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Italian Wine: What are the Growth Prospects. And How to Achieve Them. ( 2nd part )
Andrea Rea of Wine Lab Bocconi, again during the meeting in Florence, pointed out:
“Product quality and price are insufficient levers to position wine, which in the meantime has acquired high symbolic values. Just think of the prestige of French wine, but also of the case of Prosecco, which has become an icon of the aperitif, of the chill-out, of the evening with friends. But let's also think about the case of volcanic wines – where the component of the “sublime” (vulnerability of man in front of Nature) and of the “mystery”, as Cathy Huyghe talked about in the newsletter of A Balanced Glass, both play an important role – as well as the difference between luxury wine and fine wine, with completely different dynamics. In fact, the former are growing, and their importance is also crucial in Asian markets such as China, where wine is still a status symbol today.
In reality, new consumers want to purchase experiences through wine: convivial, discovery, memorable. Today, there are at least three distinct markets in wine and therefore three different types of experience:
-a Trendy market tied to fashion, a Fine market motivated by the experience of the territory and an Icon market which requires products of absolute prestige, closer to the consumption of luxury products (which we will call Luxury Wine) ".
Beverland's research on luxury wines has identified the salient factors for this category as: exclusivity, high brand recognition, high quality and great customer loyalty.
Recent studies have distinguished intrinsic qualities of wine from extrinsic qualities, with the former confirmable only when the cork is uncorked and the latter crucial to reinforce the value of the former. Studies carried out at the University of Western Australia by Stephen Jarrett and Wade Jarvis have highlighted eleven almost constant factors:
brand reputation, grape variety, price, label/packaging design, region of origin, awards, vintage,
suggestions from friends, whether or not it has been tasted before, endorsement from critics/experts in the field and
the novelty factor.
A scenario that offers Italy more than a few aces up its sleeve for a strong positioning (think of the myriad of native vines that benefit the novelty factor, limited however by a production that inevitably remains restricted, limited to this or that single area).
It is worth noting the presence among these factors of the opinion of friends/acquaintances, which competes with official recognition and the endorsement of critics/experts in the field.
Brand reputation remains a key factor, often supported by factors such as culture and heritage.
Two key words for Italy, which however lacks adequate tools to narrate it, not so much with regards to storytelling in the company at the time of the actual visit but over the long term.
Consider how few Italian companies have a strong presence on social media and how there is a de facto lack of a national brand capable of conveying a coherent image of the entire national production.
I'm thinking specifically about how the brand "Wine Australia” is managing to support the growing presence of Australian wines on foreign markets from a communication point of view, thanks to an ad hoc space where you can find information, news, photos, videos – an increasingly popular and increasingly effective method – all in a user-friendly way, even for smartphones.
What is missing on social media is not so much the individual realities.
The big names appear here, from Allegrini to Antinori – which in 2017 reached 300 thousand visits, not by chance – from Masi to Banfi, passing through Cavit and Gruppo Mezzocorona, up to Sandi and Gruppo Santamargherita (see the Mediobanca Studies Area for the ranking), passing through the associations and Consortia (such as FIVI and Soave with 23 thousand and 18 thousand likes on FB respectively) and individual companies such as Ennio Ottaviani in Emilia Romagna with 11 thousand “likes” on Facebook.
What is missing is general coordination, a single, effective brand capable of giving cohesion to the Italian fragmentation of Docg, Doc, Igt that too often end up scaring the consumer.
"It is precisely the segment of still PDOs that represents another critical point in the current picture of Italian exports. In 2017, in fact, they lost 3% in volume and for some years now this branch has not offered the hoped-for results” he revealed Tiziana Sarnari by ISMEA.
For those who would like to delve deeper into the research, suggested readings include:
– the project “Project Genome Home & Habits” by Constellation Wines US.
– research conducted for the University of Western Australia signed by Stephen Jarrett and Wade Jarvis
– Beverland's studies, specifically “Crafting Brand Authenticity: The Case of Luxury Wines"
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