because it is and has been filled by Cotes du Rhone, Tesco and Aldi.
So how about a wine brand having a good go at disrupting the market and mixing up a little? We’ll see.
Alistair Morrell
Hospitality & Catering News, Wine Content Executive