Major publications like the New York Times and Wine Spectator have recently written that the wine industry is at a crossroads. With the economic recession and the millennial generation coming of age, wineries are forced to change their marketing practices to meet the changing demand. In the past, small wineries could count on their tasting rooms to sell most of their wine, and that, coupled with their wine clubs was enough to provide sustainability.
With the market saturated with wine that is constantly increasing in quality, many customers have turned their focus toward value. This shift of trading some of the prestige of expensive wine for the frugality of buying value wine has made created new problems for some wineries, but for wineries that are willing to adapt to the future of the market, this is a great opportunity.
Today, there are a number of widely used social media sites that provide free exposure to brands that are willing to put in the effort to master their uses. Facebook, Twitter, and blogs (among others) have revolutionized communication and put people in touch in a way that was unimaginable even 10 years ago. For businesses, these social media engines are an opportunity to advertise for free, and an opportunity to advertise to an entirely new target audience.
In a recent issue of Wine Spectator, it was written that the generation that has come of age in the last ten years has gotten interested in wine at a younger age than previous generation. This means that an industry that is steeped in tradition will soon have to change to cater to the generation that is quickly becoming its largest consumer base. Fortunately, this generation is the one that grew up using the internet and is generally most heavily rooted in social media engines like Facebook and Twitter. For wineries, this means that catering to their new customers can be done effectively and cheaply, but it will take an effort to learn about these new means of advertising.
As a member of this emerging generation that dominates the market when it comes to wine sales, I have to say that the way I learn about most new wines is online. Granted, I do not subscribe to any winery facebook pages or twitter accounts, but I do check online deals often and I am inclined to research a product online, especially if it is a more expensive purchase. Heck, I even bought Bordeaux futures online the other day. I would love to see a winery master the uses of social media and begin to cater to what I am looking for in wine and in available information. Gallo has done a good job thus far as they have a wine-food pairing function on their website that will allow users to pick a meal and their programs will choose a wine to match that meal. I have used this function multiple times, bought the suggested wines and have been happy with it.
The notion of the “wine club” is also changing. Wine Spectator now rates more wines online than they do in print. Virtually all wineries have websites and conduct orders through those websites, and while tasting rooms will always provide a valuable connection to the relationship of people, place, and wine, tasting rooms are not the only place where this connection can take place. Having a wine club that offers more ways to reach out to customers will allow for casual drinkers to learn about the winery and the spirit of the wine without travelling to the site. Social media makes this easier and more comfortable than it ever has been.
With producers from all corners of the world in competition, people have more choices than ever when it comes to what wine they will purchase. And, while I likely did more to raise questions about what is next for wine marketing and social media than actually answer them, I hope this post was interesting and will make you aware of the changing face of the industry. Take a look at wineries online. Google “wine club,” to see what pops up. Check out your favorite winery on Facebook. There is a whole new world of advertising available to this tradition laden industry, and the extent to which wineries use these new means of advertisement could shape the wine industry for generations to come.
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