Conference on European women as wine consumers and buyers

On June 26th, 2008, there is an international conference taking place in Geneva on European women as wine consumers and buyers. It is organized by the International Associated Women in Wine Federation, an official organization federating organizations of female wine professionals from several European countries (Italy, Spain, Greece, Switzerland, Germany and Hungary).

A representative of each country will present the situation in her own country. I will speak about France and will let you know on Monday what happened to the conference.

Brands vs. Regions?

Last Friday, I spent the day listening to speakers from various countries about strategies to access the international markets. French specialists, such as Yves Benard, President of the INAO (Institute of the Controlled Appellations) or James de Roany, managing director of Chateau Beaulieu in Provence, the Italian Lorenzo Zonin, owner of the Zonin winery, the Spanish Juan-Maria Torres, CEO and co-owner of Torres winery, Adrian Keogh, Marketing Director for Europe of Pernod-Ricard and, last but not least the Australian Anthony Spawton shared their views on the subject.

Anthony Spawton is a wine marketing expert internationally recognized for his pioneer work in this field. He spoke about "Wine brand strategies: the new world experience" and was introduced by Peter Hayes, OIV Chairman. There is no difference between brands and regions, claims Anthony Spawton: brands and regions are the same. Why is that? A brand is "the encapsulation of the IP of a winery/region" and is also "the vehicle that will ensure its future earnings".

To show his point, Tony drew an interesting table of the "salient features of Brand Relevance":

Purchase Intent Criteria - Weekday Wines - Lifestyle - Luxury
Info search - Safe Brand /Grape - Position (niche) brand - Exclusive brand
Decision point - Price Point - Depends on occasion - Scarce, unique
Post purchase evaluation - Taste, consistency - Socially accepted - Complexity

This table shows that branding and marketing should be concerned with creatinf pleasurable consumer experiences (Schmitt, 1999). Which means you want to bring te consumer to the wine and not bring the wine to the consumer. To do so, the distribution chain is part of the supply chain: the wine is made available for sale and purchase by the consumer. The brand champions achieve a mainstream availability and accessibility.

Who are the regional heroes? It is the wines from somewhere and not from anywhere.

The best illustration of this principle during the conference was the new brand launched by James de Roany, Rosé de Provence. Rosé is the pink dry wine from Provence, the region where 80% of the wines produced are pink. As explained in Wine Brands, the idea was to brand a new category, Rosé (dry pink wine vs. sweet blush wines) and a region, Provence, its birth place and "terroir". James' idea was to capitalize on a "terroir" to raise the value of its consumers' territory - to reach the young people and the women, sophisticated consumers of a brand with an history. The region carries the history while the category expresses the trend.

Conclusion: brand vs. region? No, the region is the brand.

Off the beaten trail

American journalist Eric Asimov wrote in his blog about some "Wines off the beaten trail" he enjoyed: a Santorini wine, the 2006 Thalassitis from Gaia Estate; a 2005 Ribolla Gialla from Movia, a winery in Slovenia and a red Austrian wine, the 2006 Iby Classic zweigelt, from Burgenland. It is always a pleasure to taste unknown and very strange wines - especially if they are delicious as those presented by Eric Asimov.

Speaking of "wines off the beaten trail", Asimov's article brought back to my memory something I read on Thai wineries a few weeks ago. In 2005, Martin Roll published Asian Brand Strategy and started a blog on the subject, where he published an article on the branding strategy of Siam winery. Siam Winery is one of the most famous Asian wineries and its wines are now distributed in the US, in UK and Europe. The winery was founded in 1982 by Chalerm Yoovidhya with the ambition of creating an industry that would make Thais proud and of creating a great wine to pair with the exquisite Thai gastronomy. Siam winery developed a real branding strategy for its wines.

With the help of a French winemaker, Laurent Metge-Teppin, Siam winery launched several brands:

- The Moonsoon Valley wines were developed to complement the spicier dishes and are available in red, white and rosé.
- Spy Wine Cooler was introduced in Thailand in 1986. It is a small bottle, the size of a beer bottle, and is produced in pink, white, red and black. The sales of this fun little wine rose as women bought it as an alternative to beer.
- Sabai means chill in Thai. It is a cool and relaxing drink made from the white grape Malaga blanc and the hisbiscus flower or the pomegranate. This wine is also targeted to young and female urban consumers.

The branding strategy of Siam winery is very innovative and dynamic. In a little over 20 years, its founder made a name for his wines and has a wide distribution. As Martin Roll stated in his article, "In an industry where the French and Italian wines have ruled since centuries, a new brand from a least expected country has managed to make a mark within wine brands. With the right commitment towards innovation and product quality combined with a dedicated approach to build a strong brand, Siam Winery could end up as yet another emerging brand that customers would associate with the Kingdom of Thailand."

Women and wine: special designed brands?

Decanter.com, the online version of the British wine magazine, Decanter, announced today that Marks and Spencer launched a new brand of Port, specifically targeted to young, female wine drinkers. "The new style", writes editor-in-chief Adam Lechmere, "is 'bright pink in colour with fresh fruit aromas.' The port has the same sugar levels as ruby ports, while acidity levels are 'finely tuned to ensure the right balance.'"

After tasting the wines, Decanter editor Guy Woodward is very skeptic about the quality and opportunity of such a wine: "While I applaud M&S's effort to take port out to a wider audience, I'm not convinced this is the way to do it. This doesn't taste like any port I know – it's more like vodka and cranberry juice. I suspect they're trying to jump on the rosé bandwagon. The nose smells like a rosé but then you get this whack of confected fruits and alcohol on the palate."

Marks and Spencer would not be the first company trying to surf on the wave of the new consuming trends and new consumers. Women are a very important potential target: they buy 70% of the wines sold in UK supermarkets and 80% sold in US supermarkets. It seems like a good idea to specifically design wines for them. Unfortunately women are resisting this trend. Some do not recognize themselves or their tastes in those light and unsophisticated wines, as Margreet O'Sullivan says on the Decanter site: "I love a full bodied, concentrated, complex wine with a well integrated, but noticeable tannic structure - and above all - length!"

Why is that? First, biologically, women are recognized as having a finer palate than men. Then, if their wine culture is not as large or sophisticated as men's wine culture, women usually know what they like: a good wine pairing well with their meal or the occasion of the meal, i.e. an evening with friends, a formal dinner, a special occasion, a barbecue or a picnic. Last but not least, they choose their wine for the pleasure of drinking and sharing a good time, more than for impressing their guests (or their hosts).

Wines specifically designed for women are made by people who think they know what women like, when, most of the time, women will buy in the spurr of the moment. Our advice to winemakers and producers: create a great wine, without bothering to craft for men or women. Design it for our pleasure!