On wine and computer games

January 28, 2009 in Consumer marketing with 6 Comments

 
A Nintendo DS. My second attempt, this time wi...
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I thought I’d share a quick thought which occurred to me as I was preparing a presentation concerning wine tourism:

Question: How do you sell games consoles to older adults? How do you reach a new audience?

Answer (or one of them): You don’t focus on features like graphic speeds, but on benefits.

Case in point; Nintendo. The Wii Fit isn’t a “games console and controller”, it is a home fitness tool. The Nintendo DS Brain Training isn’t a game, it is mental exercise. Clever!

What are the lessons for wine tourism, and wine for that matter?

Firstly, we need to move beyond the “my wine is a product of the best grapes and wine making processes”. This is almost a given. It has some attraction for the enthusiasts, just like graphic card speeds do for others, but it doesn’t attract a new audience.

I wonder if you can think of any innovative wine communications/marketing examples out there? I’m a little hard-pressed myself, to be honest.

There are a few “Wine as Luxury Lifestyle Product” experiences, such as the Marques de Riscal Hotel & Spa, or “Wine as Environmentally Responsible Product” such as Banrock Station, but these are very few.

If you have any thoughts, or know of anything out there, do drop me a line.

Now, back to my Wii (the Fitness can wait, I’ve got Quantum of Solace to finish)

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About Robert: Robert McIntosh is a wine blogger and online communicator on WineConversation.com, a prolific twitterer (@thirstforwine) and an occasional contributor to wine magazines as well as speaking at wine events. Robert is co-organiser of the annual European Wine Bloggers Conference and Born Digital Wine Awards, promotes international online wine communication, and advises companies about how to engage through social media. Robert also has some trouble communicating in the third person.

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  • http://www.sourgrapes.ie Lar Veale

    How about, “makes the opposite sex look really really good”?

    Seriously, though, it’s a commodity product so how do you make yours different? How do you go about telling your story better than anyone else?

    The organics/biodynamics are preaching to the converted.

    The big producers can sponsor cookery programmes on the telly.

    But better labels could still be the best way to get wine off shelves and then let the wine do the talking.

    Of course, there’s this little thing called the Interweb and recently there’s been a new version developed.

    Let’s just call it Web Two.

    A clever winery could use this to build up a loyal fan base of new drinkers.

    Hopefully, these new drinkers would then publish how lovely the wine is on their own personal website journals and their friends would read about this and then try the wine and then tell their friends.

    Do you think this idea has legs?

    • http://thirstforwine.co.uk thirstforwine

      That interweb thingymajig sounds interesting. Must look into it, but my Encyclopaedia Brittanica dates back to 1978, and doesn’t seem to have an entry for it. I wonder if there is an alternative somewhere?

      On a more serious note, the web is potentially interesting, but you still need a story to tell that is different. You still need to innovate. If all the wineries do is use the web to say the same old things, nothing has changed.

      However, I’m an optimist.

  • http://www.snomavineyardwalks.com Allan Wright

    How about this for a wine tourism promotion? Wine as part of a healthy vacation. See http://www.SonomaVineyardWalks.com, admittedly a self-promotion.

    • http://thirstforwine.co.uk thirstforwine

      lol! at least it is relevant :)

      actually, I think the concept of vineyard walks is brilliant, so I’m more than happy to carry the “ad” – of course, if it was paid for, imagine what exposure you’d get :P

      • Lar veale

        Back again, I can be a pest.

        Actually the Nintendo analogy is quite spot on when it comes to new customers.

        In an interview about the Wii, Nintendo’s Iwata says they’re not competing with Sony or Microsoft, but rather battling the indifference of people who have no interest in computer games.

        • http://thirstforwine.co.uk thirstforwine

          thank you – I do try a little to make sure the point is valid :)

          I have great respect for what Nintendo has done to rethink the marketing of consoles, not least because it meant that my wife bought me one this Christmas!

          Thanks for the quote though – it is a gem that could be used in so many business situations