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Research Outline

Prepared for Michelle | Delivered September 26, 2019

Wine Customer Acquisition

Goals

To define a strategy and plan for advertising videos for an eCommerce wine company selling online to mid to high end consumers in the US. Research will be used to guide strategic plan to generate more consumers through video advertising.

Early Findings

  •  Forbes interviewed two experts in how to attract high-end customers, including one from a premium champagne brand. They recommend using organic advertising as the foundation for marketing, making the products more exclusive, having production transparency, using sensory branding, SEO presence, ad retargeting, leverage geo fencing with a physical store front and use third part email services target the premium customer.
  • Traditionally, the tasting room was the way wineries used to market their wines. Now, wineries have moved beyond the tasting room and need new ways to attract customers.
  • As an ecommerce business, a winery cannot drive customer to its tasting room for experience and packages so it must innovate to find other ways. One idea is to use pop-up experiences and find ways to connect with customers offline.
  • A brand's story is becoming an increased focus in wine marketing. Humanizing a brand is especially important in video advertising, as putting a face to name helps people remember a brand. The goal is to show off the brand and demonstrate why the brand is passionate about its wine.
  • Distribution is obviously key, as audience targeting is the most effective advertising. This means using the correct social targeting and using native ads in the right places.
  • For example, baby boomers mostly consume blog articles, images, comments, eBooks and reviews over other types of content. They are also more likely to seek out world news and politics than other generations. They also use Facebook more than other generations and platforms, especially for video.
  •  Baby boomers also prefer wordier information, as that is how they make a decision about purchasing. More information is better, as 8 out of 10 boomers research products online. This means blog posts, especially company blog posts, can be an especially effective tool for this demographic.
  •  Search engine marketing is the most effective for this generation.
  • An AARP campaign found that the older demographic prefers multigenerational videos. A campaign featuring an older comedy icon alongside a millennial rapper did especially well. Baby boomers are optimistic and want to be seen as living their best lives.
  • Even in 2019, this generation is still preferring to mostly shop on their computers, so omnichannel and native mobile experiences are less important.
  • One study looked at purchase motivations for high-end wines around the world. It found that Americans purchase wines for reasons of hedonism, but that for all buyers, wines should "reflect their own heritage and history".
  • The study also found the luxury wine buyer is slowly evolving. Up-and-coming luxury wine buyers have a "focus on socializing with friends or family, healthy activities like yoga and walking, nature-focused activities like hiking and gardening, as well as spiritual practices. The same luxury consumer also shows interest in volunteering and giving to charity and playing leisure sports such as golf or tennis."
  • Luxury wine marketers should focus closer on pairing wine with experiences, such as romance or wine/food pairings.