Wine Paris brought together industry leaders to discuss the future of wine in a changing world. Cultural Comms' Associate Director Rhian Rosser attended the event, connecting with key figures and exploring new insights. One of the standout sessions was Can Marketing Save Wine? by Marie Mascré, Founder and CEO of SOWINE. In her latest piece, Rhian reflects on the role of marketing in shaping the wine industry and whether it holds the key to its future.
It has been quite some time since I attended a lecture in French; the last might have been about Nouvelle Vague film at Manchester University, or perhaps a talk post a screening of La Haine at Manchester’s The Cornerhouse Cinema. In any case, I was at Wine Paris, so I donned my beret (I'm always wearing one, by the way) and went to Marie Mascre’s talk on Can Marketing Save Wine?
My French is a bit rusty, so if you’re reading this, Marie, “je suis désolée” if I misunderstood anything
It’s a thought-provoking question, and one we have discussed with colleagues, clients, and friends at Cultural Comms. Let’s face it: the wine market has endured challenging times over the past few years. We've dealt with Brexit, COVID, a decline in wine consumption, increased duties, wars, and more. There is now intense competition from distilleries, microbreweries, the soft drink boom; add to that the increase in attention on the negative effects of alcohol consumption, and one might wonder: is wine doomed?
However, there are still (responsible drinking) wine enthusiasts out there (the average Brit now drinks 37 bottles of wine a year – Oxford University Our World in Data) and it’s our job to give them guidance on what to drink.
In a recent WhatsApp group chat among wine PR professionals, writers, and communicators, the importance of wine in history, society, philosophy, art, geography, chemistry and even religion was brought to the fore. We dared to imagine a world without wine - can you picture it?
At Wine Paris, the super-stylish Mascre, dressed in a sharp velvet trouser suit, commented on the central role wine plays in many cultures as she witnessed on her around the world wine tour. During her travels, she discovered countless stories, traditions, rituals, pairings, and flavours. She returned with a passion to support wine brands in achieving success, a sentiment echoed by many colleagues and friends in the world of wine communications.
One of the challenges in the wine category is the absence of a dominant brand, especially when compared to soft drinks like Pepsi or Coca-Cola. While there are notable brands like Gallo (the largest global wine producer, accounting for about 3% of the world's wine), Yellow Tail (the consumer favourite for five consecutive years, according to Wine Intelligence), and Torres (voted the most admired brand for the seventh time by Drinks International), the playing field is quite diverse.
Brands create value and demonstrate worth, but is marketing effective only for large brands, or can it succeed across the board?
Marketing helps foster an emotional connection between consumers and brands; simply put, it cultivates brand loyalty. Do producers and companies genuinely understand their customers, or would it be beneficial to enlist marketing specialists to provide insights? Agencies are well aware that many wine companies operate on tight budgets when it comes to marketing. Mascre informed us (I hope I got this right) that wine brands typically allocate only 1-5% of their budget to marketing, while in other sectors, larger brands dedicate 5-10%, and start-ups often invest 19-20% - tough, eh?!
But that 1% to 5% is worth every penny!
Marketing can put brands in the limelight.
The details matter; demonstrating expertise and technical awareness is key. For example, in the tea industry, there are now Master Tea Sommeliers. Premium beer brands like Deus and tea companies are bottling their beverages to emulate Champagne, directly influenced by wine! Wine is also looking to other categories when shaping up its offering, think wine in cans – keeping up with consumer needs and interests is vital.
Marketing is essential for responding to societal changes.
We need to understand what consumers want, as Mascre says. They are seeking brands that are authentic, meaningful, honest, and open. According to a study conducted by Meaningful Brands 2022/Havas Network, "meaningful brands" score 49% higher in transparency and honesty than the average brand.
Brand owners - ask yourselves these questions:
Is your brand transparent? In the face of fake news, we must be more honest and straightforward than ever.
Is your brand responsible? Be public about your corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts; show that you are part of a forward-thinking society. One in two consumers makes choices based on the responsibility of products.
Is your brand simple? Consumers can feel lost in a sea of information, so it’s essential to be clear about what you’re saying about your brand.
Can consumers get creative with your brand? Hedonism—does your brand allow space for creativity, fantasy, and experiences? 50% of the French population feels optimistic about 2025 (Harris Interactive France) – 57% of UK households feel positive about their finances this year (Money Wellness) – things are looking up!
Does your brand connect? Recreate connections with consumers – people want to meet up! 24% of the French report feeling lonely and 27% of UK adults reported this (Office of National Statistics)
Marketing can help brands create desirability. Here are Mascre’s six key ingredients to building a desirable brand:
1. Have Your Own Culture: To connect with today’s society, a brand needs to communicate its history and vision. It should have its own language, references, and culture to build a community and authenticity.
2. Highlight Quality: Draw attention to the brand’s quality, ensuring that the branding lives up to the product, along with the level of customer service.
3. Engage with the Wider World: Show awareness of the world around us to engage consumers.
4. Be Selective: Develop symbiotic relationships that elevate the brand and demonstrate a deeper connection.
5. Create Emotion: Generate positive experiences and long-lasting connections by tapping into how consumers feel.
6. Give it a Face: Determine who will advocate for your brand’s messaging. Consider the power of well-known individuals in giving credibility and conveying the story, culture, and values.
So, can marketing save wine?
Marketing alone can’t save wine, but it is instrumental in creating resilience in the category amid today’s challenges. It’s about storytelling and engagement - it’s not about "Why should consumers drink wine?" but rather "Why should they drink YOUR wine?"
Thank you, Mascre, for inspiring me and all the other wine communication agencies out there who appreciate the magic of wine storytelling as much as we do here at Cultural Comms.
Now, what are we drinking this weekend?
Find out more by contacting Rhian on rhian.rosser@culturalcomms.co.uk.
