Binge drinking, underage drinking, drunk driving are topics making the news a lot in the beginning of this summer. Is it because the season makes everybody more relaxed and willing to have a drink to fight the heat of the season? I don't know, but whatever the reason I read a lot about this important topic. It comes back to educating young people on wine, alcohol and, very interestingly, their parents, as a recent initiative showed.
Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. partnered with the Century Council’s educational campaign, “Girl Talk.” The Century Council, a not-for-profit organization funded by distillers and dedicated to fighting drunk driving and underage drinking, held two “Girl Talk” initiatives in the month of June 2008 to help mothers start the dialog with their teenage daughters about the dangers of underage drinking. A recent survey by The Century Council revealed that nearly half of all mothers think underage drinking is acceptable under some circumstances. The survey found also that mothers of teenage daughters underestimate the occurrence of underage drinking among their own daughters and misjudge the seriousness of the issue. The Council created a website to encourage the conversation, between mothers and daughters on underage drinking, as well as the website to inform their daughters on the danger of drinking.
The partnership of Beam Global Spirits & Wine with this initiative is in the line of the group's strategy of preventing over drinking, drunk driving and underage drinking through its drink smart® responsibility platform.
This initiative is quite welcome as a lot of parents are occasional drinkers and might not have the understanding that wine and alcohol are cultural products, needing to be consumed with moderation and requiring the exercise of a better judgment. This program should be developed in many countries where underage drinking is very often the consequence of the lack of awareness and education of the parents on wine and alcohol.
Showing posts with label young consumers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label young consumers. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
The Millennials: the next generation of collectors?
"There are a lot of young wine drinkers nowadays who are starting to be the next generation of collectors," said Wesley Steffens, 31, who manages his family's new Vineyard 7 & 8 winery on the hills over Napa Valley. This somewhat provocative statement made me think about the future of wine and more specifically of great wines. It is true that traditional collectors, mostly Baby Boomers, are reaching their 60s, some even their 70s and 80s. I know some of them who are worried about their collection because their children are not at all interested by wine: they know they won't be able to drink all their bottles and wonder what their fate will be when they're gone. Some sell their collection by auction, others to great restaurants or just hope for the best.
And those optimistic ones could be right. The Millennials are drinking more and more wine. Instead of drinking beer in college, they drink wine - Two Buck Chuck for example (the $2 Charles Shaw wine) - same price as beer but classier. They want to learn but in a fun way. No classes, no readings but tastings in a festive mood. Some brands understood the mentality of the Millennials, a generation with no brand loyalty. The trick is to catch their attention and retain it. Those wineries organize huge parties or organize a special "experience" for their younger customers. Garen Staglin, owner of the famous high-end Staglin Family winery, provides tour of his vineyard where the movie, The Parent Trap, starring Linsday Lohan, was filmed. Judd Finkelstein, from Judd's Hill winery founded by his parents in Napa Valley, organizes a barbecue, plays ukulele in his Hawaian shirt and entertains his customers. The winery also created a "microcrush" cuvee allowing its customers to make their own wine without all the hassles of owning a winery.
These initiatives allow the young generation to learn about wine and move up from Two Buck Chuck to higher end wine. They become accustomed to buy wine instead of beer or liquor, to taste it in a fun environment and to enjoy it without all the fuss usually made about wine by older people. Isn't it the best way to teach wine to the young ones?
And those optimistic ones could be right. The Millennials are drinking more and more wine. Instead of drinking beer in college, they drink wine - Two Buck Chuck for example (the $2 Charles Shaw wine) - same price as beer but classier. They want to learn but in a fun way. No classes, no readings but tastings in a festive mood. Some brands understood the mentality of the Millennials, a generation with no brand loyalty. The trick is to catch their attention and retain it. Those wineries organize huge parties or organize a special "experience" for their younger customers. Garen Staglin, owner of the famous high-end Staglin Family winery, provides tour of his vineyard where the movie, The Parent Trap, starring Linsday Lohan, was filmed. Judd Finkelstein, from Judd's Hill winery founded by his parents in Napa Valley, organizes a barbecue, plays ukulele in his Hawaian shirt and entertains his customers. The winery also created a "microcrush" cuvee allowing its customers to make their own wine without all the hassles of owning a winery.
These initiatives allow the young generation to learn about wine and move up from Two Buck Chuck to higher end wine. They become accustomed to buy wine instead of beer or liquor, to taste it in a fun environment and to enjoy it without all the fuss usually made about wine by older people. Isn't it the best way to teach wine to the young ones?
Thursday, March 13, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Generation Y and Branding
Also called "Millennials" or "Generation Why", this group is widely represented in a lot of countries and constitutes a major target for local and global brands. In the US, there are 70 million people under 30; in Vietnam, they represent 50% of the 90 million people; in China, they are 200 million strong and there are 367 million people under the age of 18, a huge potential market for this growing economy. In South Africa, they account for 35% of the population.
In countries where their number is not as significant, they are different from the Baby Boomers: in East European countries, the Millennials are the first post-communist generation and in Southern Europe, the first post-dictatorship generation. In emerging countries (South Korea, Russia), they are the first generation growing in a stabilized social environment.
The generation Y was born with Internet and finds it easy to interact with each other and then with the world. Forums, blogs, Facebook, iTunes and many other community sites are their favorite places to express themselves, share their ideas, tastes and distastes. Those young people think they can make life fit their specific needs and wants. Brands have to get used to engage in a two-way conversation with those potential consumers. Their favorite US brands, Trader Joe's, Ben and Jerry's and Whole Foods (to take into account only the brands connected to the wine and food business) communicate to their customers in a very personal and socially aware style. It's not so much what they communicate that how they do: Millennials like style, a real voice, and a bit of attitude. They love to blend personal and professional life: their workplace, the marketplace and the lifestyle have to stay connected in a meaningful way.
What does it mean for wine brands? In the US, the percentage of Millennials who consume wine has increased from 10% in 2004 to 17% in 2006. Even more interesting, Millennials and GenXers are more inclined to drink wine than beer.
How did they become interested in wine? For some of them, their parents drank wine and they grew up with wine on the table. “My parents are both big into wine”, said 22-year-old Jennifer Hammons to journalist Deborah Pankey, Daily Herald Food Editor on November 30, 2005. ”At first I didn’t like it, but then it grew on me.”
There is much the same scenario for young people in France: wine is a food always on the family table. Young children are encouraged to taste a drop of champagne or wine during family gatherings. Later in their teens, they are given a third of a glass of wine or champagne with their meal. Why do they then reject wine to go on to beer, cocktails or liquors? Very often, as sociologist Céline Simonnet-Toussaint explains in her book Le Vin sur le Divan, young people under 25 reject wine because it is the symbol of the family. Young people want to experiment with their freedom, but they come back to wine at around 25, when they get their first job, their first “real” apartment and start settling into their new life.
Others discover wine by themselves – during a trip to a wine country, like Napa in the USA, Burgundy in France, Tuscany in Italy, Priorato in Spain or Porto in Portugal. They get interested, go to wine classes or tastings, join a wine club and explore wine stores to get good advice. Mostly, like the women, they listen to their peers, surf the Internet to read about wine and discuss their new passion in forums.
The wine industry is aware of the need of young people for more knowledge. At the same time, this new generation of wine drinkers is very different from preceding generations. It is the “coca cola generation": they have a much sweeter tooth, they are “zappers”, having known TV and the Internet all their lives, and they are used to getting what they want and paying a high price for it. After all, they pay $3.50 for their daily Starbucks cappuccino and download their songs for $1 or their movies for $5 every day on their iPod or MP3. They know that everything has a price and usually a high price.
Taking these parameters into account, some wine makers considered designing wines specifically targeted at Millennials and GenXers: fun labels, fruity forward wines and a high price. Millennials do not hesitate to pay up to $20 for a bottle of wine! Indeed, they do not yet have any big financial burdens: no children, often a two-income household, no parents to take care of, a good salary and a large disposable income. Unfortunately for the wine industry, they rarely buy the same bottle twice, because there is such a huge choice of brands. They want to be the first to discover a new brand or a new trend, the first to try them and share them with their peers.
Nonetheless, major groups have designed brands for Millennials as they have for women. Constellation designed 3 Blind Moose, Four Emus, Monkey Bay and other “fun” brands. There is no talk of terroir or winemaking on the packaging. The label does not tell a wine story, but a story of having a good time and fun with your friends. Those brands sell well. Gary Glass, former Vice-President of Marketing for Constellation’s Centerra Wine Company, estimates that 3 Blind Moose sold 175,000 cases in 18 months on the market.
At the same time, young people are not as comfortable as their elders when they buy wine. They can be adventurous, but they also seek quality and certainty. Whether they are American, European or Japanese, they will rely on a classic wine from Europe or a well known luxury brand from the New World. Wine is still a little intimidating for Millennials. It is the wine industry's responsibility to help the young generation to appreciate wine.
In countries where their number is not as significant, they are different from the Baby Boomers: in East European countries, the Millennials are the first post-communist generation and in Southern Europe, the first post-dictatorship generation. In emerging countries (South Korea, Russia), they are the first generation growing in a stabilized social environment.
The generation Y was born with Internet and finds it easy to interact with each other and then with the world. Forums, blogs, Facebook, iTunes and many other community sites are their favorite places to express themselves, share their ideas, tastes and distastes. Those young people think they can make life fit their specific needs and wants. Brands have to get used to engage in a two-way conversation with those potential consumers. Their favorite US brands, Trader Joe's, Ben and Jerry's and Whole Foods (to take into account only the brands connected to the wine and food business) communicate to their customers in a very personal and socially aware style. It's not so much what they communicate that how they do: Millennials like style, a real voice, and a bit of attitude. They love to blend personal and professional life: their workplace, the marketplace and the lifestyle have to stay connected in a meaningful way.
What does it mean for wine brands? In the US, the percentage of Millennials who consume wine has increased from 10% in 2004 to 17% in 2006. Even more interesting, Millennials and GenXers are more inclined to drink wine than beer.
How did they become interested in wine? For some of them, their parents drank wine and they grew up with wine on the table. “My parents are both big into wine”, said 22-year-old Jennifer Hammons to journalist Deborah Pankey, Daily Herald Food Editor on November 30, 2005. ”At first I didn’t like it, but then it grew on me.”
There is much the same scenario for young people in France: wine is a food always on the family table. Young children are encouraged to taste a drop of champagne or wine during family gatherings. Later in their teens, they are given a third of a glass of wine or champagne with their meal. Why do they then reject wine to go on to beer, cocktails or liquors? Very often, as sociologist Céline Simonnet-Toussaint explains in her book Le Vin sur le Divan, young people under 25 reject wine because it is the symbol of the family. Young people want to experiment with their freedom, but they come back to wine at around 25, when they get their first job, their first “real” apartment and start settling into their new life.
Others discover wine by themselves – during a trip to a wine country, like Napa in the USA, Burgundy in France, Tuscany in Italy, Priorato in Spain or Porto in Portugal. They get interested, go to wine classes or tastings, join a wine club and explore wine stores to get good advice. Mostly, like the women, they listen to their peers, surf the Internet to read about wine and discuss their new passion in forums.
The wine industry is aware of the need of young people for more knowledge. At the same time, this new generation of wine drinkers is very different from preceding generations. It is the “coca cola generation": they have a much sweeter tooth, they are “zappers”, having known TV and the Internet all their lives, and they are used to getting what they want and paying a high price for it. After all, they pay $3.50 for their daily Starbucks cappuccino and download their songs for $1 or their movies for $5 every day on their iPod or MP3. They know that everything has a price and usually a high price.
Taking these parameters into account, some wine makers considered designing wines specifically targeted at Millennials and GenXers: fun labels, fruity forward wines and a high price. Millennials do not hesitate to pay up to $20 for a bottle of wine! Indeed, they do not yet have any big financial burdens: no children, often a two-income household, no parents to take care of, a good salary and a large disposable income. Unfortunately for the wine industry, they rarely buy the same bottle twice, because there is such a huge choice of brands. They want to be the first to discover a new brand or a new trend, the first to try them and share them with their peers.
Nonetheless, major groups have designed brands for Millennials as they have for women. Constellation designed 3 Blind Moose, Four Emus, Monkey Bay and other “fun” brands. There is no talk of terroir or winemaking on the packaging. The label does not tell a wine story, but a story of having a good time and fun with your friends. Those brands sell well. Gary Glass, former Vice-President of Marketing for Constellation’s Centerra Wine Company, estimates that 3 Blind Moose sold 175,000 cases in 18 months on the market.
At the same time, young people are not as comfortable as their elders when they buy wine. They can be adventurous, but they also seek quality and certainty. Whether they are American, European or Japanese, they will rely on a classic wine from Europe or a well known luxury brand from the New World. Wine is still a little intimidating for Millennials. It is the wine industry's responsibility to help the young generation to appreciate wine.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
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 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."
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 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."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
