Lorenzo Biscontin
Strong title, I know.
I could have put a question mark at the end, or started the article by saying that it is a provocation, to lighten the message.
Instead I leave it like this, in its naked crudeness.
The only thing I can add to make it less dramatic is that we are doing everything wrong in attracting and involving new consumers and/or occasional consumers, while current communication still works for current enthusiasts (who are now responsible for most of wine consumption).
The data from the markets are undeniable.
The problem is that in recent months wine communication has been renewed, at least in its intentions, precisely to address the sharp drop in consumption and address non-consumers or sporadic consumers. People who, in general, belong to Gen Z and Millennials.
Segmenting instead by consumption behavior, to better contextualize the demographic division, I agree with Rob McMillan when in the Silicon Valley Bank – State of the US Wine Industry Report two years ago he indicated that the most important target to deal with the decline in wine consumption was those who habitually consumed alcohol, but not wine.
What values ​​is the industry communicating to win over these people?
Both some (laudable) recent collective communication campaigns and many institutions and companies base the defense (and this is already a term that indicates a disadvantageous position) of wine on three key values:
1. History/tradition.
2. Conviviality.
3. Socioeconomic relevance.
Let’s try to analyze them one by one.
History/tradition
These are values ​​substantially opposed to the attitude of the younger segments of the population who have, by definition (thank’s God), a vision oriented more towards the future than the past. So much so that often with their consumption behavior they want to affirm their difference and distance from the older generations.
Let’s add that these are people born and raised in a globalized context also from a food and gastronomic point of view and who are showing extremely multifaceted and unexpected behaviors in food and beverage consumption.
An example above all is the overtaking of Dr. Pepper on Pepsi Cola in the American soda market linked to the fact that the former represents a niche brand (and flavor) compared to the latter and to unusual gastronomic combinations, rapidly spread through social networks (Tik Tok first and foremost).
Conviviality
Anyone who works in the wine business knows that the perception by (younger) consumers is of an exclusionary and snobbish industry.
Or as Nate Westfall, a Californian professional who works in the application of technological innovation and data analysis in the wine sector, wrote on Medium “… walking into a tasting I feel like I’m a child again who walks into a room where adults are chatting, only to be glared at until I feel so uncomfortable that I leave”.
Again, “The lack of presence in physical and digital spaces where young people meet is the second factor why wine is not the objective”. (Editor’s note: The first factor mentioned was the cost).
That is, for young consumers, wine is in fact anti-convivial, or, again quoting Westfall, “it’s giving unwelcome”.
To make wine truly convivial for everyone again, behaviors must change, it is not enough to simply say “come and have a glass together”.
Be careful, even when this happens, it will not constitute a differentiating element or a competitive advantage compared to other alcoholic beverages, which are essentially all consumed in social occasions (for the sake of brevity, I will not go into non-alcoholic beverages such as tea and coffee).
Socioeconomic relevance
That is, the importance of the wine sector for the employment of a very large number of people.
True.
Except that the same can be said for many other sectors, from tobacco to gambling, not to mention the fossil fuel industry.
If the World Health Organization says that drinking wine is bad because it contains alcohol, it is useless to respond with its economic importance (also because the reply will be that the social costs related to consumption are higher).
But is it actually possible that an entire industry is wrong? And why?
Not only is it possible, but marketing literature is full of similar cases of “marketing myopia”.
The reason why this happens is that the values ​​described above, especially the first two, are the ones that have worked in the last thirty years.
(to be precise, they have worked in the last thirty years in new consumption countries, while consumption has continued to decline in France and Italy, not to mention the vertical collapse of China in the last 7 years).
Furthermore, they are also the values ​​for which the current opinion leaders and consumers have become passionate about wine.
So, both habit and passion make it difficult to change one’s point of view.
Difficult, while unpostponable.
