MESSAGE ONA BOTTLE: STRATEGIES FOR WINE BRANDINGTommaso Minnetti Regional Manager APAC, Export Union Italia
INTRODUCTION
HELLO.Tommaso Minnetti
3 years experience in the Chinese and Asian wine industry both on the importer and exporter side.WSET Level 3 Juror at Asia Wine Trophy
8 years advertising careerAssociate Creative Director at Ogilvy MilanLecturer at Istituto Europeo di Design Recipient of the European Design AwardJuror at the Italian Art Director’s Club
INTRODUCTION
PRESENTATION OBJECTIVES▸ For wine producers:
Provide a practical approach to wine label design and range differentiation
▸ For wine importers and distributors:Provide tools to judge wine labels andassess their efficacy on target market segment
Consumers are intimidated by wine purchases and doubt their ability to choose the appropriate wine for fear of social rejection.
Olsen et al., 2003
RESEARCH INSIGHT
An average US supermarket will carry 750 different wines while a hard discount store will carry 150.
Wine consumers will use risk reduction strategies
to decrease the likelihood of making a bad choice
Rasmussen and Lockshin, 1999
RESEARCH INSIGHT
RESEARCH INSIGHT
RISK REDUCTION STRATEGIES▸ Using price as a quality indicator
▸ Selecting a brand known for quality
▸ Relying upon a recommendation
▸ Developing advanced knowledge of the product category
▸ Match the occasion for which the wine is purchased
▸ Using the package and label design as quality cues
Spawton, 1991; Sherman and Tuten, 2011
RISK REDUCTION STRATEGIES
SELECTING A BRAND KNOWN FOR QUALITY▸ No wine brand has market share
greater than 4 percent. (Sherman and Tuten, 2011)
▸ In 2014, media spend for wine brands was only 7% of that for beer (Nielsen AdViews)
▸ Pre-selling' wines in a retail environment by conducting expensive advertising campaigns is not cost-effective (Solomon et al., 2010)
Iconic brands dominate certain categories, unlike in wine
RISK REDUCTION STRATEGIES
RELYING UPON A RECOMMENDATIONOrder of relevance for consumers:
▸ Wine type
▸ Price
▸ Familiarity
▸ Label appeal
▸ Country of origin
▸ Wine critic score
(Sherman and Tuten, 2011)
Sorry Robert, but scores are the least relevant for consumers
Consumers seek out wine labels when choosing wine by going through retail
aisles of wine, rather than seeking guidance from wine guides, reviews,
advertising or from employees at specialised wine shops which
are generally wine experts.
Olsen et al., 2003; Barber and Almanza, 2006
RISK REDUCTION STRATEGIES
RISK REDUCTION STRATEGIES
DEVELOPING ADVANCED KNOWLEDGEOF THE PRODUCT CATEGORY▸ Wine knowledge and its relation
to purchasing decisions can be a considerable factor in determining the consumer’s wine purchasing process Lockshin and Hall, 2003
RISK REDUCTION STRATEGIES
THE WINE NOVICE
THE WINE INTERESTED
THE WINE LOVER
THE WINE CONNOISSEUR
Hall and Mitchell, 2008
RISK REDUCTION STRATEGIES
Has not integrated wine into their lifestyle
Starting to become curious about the product
Interested in learning more about the product
Wine is their hobby
RISK REDUCTION STRATEGIES
Most price sensitive
Most value sensitive
RISK REDUCTION STRATEGIES
Most sensitive to label design
Most sensitive to wine characteristics
RISK REDUCTION STRATEGIES
MATCH THE OCCASION FOR WHICH THE WINE IS PURCHASED▸ Consumers customarily spend
200% more for a bottle to give as a gift than they do for a bottle intended for personal consumption. (Sherman and Tuten, 2011)
A gift to the boss will never conform to one consumer habitual spending
RISK REDUCTION STRATEGIES
GIFT DINNER PARTY
PERSONAL RESTAURANT
▸ Type of wine
▸ Familiarity
▸ Type of wine
▸ Price
Purchase drivers:
RISK REDUCTION STRATEGIES
USING THE PACKAGE AND LABEL DESIGN AS QUALITY CUES▸ Bottle labels are particularly
relevant to the decision-making process, especially for infrequent wine drinkersBoudreaux and Palmer, 2007
Best performing labels under 10$Nielsen Wine Audit Report, 2015
Consumers shop with their eyes, perusing wines personally, reading labels as they consider
the possible selections.
Barber and Almanza, 2006
RISK REDUCTION STRATEGIES
Consumers reduce the risk of adverse consequences by selecting fewer information option rather than more.
Chaney, 2000
BRAND
GRAPE VARIETY
(PRICE)
The only relevantproduct informations for wine novices (Thomas, 2000)
THE LABEL IS A CRITICAL OPPORTUNITY TO INFLUENCE PURCHASE INTENT
KEY FINDING
The real aim of all packaging design is to find a balance between conformity,
which reassures the end-user, and originality, which creates
an element of surprise and allows a product to stand out
Heilbrunn, 2006
RESEARCH INSIGHT
WINE LABEL FUNCTIONS
BRAND NAME
WINERY NAME
IDENTIFYTHE PRODUCT
FUNCTIONS OF A WINE LABEL
▸ The above is to position the wine
Thomas and Pickering, 2003; Keller et al., 2012
DESCRIBETHE PRODUCT
FUNCTIONS OF A WINE LABEL
(VINTAGE)ORIGINGRAPE VARIETY
(REGION)▸ The above is to
differentiate the wine
PROMOTETHE PRODUCT
FUNCTIONS OF A WINE LABEL
IMAGE
COLOUR
▸ The above attracts prospects attention
WINE LABEL SEMIOTICS
VISUAL ELEMENTS
TEXT ELEMENTS
WINE LABEL SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS ▸ Visual elementsImages, pictures, logosTypeface styleColoursBackground colour
SHAPE
PAPER
(VISUAL-TO-TASTELEXICON)
WINE LABEL SEMIOTICS
VISUAL-TO-TASTELEXICON▸ A visual-to-taste lexicon
is made up by the learned associations of appearance and taste for food types.
▸ For example, the relation between the colour of soft drinks and taste perception.
▸ Food colours communicate the taste of products. Koch and Koch, 2003
Purple suggests a fruity taste,the grape a fully natural content
WINE LABEL SEMIOTICS
THE INTERDEPENDENCE ISSUE
▸ Wine labels represent “multimodal texts”: they use several different semiotic codes in the communication process. König and Lick, 2014
▸ Elements that are put into the center of a visual composition convey the gist of the information, upon which all the other elements are contingent. Kress and van Leeuwen, 2006
▸ Images, pictures, and logos are the most important visual design elements of wine labels.Thomas and Pickering, 2003
PERCEPTION & PURCHASEINTENT
RESEARCH INSIGHT
THE OVERALL PERCEPTION OF THE PRODUCT CAN BE IS A STRONG PREDICTOR OF PURCHASE INTENT.▸ TYPICALITY
Consumers are highly conservative when it comes to wine and prefers the more traditional bottles in terms of visual aspect. When purchasing wine, consumers seek typicality. Celhay and Passebois, 2011
▸ PERSONALITYBrand personality characteristics of success, charm, spirit, and currency are the most influential on purchase intent.Boudreaux and Palmer, 2007
THE TYPICALITY MODEL
EVERY PRODUCT CATEGORY HAS WELL ESTABLISHED VISUAL CODES▸ White and blue for dairy products
▸ Black and red for coffee
▸ White for electrical appliances
▸ Black and grey for Hi-Fi equipment
etc.
Same visual codes for Italian and Korean milk
WINE LABEL SEMIOTICS
COGNITIVE CATEGORIES& PERCIEVED TYPICALITY▸ Everything we recognise
is stored in our memory as part of "cognitive categories" and is ranked within these categories according to their degree of perceived typicality Mervis, 1975
For human brains, a Pug is less of a dog than a Labrador
Perceived typicality directly influences the visual choices that advertisers and marketers make when promoting and branding their products
THE TYPICALITY MODEL
THE "PREFERENCE TO THE NORM" PHENOMENON▸ The more a stimulus is familiar, the
more it will be perceived as typical of a given category, and the more it will be appreciated from an aesthetic point of view. Campbell and Goodstein, 2001
▸ In wine, the “norm” is the visual aesthetic of Bordeaux labels, established since late 18th century and never changed since.
THE TYPICALITY MODEL
THE "PREFERENCE TO THE NORM" PHENOMENONVisual Code of Bordeaux wine:
▸ White background
▸ Centred layout
▸ Serif Capitals and Cursive Script
▸ Black, Red, Gold colour scheme
▸ Chateaux image
▸ Abundant text information
▸ Regional bottle shape
Same traditional designs do not enjoy Bordeaux popularity and their perceived typicality may be limited by lack of exposure
outside their country of origin
WHEN PERCEIVED RISK IS HIGH, TYPICALITYJUDGEMENT INFLUENCES PURCHASE INTENT MORE THAN THE CONSUMER'S OWN AESTHETIC PREFERENCES
KEY FINDING
THE PERSONALITY MODEL
BRAND PERSONALITY IS THE SETOF HUMAN CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH A BRAND.▸ It influences consumer preference
and usage (Sirgy, 1982) ▸ It builds emotional ties to the brand
(Biel, 1993) ▸ It creates trust and loyalty among
consumers (Fournier, 1994) ▸ It determines consumers’ response to
changes in quality (Aaker et al., 2004)
Aaker, 1997
Nike is an examples of a “conqueror” brand personality
Wine is a symbolic product. As such is used by consumers to imbue themselves with the brand's personality
and create associations with the product's perceived user group.
Belk, 1998; Malhotra, 1988
RESEARCH INSIGHT
THE PERSONALITY MODEL
FIRST IMPRESSIONSMATTER▸ Perception of human personality,
is drawn based minimal or incomplete evidence. Even in the face of conflicting evidence, people tend to feel quite confident about their perceptionsKunda, 1999
▸ Consumers may prefer brands that do not necessarily match their own, but represent ideals with which they desire associationAaker, 1997
SINCERITYEXCITEMENT
COMPETENCE
SOPHISTICATIONRUGGEDNESS
BRAND PERSONALITY
BRAND PERSONALITY DIMENSIONS
SINCERITYEXCITEMENT
COMPETENCE
SOPHISTICATIONRUGGEDNESS
WHOLESOME
HONEST
DOWN TO EARTH
CHEERFUL
IMAGINATIVE
SPIRITED
DARING
UP-TO-DATE
RELIABLE INTELLIGENT SUCCESSFUL
OUTDOORSY TOUGH UPPER CLASS CHARMING
BRAND PERSONALITY
BRAND PERSONALITY TRAITS
SINCERITYEXCITEMENT
COMPETENCE
SOPHISTICATIONRUGGEDNESS
WHOLESOME
HONEST
DOWN TO EARTH
CHEERFUL
IMAGINATIVE
SPIRITED
DARING
UP-TO-DATE
RELIABLE INTELLIGENT SUCCESSFUL
OUTDOORSY TOUGH UPPER CLASS CHARMING
Daring Trendy Exciting
Spirited Cool
Young
Imaginative Unique
Up-to-date Independent
Unique
Down to earth Family oriented
Small town
Honest Sincere
Real
Wholesome Original
Cheerful Sentimental
Friendly
Reliable Hardworking
Secure
Intelligent Technical Corporate
Successful Leader
Confident
Outdoorsy Masculine Western
Tough Rugged
Upper class Glamorous
Good looking
Charming Feminine Smooth
BRAND PERSONALITY
BRAND PERSONALITY FACETS
CHEERFUL
IMAGINATIVE
SPIRITED
DARING
UP-TO-DATE
SUCCESSFUL
TOUGH UPPER CLASS CHARMING
BRAND PERSONALITY
BRAND PERSONALITY: THE FACETS THAT MATTER IN THE WINE CATEGORY
When a consumer does not perceive any risk in a given purchase
situation, moderately atypical packaging may be preferred.
Campbell and Goodstein, 2001
RESEARCH INSIGHT
THE PERSONALITY MODEL
WHAT FACTORS AFFECTS BRAND PERSONALITY PERCEPTION?▸ Each element of a label's visual
identity, including color, imagery, typeface and label size, shape, and material, has an influence on the different aspects of a product's brand identity. These elements can support or undermine one another, and a product's position tends to be strongest when they are congruent Doyle and Bottomley, 2004
A label skewed towards a young, female consumer demographic
THE PERSONALITY MODEL
IMAGE▸ Image had the strongest effects on
desirability both on market success factors and on brand personality
▸ Unusual animals are perceived as “imaginative”, but this is not positively correlated with purchase intent
▸ Coats-of-arms are low on “ruggedness” but high for “upperclass” and “value”
Boudreaux and Palmer, 2007
THE PERSONALITY MODEL
COLOUR▸ Colour has a strong effect,
but its effect depends on how much color is used
▸ Warm palettes (burgundy, red-orange, and neutrals) are seen as successful, desirable, and expensive
▸ Bright palettes (wasabi green and red-orange) were seen as exciting and imaginative
▸ For backgrounds, unprinted/unprinted layout reflects “upperclass”
THE PERSONALITY MODEL
TYPEFACE▸ The font style used on wine labels
has an important impact on consumers' quality perception of red wine. Henley et al., 2011
▸ The level of perceived wine quality is higher in the case of a Roman font style (serif) compared to an Arial font style (sans serif).
THE PERSONALITY MODEL
RANGE DIFFERENTIATIONIMPACT▸ It is important to evaluate
the constituent elements, individually and in interaction,as they are perceived by the design’s intended audience
▸ This is particularly importantwhen a basic design will be varied along one or more dimensions to differentiate elements of a product line
Quality differentiation shown by colours and size, with fixed branding elements and
information hierarchy across the range
A bull expresses”toughness”, consumer may choose it for a barbecueA sun expresses “cheerfulness”, consumers may choose it for a party
WHEN PERCEIVED RISK IS LOW, THE IMPACT OF TYPICALITY ON PURCHASE INTENT IS LOW. THE EFFECT OF AESTHETIC APPRECIATIONIS TOTAL.
KEY FINDING
DON’T TARGET CONSUMERS. TARGET OCCASIONS.
Manage wine label designs in accordance with the type of consumption occasion which you would like to target.
TARGETING OCCASIONS
TARGET CONSUMPTION OCCASIONS▸ Divide your market according to
different consumption occasions
▸ Innovative labels will targetlow risk situations: Wine to be drank at home Gifts to novice wine drinkers
▸ Traditional labels will target high risk situations: Dinner partiesBusiness giftsGifts for experienced wine drinkers
Wine marketers should get out of the up-scale dinner ghetto!
INNOVATIVETYPICAL
HIGH RISK LOW RISK
SHARING PERSONAL
HIGH PRICE LOW PRICE
REASSURING CHALLENGING
TYPICALITY VS PERSONALITY MATRIX
INNOVATIVE STYLETRADITIONAL STYLECENTRED LAYOUT ASYMMETRICAL OR LEFT/RIGHT
ENGRAVING/SKETCH PHOTOGRAPH/GRAPHICSERIF/CURSIVE TYPE SANS SERIF TYPE
UNPRINTED BACKGROUND COLOURED BACKGROUND
TYPICALITY VS PERSONALITY MATRIX
GOLD/RED/BLACK VIVID COLOURSCRAFT FINISH SERIALISED FINISH
HERITAGE IMAGERY ABSTRACT/NON CONTEXTUAL IMAGERYDETAILED INFO BASIC INFO
REGIONAL BOTTLE CONTOUR NOVELTY BOTTLE
TOP BRANDS IN 3 MARKETS
OFF-PREMISE TOP BRANDS USA
Bordeaux styles dominate, with the notable exception of Barefoot brand, which reinforces the low-price point – moderately unusual label combo,
same for Yellow Tail. Merlot shows a “blue” visual code.
SUPERMARKET TOP BRANDS ITALY
Notably only one label has an identifiably Italian style, with others more closely associated to Bordeaux visual codes. Freschello seems the only brand
able to pull off a moderately unusual design and be successful
ONLINE TOP BRANDS CHINA
Extremely conservative in design, with the notable exception of Yellow Tailthat highlights the dependance of the market on globally dominating groups,
which are better positioned to supply such a big nation