At the end of each year, many publications “celebrate” the worst marketing campaigns of the year. Less than 40 days into the new year, and there is already a regrettable fail from the wine industry.
Anyone who has worked in retail will quickly recognize OND as October/November/December—that three-month period when your sales will either make or break your year’s profits.
In last month’s blog post, Put a Bird on It, I focused on the importance of label design. This month, I share a case study from a southern Oregon winery—DANCIN Vineyards. All it took was a candid observation from a guest in late 2015 to prompt Dan Marca to completely upend the label design he had used since his first vintage in 2010.
When’s the last time you looked at your own wine labels? I mean REALLY looked at them—from the consumer’s point of view? We recently traveled through airports in Amsterdam, Madrid, Barcelona, and Lisbon and—of course—examined the wine choices in each duty-free shop. I was struck by the creativity of some of the packaging, especially in the Champagne category.
Every year, the Wine Business Monthly publishes its annual Tasting Room/DTC Survey results. Did you know that on average 8% of DTC wine sales occur online? What would your business look like if you were able to increase your online DTC sales to more than 8%? How would that impact your bottom line?
Last month, we compiled our annual wine-related events calendar (including festivals, national competition submission deadlines, and large wine trail events) for our Oregon-based clients.
Ready for a happy, profitable new year? Forget reinventing the wheel and take a look at what is trending globally. Incorporate these trends into your local marketing strategies—and take it to the bank.
Recently we took a trip to the Willamette Valley—specifically the city of Carlton. Why? Because we had gotten to know a winemaker from that area at the Oregon Wine Experience this summer—and his wines piqued our interest. He is Terry McIntyre, owner and winemaker at Stone Griffon Vineyard and he was all in at the OWE.
Anyone who has worked in retail will quickly recognize OND as October/November/December—that three-month period where your sales will either make or break your year’s profits. Consider both your in-person sales and your DtC shipping orders.
Branding is all the buzz and has been for some time, but branding can be confusing. I hope to clear things up with this post. What’s the difference between the Napa Valley brand and the Willamette Valley brand? Both are internationally renowned, but what sets one apart from the other? What about wine regions like Southern Oregon with an emerging brand? Or others (which I won’t mention) with a weak or even negative brand?
Now’s the time to plan for the new normal when we’re back in business. Things are different now and will be different then. Expectations are different. And your modus operandi had better be different if you want to retain, recapture, and attract customers.
