Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/303900
www.beveragedynamics.com May/June 2014 • Beverage Dynamics 39 In lockstep with the national cam- paign, retailers show off the Chateau St. Jean-Sheryl Crow partnership via customizable in-store displays of all sizes that prominently feature the musician's likeness and the promise of a triplet of downloadable songs. "You can do the download offer as just a shelf- talker or off the necker—great for a clean-store look," Sheridan said. A media megastar is, understand- ably, a great way to increase a wine label's visibility both inside and outside a store, but if you're not one of the top fi ve suppliers, you may not have the marketing budget—or the inclination--to make that kind of splash. For Crimson Wine Group, for example, center stage goes to the wine itself--and high ratings by esteemed publications. The Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc + Viognier touts its 90-point score from Robert Parker on the whole range of its marketing materials, like shelf toppers that reinforce the green-on-green color theme for the line. The largest, dark-green block conspicuously repeats the phrase "90 points." It's a strategy that allows Crimson to appeal to the retail trend toward sparser, sleeker aisles. "The challenge in a lot of stores is the clear-store policy, where you can't have case cards or even shelf toppers--they don't want any- thing breaking up the lines of sight," said Natasha Hayes, Crimson vice president of marketing. "So one of the things we did is up the ante in terms of shippers, because that is our case card, our point of sale." CUSTOMIZING PROGRAMS Up in the Pacifi c Northwest, where one of the primary challenges is convincing consumers to try domestic wines that don't come from California, Precept Wines takes the customization for retailers as far as they can, with an entirely in-house design arm that creates elements tailored to fi t a particular store's look. For Metropolitan Market, a seven-store high-end re- tail chain in the Northwest, for example, Precept crafted rustic-looking chalkboards that tied into the company's ongoing relationship with Wash- ington Wine Month. "When the Sutter Home Build a Better Burger program was such a success, everyone else fol- lowed suit, and for the large wine companies you'd have these massive wine programs and hope they'd work on a wide platform and have broad expectations," said Alex Evans, Precept's chief marketing offi cer. "For a mid-size company, and because of the shift in how retailers are marketing the wine category, our greatest success is to customize down to the specifi c customer. Rather than us spending a lot of time on a stock promotion that's large-scale and one-size-fi ts-all, we'd rather work with each individual retailer. Our designer's our ninja—we're just very quick and nimble." A CHALLENGE TO RETAILERS Nevertheless, Mitzel at Happy Harry's has found that companies seem to gravitate toward similar, previously successful themes, mak- ing differentiating – and selling - these wines a challenge. "Many of the cabernets released in the last few years in the $10 to $13 price point are geared to a particular consumer with similar stylistic looks, and there's not a lot of differentiation between them aside from the names," Mitzel said. "Kind of that textured label, kind of like Victorian drapery or a doily. Eventually, you have three or four displays of things at a reasonably similar price point, all looking alike and with a funky name." So Happy Harry's has forsaken simply putting out mass-display marketing props. Instead, it might build its own unique displays around elements of those props—putting its own twist on the Build a Better Burger contest, for example, by using the Sutter Home Weber grill as the centerpiece for a Happy Harry's summertime creche. (The stores are known for their "shock-and-awe" presentations, such as a bowling alley with Malibu rum bottles as pins.) On the other end of the spectrum is Martin Wine Cellar in New Orleans, a family-run chain that is con- sidered a local institution. "Cardboard cutouts don't work for us," said owner Ce- dric Martin. "I don't put up supplier displays, wine scores or shelf markers. We make our own price markers." Instead of props and physical marketing materials, the big draw for consumers are the celebrities, wine experts, and industry personalities—think Paul Draper or a member of the Gallo family—who have made Mar- tin's self-described "candy store for adults" a regular stop. The featured guests promote the wine or educate customers at sit-down wine tastings that can draw as many as 70 and create word-of-mouth about a partic- ular label. Critical to that are the relationships Martin developed with vineyards over the decades, and the trust his customers have in his and his employees' taste. "They like the personal attention, the knowledge of our staff, and the fact that we fi nd things before other people fi nd them," Martin said. "They say, 'I remember I bought this from you four years ago, when nobody knew about it.' We educate the consumer, and it's paid off." BD Among Treasury Wine Estates' merchandising materials are this Beringer Founders Estate link with the PGA and the Sheryl Crow tie-in with Chateau St. Jean. One of the most effective and long-lasting wine promotions is Sutter Home's "Build a Better Burger Contest." Seen here celebrating is the 2012 winner Erin Everson, of Brooklyn, NY, surrounded by other contest fi nalists. Precept Wines created these merchandising materials to try to focus consumers on Washington State wines.