Tales from the Cellar

As we have heard from several of our guests, storytelling in wine is one of the most venerable of marketing and advertising schemes. Give the consumer an interesting character he can relate to in an advertisement, and half of the sales job is done, right? Well perhaps it’s not that simple.

I spent the first part of my summer working with Esporao, a Portuguese table wine producer in the Alentejo region. On day 1, I asked what was the company’s primary focus was thinking they would mention some of the usual suspects – growth in the Chinese markets, understanding how to capture the younger generation, how to enhance the perception of Portuguese wines beyond Port and Vinho Verde. The one resounding answer of their primary focus? How to enhance the story of their history and operations and incorporate that effectively in their enotourism efforts. Essentially all of my colleagues were focused on trying to find ways to help Esporao become more engaged with customers, but struggled to figure out exactly HOW to tell their stories in a way that came across to new and existing customers authentically.

Brand storytelling is effective in establishing rituals, showcasing product benefits, and generating excitement but what happens when every wine brand is thinking the same and hoping to somehow find a way to differentiate their story? And what about New World wine brands with a very limited history?

Brand Strategy Manager Matt Sitomer addressed exactly this in during a wine panel moderated by marketing and wine industry professionals about the path to new wine marketing as he has a five step plan to helping wine marketers transform themselves into storytellers.

1. Figure out who you are

Review your winery’s origins and ethos. Sitomer suggests asking yourself simple but essential questions: “Why does this winery exist in the first place? How did it come to be? What does it stand for?” The answers will help you define your enduring brand points, which you can use to drive content marketing across channels. So for example, if food-friendly wine is part of your brand ethos, then “Go all in on food and wine. Make it all about that,” he says.

2. Decide how your enduring brand points differ from your neighbor’s, then make that difference central to your approach across all channels

3. Build stories with tension points and conflict

If you think of your brand as a protagonist in a story, ask yourself, What is it trying to achieve? What’s in its way?

4. Keep it fresh

Let’s say you’ve successfully built a dedicated fan base around your brand. Your loyal customers always know how to find your wine on store shelves. How can you innovate without alienating these important consumers? To get the answer, go back to fundamentals, conducting qualitative and quantitative research to understand what drives the consumers’ connection to that brand.

5. Continuously refine your voice

Try a brand voice session, suggests Sitomer, gathering your team and posing questions like, “How would this brand say thank you? How would it say hello, or goodbye?” Find that voice, then figure out how to keep all communications human and conversational.

I suppose the idea is not necessarily to tell a story just for sake, but rather as a means to distinguish your genuine story from competitors. People tend to forget that quality must precede the story. You can tell a story about a mediocre winery and the winery will still be mediocre. Conversely, every story about a great winery seems to be a great story. I don’t really foresee Andre sparkling wine improving their brand through storytelling unless if to tell consumers about the massive hangover they should expect from two glasses of their wine, but I digress….

Source: http://www.nomacorc.com/blog/2015/02/storytelling-is-the-new-wine-marketing-five-lessons-wine-brands-shifting-toward-narrative/