I read a lot of different blogs these days, things I have come across largely through suggestions from other bloggers (that is the real power of blogging). Sometimes this is called something like "Google-drift" but when it is directed, then it is about learning and spreading your horizons.
One such blog is Herd: The Hidden Truth About Who We Are.
The most recent post chimed with my thoughts on my own recent post. If you want to understand what motivates people then you must realise that it is not just "internal" factors but "external" ones. We interact with those around us, we are part of a "herd" of sorts.
When it comes to building wine brands and motivating 20-30 year olds to be interested in wine and buy more bottles, you have to look beyond what you put on the label and what bottle it will come in, but to what factors would motivate that consumer to even get close to your bottle.
Magners did this with a combination of heavy investment in advertising (mainly tube and bus in London), breaking the mould of a stagnant category (cider) and offering a new format for its product (over ice). They got so many people talking about their product they HAD to try it - even if they hadn't seen the bottle, tried cider for years or were even thinking about the alcoholic element.
The "cider conversation" has now spread wide enough that Magners cannot even cope with the demand from across the UK and the entire cider category is growing massively. They continue to advertise, but now it is about reach, not innovation; the consumers are doing that themselves.
Now, where is that wine conversation? How do we get 1 million 20-30 year olds talking about wine, any wine? Ideas on a postcard, please.
Wine over ice? No!
Apple wine? That's just silly!
Chilled red wines for summer? Now there's an option. Hmmm....
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6 comments:
champagne over ice?
http://ukwinesonline.co.uk/wp/piper-heidsieck-champagne-serve-with-ice/
I like Tim Atkin's pretty straight forward answer:
"Why dilute a perfectly good Champagne by adding ice to it?"
(same as you I think)
This is a case of marketers not looking at the reasons for the success, just copying the methods.
I wasn't aware that there was a problem with a lack of young people drinking wine. All of the twenty something girls in London seem quite capable of rapidly finishing off a bottle of Blossom Hill.
No whether that qualifies as wine as a different matter...
good point, although London, and some other major cities, are possibly special cases in the UK
The thing with 20 somethings is that they age! If you are not constantly appealing to this group, you fail to replenish the pool of consumers. Just look at what happened to Sherry.
As for Blossom Hill, if it gets people into wine it is fine, so long as they then explore a little further!!
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Hi Rob.
Interesting blog. Like your Magners discussion.
btw I suspect the trick is to get people doing something neat that others can copy. The enormous social signal of a pint glass with ice in it is just such a behavioural meme.
On wine suggestions:
Hugh at http://www.gapingvoid.com and his Stormhoek have blended something to suit the ice-cube usage occasion.
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