Page 29 - GrapevineMarApr 2022

Marketing
Around The Vineyard

connections with their audience online, particularly Burberry, LV, Ferrari, Jaguar, Gucci, Chopard,
on Instagram. Cartier, Neiman Marcus, and Harry Winston.

The Face of Affluence Is Changing So the next time you think that you’re too “unob-
tainable” to be on social media, luxury wines should
Affluent consumers are no longer just Baby take heed. The marketing tool kit has forever
Boomers and Generation X. Wealth is now expanded to include digital channels, not by luxury
multi-generational as large numbers of Millennials brands themselves, but by today’s affluent consum-
and Gen Z are prosperous and buy luxury goods. By ers. The consumer desire to have access to every-
2025, Millennials and Gen Z will make up 50% of thing right now and the desire to buy into luxury
the total luxury market. Their spending habits will brands are successfully forcing luxury marketers to
define and redefine what luxury goods and experi- straddle the fine line of relevance and exclusivity.
ences will be in demand.
Susan DeMatei is the founder of WineGlass
What We Do Know Is: Marketing, a full-service direct markeing firm work-
ing within the wine industry in Napa, California.
• Quality, prestige, brand reputation, plus a
brand’s social values will drive luxury purchase For more information please visit...
decisions. www.wineglassmarketing.com

• They will look to social media, influencers, and
reviews for confirmation of their brand choice.

• They will expect to be able to find the luxury
brand they choose online and on Instagram.

As with any consumer audience, identifying demo-
graphics is only the first step. In their recent book
“Luxury Wine Marketing: The Art and Science of
Luxury Wine Branding,” Peter Yeung’s and Dr. Liz
Thach’s research identifies four categories of lux-
ury wine buyers: The aspirational buyer, the lux-
ury buyer, the wine collector, and the wine geek.
Each persona has its price points, brand loyalty,
and trusted referral sources. A wine collector will
listen to critics and other wine collectors, while
celebrities and influencers might influence an aspi-
rational buyer. Understanding your target and the
segment(s) your wine resonates with is the key to
success in this evolving landscape.

New School Marketing Tools
for Old School Brands

A recent Social Media Industry Report on Luxury
Brands by NetBase Quid digests and synthesizes the
kind of social interactions driving authentic engage-
ment and brand passion and how luxury brands are
capitalizing (or not) on these experiences to drive
consumers to do business with them. The report is
a deep dive into the detail of several luxury brand’s
social presences. While not everything in the report
applies to wine, what is apparent from the research
is that digital advertising, social media engagement,
search engine optimization, and influencer mar-
keting are now a staple for what could be called
“old school luxury brands” like Hermes, Chanel,
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