The Drinks Business today published an article on the Top 10 Tips for Marketing Drinks Brands.
In the introduction, writer Joanna Davies mentions that “Perhaps in the future we will see a new age of marketing; an age where marketing departments allocate budgets based on consumers, shoppers or customers rather than media channels.”
I think the future is closer than we think. Or it should be as far as marketing departments are concerned.
Ten years ago the focus was on product and we tried to get confirmation of the quality of our product and offering. Having an exceptional wine hopefully resulted in great ratings and praise from wine experts and wine writers.
The ratings, the awards and the opinions from experts were all crucial to our marketing efforts. Publicity came via the articles of writers focusing on the quality of the product and press releases shared information on what makes the product exceptional.
Today however, it is not only the opinion of the expert that counts. Every consumer can publicize their opinion via online channels and social media. Never before was word of mouth so important. The view of the average Joe can have a definite effect on public opinion.
So while for us the quality of the product is not negotiable, creating brand awareness is taking another route. Rather than focusing on the product, we have to focus on the customer. It is customers’ experience – even when they are no experts on the specific subject – that will be shared via social media platforms. In fact, everyone becomes an expert.
I am in agreement with the Drinks Business article that marketing your product needs an integrated approach and has to involve everyone in the chain and make use of all the channels.
Creating consumer demand is crucial, sales people need to buy into your concept and product, the experience around your brand has to be original and shareable, you have to engage with your consumers and you have to use the platforms that make it easy for them to use and share your content as well as to purchase your product.
For me the Millennials represents the change we have to see in the marketing landscape. I’d like to repeat a quote from a previous blog, The Millennials, worth another look: “Millennials are drinking more wine than previous generations of young consumers, which is forcing the wine industry to rethink its marketing approach.”