Winemakers On Fire, Issue #13

Good day, and a warm welcome!

Wine marketing strategies are constantly changing in response to the shifting landscape of consumer preferences and behaviours. The traditional emphasis on building customer loyalty is giving way to a new focus: customer relevance. Wine marketers are realising that, in the face of a more diverse and informed audience, the key to success lies not only in retaining loyal customers but also in providing experiences that resonate with their current desires and aspirations.

This week's Insights to Fuel Your Mind takes a look into this wine marketing transformation, shedding light on why this shift is taking place and how wine marketers can strategically navigate this new territory to establish meaningful connections with their customers.

In this week’s edition of Winemakers On Fire, we highlight entrepreneur Callan Williams' inspiring journey to launch her own wine brand. Rowena Curlewis, CEO of Denomination Design, also joins us to share her insights and expertise on the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities in drinks design.

Just some general housekeeping: You've come to the wrong spot if you're seeking doom and gloom about everything that's happening. Here, we only offer upbeat assessments and believe in embracing the future. As Kevin Kelly accurately stated, 'The future will be shaped by optimists.'

From Ballet to Winemaking: The Inspiring Journey of Wine Entrepreneur Callan Williams

Callan Williams, a former ballet dancer who aspired to join a contemporary dance company, made an extraordinary career change. Born in Zimbabwe and educated at a prestigious South African girls' school, Callan initially pursued ballet but quickly realised its financial limitations. Instead, she enrolled at Elsenburg Agricultural College to study cattle farming before moving on to winemaking. Her journey was not without difficulties, but her unwavering determination resulted in the creation of her own wine brand, The Garajeest, which has gained recognition through sheer hard work.

Callan manages all aspects of her business as a one-woman show, leveraging social media to her advantage. Her wines, named "Jim" for the white Sémillon and "Bruce" for the red Cabernet Franc, reflect her unique personality. While her wines showcase remarkable talent, what truly sets Callan Williams apart is her unwavering bravery, resourcefulness, resilience, determination, and discipline. In less than a decade, she has achieved an impressive feat, demonstrating that her journey from ballet to winemaking required not only talent and passion but also immense courage.

Our special guest today is Callan Williams, entrepreneur, founder, and winemaker of The Garajeest in Cape Town, South Africa. After reading her story, I am sure you will agree that Callan is a lady on a mission.

Tell us about your background and how you got into wine.

I’m a romantic. Wine was always my calling. I studied at Elsenburg (Boeremeisie), learned to sokkie, got thrown in the deep end, made wine for a few wine estates, and started my own business at the age of 24.

Do you have a winemaking degree?

Yes, I have a degree in Oenology, Viticulture, and Cellar Management.

Whom do you most admire in the world of South African wine, and why?

I most admire the independent producers; I am so proud to see the bravery and determination of all my fellow independents, which have increased over the years since I started a decade ago. It’s a battlefield out there, and only the toughest survive. So much goes into establishing, running, and surviving your own brand/winery. These individuals are warriors.

Tim Atkin gave you 93 points for both the 2020 and 2021, Jim Semillon. That is very classy. What inspired you to create this unique wine?

I started my business in 2014, with my first vintage in 2015, at the age of 24. At that stage, my inspiration was purely to make my favourite cultivar as a straight varietal in a style that I loved. It was that simple!

2023 marks your ninth vintage and tenth year in business. How have you adapted to changes in the wine industry over the last decade?

My philosophy of life, business, and wine is much the same: just flow; work with what you have; rules are meant to be broken; it is possible; don’t worry about what people think; follow your heart; really believe in what you’re doing; stay true to yourself; work hard; adapt to survive; and keep fighting. The wine industry globally has thrown a few good punches through the years; luckily, I have a strong left hook.

I have always stayed true to myself and maintained high quality and focus with my brand. I want people to love my product and really enjoy the story, paired with good food, good tunes, and good friends. When you have a core belief, you can adapt to changing circumstances and still flourish.

Starting a winery necessitates deep pockets, professional assistance, and long-term vision. What have you learned from the challenges you faced while growing your business?

That whatever comes my way, I have what it takes.

Finally, could you tell us about your future plans for your winery and your wines?

I have new wines that I will be adding to my range, including “big bottles.” I also have a new luxury brand, "A New Era by Me," which will explore the senses beyond wine.

Callan, thank you for sharing your remarkable journey with us, and we look forward to the launch of your luxury brand, “A New Era by Me.”

INSIGHTS TO FUEL YOUR MIND

Shifting Gears: Wine Marketers Embrace Relevance Over Loyalty

The tides are changing in the world of wine marketing, and a new perspective is emerging. While customer loyalty has long been a cornerstone of marketing strategies, the emphasis is gradually shifting towards prioritising customer relevance. This paradigm shift recognises the need for a flexible and adaptable approach that caters to the changing tastes of modern wine enthusiasts. This article provides insight into the reasoning behind this transformation and looks at how wine marketers can successfully navigate this new terrain.

The Traditional Approach: Loyalty

Historically, wine marketers have made significant efforts to cultivate customer loyalty. The belief was that having a loyal customer base would lead to consistent purchases and a competitive advantage. Loyalty programmes, exclusive memberships, and rewards for repeat purchases were common customer retention strategies. However, the wine industry, like others, is undergoing significant change as a result of changing consumer behaviour and preferences.

The Call for Relevance

The concept of relevance has taken centre stage in today's landscape. Rather than relying solely on customer loyalty, wine marketers are realising that it is critical to align their strategies with customers' current preferences and needs.

Several factors are contributing to the increased importance of relevance in wine marketing:

Diverse Palate: Wine enthusiasts today have diverse and ever-changing palates. Their preferences can shift quickly, necessitating a more adaptable approach to staying in touch with them.

The Information Age: The digital age has provided consumers with easy access to a wealth of wine information. Because there is so much information available, consumers can make informed decisions, making it critical for marketers to stand out with timely and relevant offerings.

Experiential Focus: Experiences, not products, are what modern consumers seek. Creating immersive experiences that resonate with consumers' lifestyles and aspirations is one way to build relevance.

Strategies for Embracing Relevance

Wine marketers can use the following strategies to shift from loyalty-focused to relevance-focused strategies:

Insights from Data: Use data analytics to gain real-time insights into consumer preferences. Monitoring purchasing trends, social media interactions, and online searches can provide useful information for effectively tailoring your marketing efforts.

Personalised Engagement: Use technology to create tailored experiences for customers. Recommend wines based on their previous purchases, preferences, and even the occasions they are celebrating.

Contextual Storytelling: Create compelling narratives around your wines that relate to consumers' current situations or interests. This contextual approach enhances engagement and fosters a deeper connection.

Agile Promotions: Stay flexible in your marketing strategies. Be ready to adapt promotions and campaigns based on emerging trends, seasons, and consumer sentiment.

Educational Content: Add value by providing wine-related educational content. Tutorials, food pairing suggestions, and information about various varietals can help your brand establish itself as an authoritative source in the wine world.

Navigating the Future

Finally, the wine marketing landscape is shifting away from traditional loyalty-driven strategies and towards embracing relevance. While customer loyalty is still important, it is now supported by the ability to provide timely, personalised, and engaging experiences. Wine marketers can forge stronger connections with consumers by leveraging data insights, implementing personalisation technology, crafting contextual narratives, and remaining agile in response to market dynamics.

As wine enthusiasts continue to seek out one-of-a-kind and meaningful experiences, wine marketers must adapt. By focusing on relevance, they can create long-lasting impressions that go beyond mere transactions, fostering a genuine connection that resonates with today's consumers' ever-changing tastes.

Take a deeper dive: “Marketers Need to Stop Focusing on Loyalty and Start Thinking About Relevance.” Harvard Business Review, March 2018.

An Insider's Look into the World of Global Drinks Design: Meet Rowena Curlewis, CEO of Denomination Design

At Winemakers On Fire, while our main focus lies on the South African wine industry, we believe in taking a global approach when it comes to label design and packaging. We recognise the importance of learning from and drawing inspiration from thought leaders within our industry. By keeping an open mind and embracing ideas from around the world, we aim to elevate our industry and deliver unforgettable experiences to wine lovers and connoisseurs alike.

We are delighted to welcome Rowena Curlewis, CEO and founding partner of Denomination Design, a world-renowned drinks design company with offices in London, San Francisco, and Sydney. With her wealth of experience and expertise in the industry, we are excited to hear her insights and opinions on the latest trends and innovations in drinks design.

Can you share with us some of the current trends in global drinks design?

Sustainability continues to grow as a global trend in drinks design. Perhaps because sustainable design is a key part of Denomination’s offering, we are seeing more of an emphasis on this than others, but almost every client’s brief contains some element of sustainability, be it glass, stock, closure, positioning, partnership, inks, or glues. The recent launch of the Crate wine brand is an example of this: a wine brand stripped of all superfluous packaging, and utilising lightweight transitional glass, which uses less energy in both production and transport.

In the luxury space, we are seeing a growth of “Quiet Luxury” which provides lots of opportunities for wine brands in particular. As opposed to “badge” brands, Quiet Luxury brands are about high-quality materials, restraint, and craftsmanship over flash, bling, and badge-like branding. You’ll see some interesting launches coming from Denomination in the Napa luxury space very shortly!

Celebrity collaboration continues to be a clear trend with wine brands, and in terms of design, we’re seeing different ways of expressing this. With 19 Crimes Cali Gold (Snoop Dog) and 19 Crimes Martha’s Chard (Martha Stewart), we chose to feature these celebrities front and centre of the design and combine both their personalities and the 19 Crimes persona and brand assets. However, with other collaborations, we’re seeing a more subtle connection. Travla, the beer co-founded by Hollywood actor Travis Fimmel, uses part of his name as a nod to him, but everything else talks to the brand’s positioning, which is as a quintessential Australian beer for the Aussie traveller.

What makes a successful wine brand, in your opinion?

Besides the obvious—commercial success—I think it’s those wines that set themselves up for success from the beginning. There needs to be a clear correlation between the wine brand’s story and a defined point of difference, through the name, the brand identity, the packaging design, and delivering in the bottle. My mantra is that our designs will sell your first bottle to a consumer. The second sale is up to the winemaker: the wine needs to deliver to the expectations of the design, region, varietal, and price point. So, if you take Tread Softly, for example, you’ll see a clear thread. This brand’s positioning is about treading softly on the earth through a sustainable lens, and treading softly with your health through wines that are naturally lower in alcohol.

By creating the poetic name Tread Softly, we evoked a sense of eco-awareness and sustainability while echoing the lighter styles and refined flavours of the wines. The semiotics of the labels needed to support the name, so the graphics are delicate and considered. It’s a daring, restrained approach with a soft design aesthetic that complements the brand's premise and name. Overall, the work celebrates the brand’s pioneering, eco-aware spirit and communicates that the wines are better for the planet and the consumer.

Using naturally flecked uncoated paper stock, the front label is not only nature-friendly; its artwork is discreet and understated, encouraging you to lean in and take a closer look. However, turn the bottle around, and you'll find dramatic, sensual images of flora and fauna, signifying the wines’ sophisticated flavour profiles. These eye-catching images also appear on the capsules to further boost their appeal and allow for a more minimalist approach on the front labels.

In line with the launch of the brand, Denomination created an in-store activation programme whereby for every 12-bottle case bought, Fourth Wave would plant a native tree. Our headline, “Raise a forest with your glass”, is featured on in-store posters, shelf wobblers, and header cards. We also designed and produced 180-cm raw cardboard trees to highlight the promotion in the store environment. The brand has planted over 1,000,000 trees within three years of launch. That’s what I call a commercial success!

What wine brands do you admire most?

Penfolds is a brand that we have partnered with for over two decades. We are incredibly proud to have played a part in transitioning this traditional icon of Australia into a global luxury brand that has successfully been able to operate legitimately outside of its origins, with collections now from France, China, and California.

In terms of a wine brand that we haven’t designed, I love the Matsu brand from Spain. Such a confident, original, and engaging packaging design that makes you emotionally connect with the three generations: El Picaro, El Recio, and El Viejo.

Thank you, Rowena, for graciously sharing your time and expertise with us at Winemakers On Fire. Your insights will undoubtedly inspire our readers and further enrich our coverage of the wine industry.

• Thanks for reading; we wouldn’t be where we are today without your support!

• It takes me between 8 and 12 hours to write and prepare each issue. If I had more time, I would have written a shorter newsletter.

• LET’S BE FRIENDS: Follow me on LinkedIn. Let’s connect.

• If you enjoyed this newsletter, please consider sharing it with your friends. I work hard to create quality content consistently, and every new subscriber helps. This link will take you to the signup page.

• I’m always on the lookout for new guests for your newsletter, so if you’ve got someone you’d like me to interview, email me and let me know, and I’ll see if it’s a good fit. Participating is absolutely FREE! - Yes, you read that right.

• Winemakers On Fire is written by Mike Carter and published every Sunday. My vision is to be recognised for giving more than taking and to use my talents and skills to positively impact others. Albert Einstein put it succinctly: "Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value."