In beverage industry news, I came across this insightful article from Foundations Marketing Group on marketing and branding in the wine industry, “WineDown: The Power of the Brand.“
This caught my eye: “The idea that marketing spend was ever optional is at the root cause of the industry’s problems. By resisting actual consumer marketing spend, winery owners and leaders have contributed to the current downward spiral amidst younger Millennials and GenZ. They failed to recognize the evolving new consumer, their mindset, behavior, and neglected the fact that wine is a consumer product…”
Fast Company Magazine would agree (see “Dour Grapes: Why winemakers are struggling to win Gen Z and millennials as connoisseurs age.” Wine sales are flat, oversupply is squeezing pricing in the $15 and under range, visits to winery tasting rooms continue to decline, and preferences for different styles of wine are moving quickly, fueled by social media.
Their conclusion: marketing is more important than ever, and it has to be relevant to a new audience. Ad spend is a fraction of the spirits industry, which has remained resilient for 13 consecutive years. “There’s not the same amount of dollars getting the messaging out, which is why I think it is important to get connected into culture,” says Tom Steffanci, president of Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits.
They quote Jenn Engel, Chief Customer and Commercial Officer at Republic National Distributing Company, that these consumers “really want to see themselves in a brand.”
This is clearly an opportunity for the wine industry, and marketers should celebrate, too, preferably with a great bottle of wine—what would you recommend?
#wine #marketing #winery #winemarketing
