12 Jun Digital Wine Marketing: A currently tool for wine sector competitiveness and a way to innovate wine business models
This paper intends to trace a brief analysis about Digital Wine Marketing as a tool to improve a fair competitiveness in wine sector and a way to innovate wine business models.
The digital marketing is responsible for increase brand awareness and sales, delivering a creative and polished message to capture consumer’s attention. Although the wine sector resisted at first to use the Internet, nowadays digital marketing is a growing reality in this sector and becoming a complex issue and very current. It is a part of successful wineries strategies. So, help small ones develop this field with high quality is a key for the success to compete equally in the competitive global wine market and communicate correctly with the public.
We can say that the success of wine sector is related to know adapt and respond to these new demanding, observe the Millennials habits and behavior and to be present in the different available online platforms, carrying out a collaborative and participatory marketing that adds value and allows to create impact and redesign the old structures.New challenges call new answers.
To approach the market with a new look and to understand what the companies can present as novelty to the consumer becomes urgent. We are talking about values that inspire and contribute to a more positive and healthy society. New wineries may not have a secular history to support themselves, but they can have values to inspire and approach consumers through a lifestyle or philosophy. Identify the new trends and gaps in the market means find new opportunities to develop a job with more conscience and purpose. And this message that should be base the strategies of the digital marketing plan of these wineries.
In this new reality, Digital Wine Marketing serves as a rapidly communicating with consumers that are scattered around the world and boosts the sense of belonging to a community in which we share our most intrinsic values (what drives the new generation). Thus, issues such as moderatedconsumption and social and environmental responsibility should also be a concern of digital marketing. Is the sharing of values between the company and the public that allows us to create a relationship of trust that will be maintained through these new online tools. However, we must be aware that in addition to using the new tools, it is necessary to establish the contents that will be shared there – with caution and through a consolidated strategic plan.
Communication on the Internet involves the development of interactive advertising that allows a close relationship between company / consumer, creating a virtual community, managing the information that is made available, in order to create a strong brand image before the public through interaction and participation, to co-create content in a positive and beneficial way to all who make up this virtual community. Today this should be a goal that is considered with responsibility and importance by wineries, such as wine making good wines. Knowing how to communicate has become crucial to getting a good position in the market where you operate.
The diversity of actions, using the innovation of digital platforms and the mixture of approaches, always seeking to surprise positively, provoking positive feelings are part of successful campaigns and effective brand communication. Wineries has to explore the existing synergies between these platforms by betting on a mix of communication to provide differentiation and achieve a real competitive advantage to increase brand awareness.
Social Medias
Social networks also gain importance in the wine sector and its use by wineries has increased. In the past, the wineries did not have at their disposal these tools to communicate directly with their customers, so they were dependent on word of mouth communication. Nowadays, communication is made easy and companies can talk in the first person with their customers and establish a close relationship, which allows a sharing of values and consequently a greater connection, thus fostering a relationship of trust and transparency as we said.
Due to the greater connectivity that the Internet offers and increasingly devices accessibility there are several platforms that wineries can use to stay connected with their consumers. The main wine social networks: are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Periscope, Vivino e TripAdvisor. We know that each platform has its characteristic features that make the Internet a versatile and democratic space. While some platforms prioritize more texts (sharing relevant information), others prioritize audio visual contents (setting up a simple, appealing, and quick way to communicate events that were often restricted behind the scenes, but now gain prominence). Some platforms allow companies to create their own content while others allow only receive feedback from their customers. In the practice of Digital Marketing we verify that it is the sum of these contents created by the producing houses, as well as by their clients that will compose their identity in the cyber space.
What we must emphasize here is the possibility of everyone having a voice on the internet, so it takes a careful work of the wineries to follow the information that is being created about themselves, although they can not control the creation. Thus, wineries should be concerned with observing the medium and listening to their customers in order to make the necessary adjustments, informing them adequately in order to assist in the construction of their positive image in this virtual space. If they do not do this, they run the risk of the community creating an image about them from their own perceptions that may not be exactly what the wineries prefer to convey.
The opinions and comments of customers who have already consumed the products and services or who have already had an experience of wine tourism are often a deciding factor on which winery to visit, when and why, since the comments tend to describe in detail the experience. It could become a great advertising weapon inviting other people to live this experience or a real wound in the image of the winery.
Thus, the necessity to invest in professionals attentive to the tendencies of the wine market and who are experts in managing social networks arises. That is, professionals who are in charge of elaborating the contents that will periodically feed the social networks of the wineries, using tools of advertising communication and being concerned to respond to the interventions and demands of the clients, in order to strategically evaluate how the future communications should proceed.
This social networks management is increasingly important. Realizing consumers needs in order to respond to their wishes in a timely manner and understanding what they express about the brand is key to driving the form and vehicle of proper communication. This means that in practice there is no a closed formula that can be applied by all wineries, but rather that there is the indispensability of using specialist professionals who can perceive the different contexts that each winery is inserted in, which requires personalized responses. This care is necessary to show the genuineness of each of them, authenticity which is so appreciated by consumers.
Consumers look for original experiences and become more informed, so they tend to invest their money in products and services that have something more to offer than quality. That is why it is fundamental for wineries to update and offer pleasant experiences since the research on the Internet (through responsive and good looking websites) until consumption of the product.
Customer’s perspective
Social networks are an information rich source and give the possibility of directly interacting, commenting, posing questions, opining and suggesting. The direct communication approximates and enlarges the sense of belonging of that community that now is formed around common interests, in this case, the wine.
Short distances
Winelovers from any part of the world can follow the activities of these wineries, as well as they can follow the activities of their congeners around the globe in order to stay updated in this highly competitive and internationalized market.
Communication trends in the wine sector
Customization
Marketing according to the profile of who receives the message is important to properly communicate and monetize resources. As we have seen, the recruitment of specialists to help wineries to communicate accurately and distinctly in this new digital age is increasing, which entails costs, so it has to be strategically carried out in a way that builds a healthy image towards consumers and not waste resources with mass communication that does not usually sensitize consumers.
So now the challenge is to communicate individually, identifying appropriate solutions to the message recipients. The consumers look for a product in their image, which will differentiate without marginalizing and in this context the experiences of personalized wine tourism, commemorative labels or limited editions are a way to give prestige to consumers in their individuality .For example, the personalized labels as an option of gift launched by JMF in 2016 Christmas season in Portugal or the possibility of consumers creating their own blends in the “Nano Bodega” implemented by the spanish Campo Viejo, thus providing the experience of being an oenologist for one day).
Promote participation
Consumer action is essential in brand building and the internet enhances this involvement. Participation in this area implies the creation of a virtual community, reinforcement of belonging to a group offering greater feedback and giving strength to the brand. This participation promotes traffic to the website and to social networks, so important to retain customers and promote sales.
Followers
Although, at first look, high numbers of followers impress, the practical experience reveals that what really matters is the quality of them. Note that a user who has only followed to benefit from a discount indicated in a certain campaign does not have the same value for the company as the one who follows this on social networks for having the same values and for identifying with the contents, for example. The last group will have a greater commitment, they will share the contents of the page, as well as create their own content about the brand (which tend to be positive) and thus, by creating opinion they will promote the brand and encourage others also consume this brand.
E-commerce
Now there is the possibility of consumers making purchases from social networks, such as Facebook that made available the online store resource on the corporate profile pages, driving the online shopping flow. It still little explored, but with great potential, since it allows consumers to be informed before purchases through informative texts about the products and the winemakers or through videos and images of a virtual reality that allow these consumers to visit the winery or the region. It helps contextualise the purchase, enriching this experience by showing the production chain and the differentiation of the product, although the consumer has bought in the comfort of your home.
Instantaneity
Use the features of Snapchat or Insta Stories to promote private sales with more attractive conditions for a short period of time. The urgency of looking at the supply before it disappears is a trigger for impulse purchases and induces consumers to follow the social networks of the wineries with some frequency in order to benefit from these unique opportunities.
Video Live
With the resources of Periscope and Facebook Live it is possible to carry out content (winemaker interviews, wine tasting and food pairing, for example) at low cost and to promote interaction between those who do the filming and who is interacting. In the world of wines, this is another tool available to build a close relationship with your community and consumers.
Storytelling
Wineries should communicate with an emotional bond with consumers, convey feelings, seduce and invoke a culture and wine hedonism. This is because millennials are motivated by feelings and experiences, so provoking them good emotions is a good bet.
The best storyteller will bring the costumer to the spotlight, so that they can live their own experiences with the mark. With time the words become diluted, but the sensations and feelings still in the memory and contribute to build a positive brand image. If the costumers participate in the stories there are higher chances to they identify with a brand and spread also this passion for wine and for the brand. In this way, a polite message, references to local culture, good images and soundtracks are relevant to entertain the public and then wineries can be remembered in the future through good memories[1].
It is worth noting that storytelling does not necessarily have to be done individually, but also through the collective histories of denominations of origin, geographical indications, collective marks or even movements as organic wine producers.
Conclusion:
In short, we believe that Digital Wine Marketing is an actual challenge and that its success depends on highly qualified professionals sensitive to the constant and rapid changes that occur in this scenario. Digital Wine Marketing is a currently tool for wine sector competitiveness, a way to innovate wine business models and also an approach to support this secular sector adapt to new consumer market expectations and take advantage of cyber evolution as we have already seen in other industries.
[1]Also remember that online tastings and blog trips are resources to convey emotions in this digital setting. Note that Instagram is a storytelling platform through images in which sharing experiences invites more people to enjoy them.
Bibliography:
– KOTLER, Philip et al., Marketing 3.0: Do Produto e do Consumidor até ao espírito Humano, 2º edição, Lisboa, Actual
– Joris Merks-Benjaminsen, Online brand identity, 1stedition, September 2015, Adfo.
– KAUSHIK, Avinash (2010),Web Analytics 2.0: The Art of Online Accountability and Science of Custormer Centricity, 1st edition, Indiana – USA, Wiley
– RYAN, Damian, Jones, Calvin (2012),Understanding Digital Marketing: Marketing Strategies for Engaging the Digital, 2nd edition, Philadelphia – USA, KoganPage
Written by Natália Andrade Viana and Ismar Pereira S. Filho
