Wine promotion - street smarts - Sweden : bag in box is trendy!

Just back from Sweden where I noticed interesting wine localized marketing actions:

.Bag in Box: could you imagine a TV ad in France promoting bag in box? No!. But it's the case in Sweden and it's in even trendy (look at below creative packaging). Furthermore, bag in box sales represent 50 to 60% of the total wine sales. I guess the price is also weighting in the decision process as all alcohol are only being distributed through state own stores. In Sweden as well as in some others Nordic countries, states have a monopoly on alcohol distribution.
More about bag in box in Sweden: http://packagingsense.com/?p=1316; http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/14/business/yourmoney/14goods.html

Bag-in-Box creative packagings offering in Sweden

.Branding: another interesting promotion. A tv show starting with the sponsor's commercial (a Chile wine producer). A bottle of red wine is shown with a voice only mentioning the brand and in the mean time a close focus on the brand on the label.
.Restaurant wine menu: country of origin and grapes are the only infos available.

Conclusion: think out of the box, forget about your own domestic market specific aspects and develop format and value proposition that fit with local demand. Basic marketing you might say, true, but is it clearly understood by most of French wine makers? Few do and gain market shares, while others try to roll-up same French approach. 

Bag-in-Box dispenser, Swedish deisgn

My personal advice: as the Japanese says when there is a problem to be fixed on the production line: "genchi genbutsu". Which literally means, see for yourself and not rely only on messages brought by others. Extrapolated to wine: visit yourself with an open mind market(s) you are targeting BEFORE promoting your wine. It could save you a lot of money!

Last tasted and enjoyed wine : German dry Rielsing

50. 3stars (max. 5stars, own ranking):
Charta Riesling (dry), Weingut Johannishof (Estate), Rheingau (Region), Germany

A very nice tasting. I think this is the first Rielsing from Germany I have ever tasted. This wine was served over Salmon Pastrami with Horseradish Mayonnaise and Watercress Salad.


Conclusion : very good wine. I definitely need to change my mind about Rielsing (there are not only sweet wines!). And, also start to make some room in my wine cellar for German Riesling.  


Below dedicated info about this wine, you'll also find key points to remember about German Riesling.

Charta Riesling (dry), Weingut Johannishof (Estate), Rheingau (Region), Germany

View Larger Map

As I am myself not that much knowledgeable about German wines, I thought I could share my findings with you. 

You'll find below key points to remember about German Riesling.

Video : Wines of Germany and the WSET have produced a video (presented by Jancis Robinson, Master in Wine)

Introduction
Historically, Riesling has roots in Germany’s Rheingau region that date back to at least the 15th century. There are 13 designated German wine regions, with the top 4 or 5 worth committing to memory

13 wine regions : focus on Rheingau (region where this wine is coming from)

Rheingau - Situated along the Rhine river, Rheingau is home to one of Germany's most famous Riesling Estates, Schloss Johannisberg. It's believed that Charlemagne helped promote viticulture in this region back in about 750 AD. The Rieslings from Rheingau have a reputation for being richer and more full-bodied than those hailing from the Mosel region. Rheingau villages to look for on the label: Johannisberg, Oestrich, Hochheim, Erbach and Rauenthal.

Here is a classification of German white wines
To keep in mind is level sweetness and related quality level (extreme right column).
Especially : Eiswein (sweet), Aulese (Semi-sweet), Charta (dry).

German wine classification - Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pr%C3%A4dikat
http://wine.about.com/od/historyandculture/a/Rieslingwinesgermany.htm
http://www.wine-searcher.com/wine-118126-0001-weingut-johannishof-eser-riesling-charta-qba-white-rheingau-germany
http://www.weingut-johannishof.de/englisch/estate.htm

Stanford Study: Wine's pricetag does affect its Taste

Interesting study, though I am not that much surprised by the result. I often feel better when purchasing a high pricetag goods.


To take home :
"What we document is that price is not just about inferences of quality, but it can actually affect real quality," said Baba Shiv, Sanwa Bank, Limited, Professor of Marketing who co-authored the paper. "So, in essence, [price] is changing people's experiences with a product and, therefore, the outcomes from consuming this product."


Source : Standford Graduate School of Business, 2012