Wine
Insider is an old school D2C company.
Founded in 1982, their primary consumers are Baby Boomers. Their media selections reflect this as they
continue to rely on direct mail, ads in Sunday newspapers and discount cards. It's a trifecta of senior media.
In a
nod to the growth of social media, the company now uses Facebook and Instagram
as well.
But
they appear to be most excited about their performance on QVC, which they ran
with earlier this year. The segment was
hosted by Chris Hoel, a former sommelier at The French Laundry, and was in
their words "performing very nicely for us." It is consistent with their core positioning
as wine experts who can advise you on the best choices and get you the best
prices, so it is clearly a good fit.
They also
note that they get some of their best customers from referrals. 10 referrals gets you some free wine.
Wine
Insider does offer subscription services, for those who prefer them, but it
isn't a company priority. (Mahoney,
2019)
While
their media selection is perfect for their primary target it doesn't really
cover media that reaches Gen Z and Millennials.
But that doesn't mean some of them aren't seeing these efforts and being
influenced by them.
Do you
receive direct mail? Read a Sunday
newspaper? Perhaps you got a coupon is
your order from jet.com? What about
QVC? Are you a fan? Has YouTube replaced it? Or something else? Who do you look to for advice on wine
purchases?
10 comments:
I do receive direct mail. In fact, I receive an impressive amount of it and I very very rarely open it. I actually, most of the time, throw it right away in the rubbish located in front of the letter boxes instead of taking it back to my apartment. I certainly might be missing out on certain reductions but when you receive usually around 5 advertisements a day, you just want to empty out your letterbox.
Concerning the Sunday newspaper, I don't read it. I think it's a generational thing. Boomers and Millennials will appreciate reading an actual newspaper and pay for it whereas gen x and gen z will still read but on a digital platform.
Saying that Youtube has replaced QVC is something I wouldn't be able to say for the simple reason before writing this article, I didn't know what QVC was. I assume this says it all.
If there's one thing I am sure of though, it's that everything now is becoming more and more digital for a quicker, broader and global access to an information.
If I had to give an advice on wine purchases, it would probably be for Wine Insider to re-think completely their promotion model. I understand they are targeting Boomers but tangible papers had its time and now everything is paperless and digital. It would definitely save them some money if they adopt a digital promotional model.
Allan C.
I don’t think direct mail will work for the younger people. I am also a person who never read Sunday newspaper. I know many my friends do not read newspaper as well. And a coupon of a strange product will barely work out. Unfortunately, I am an outsider of QVC. But I think YouTube is such a thing today. In other words, everything can work out very well on YouTube especially the trending unbox videos.
Back to the happiness article, Gen Z prefer to focus on experience rather than materials goods. If the Wine companies can simply change their traditional direct mail strategy to an experience-based marketing campaign, they can catch the attention from younger people. For example, St. Regis hotels managed their signature Bloody Mary as one of their core events/experiences. They attracted millions of younger people to stay their properties. Therefore, Wine companies can organize some exclusive wine tasting events to target Millennial and Gen Z. Besides, co-branded pop-up stores and direct high-quality wine guide magazines are probably good fits for these people.
As Allan pointed out, these wine companies need to change entirely their promotions. It is nightmare for people can only get free wine after they referred 10 people. Instead, they can offer some huge discounts to keep customers ordering and decrease to 5 referrals or even provide in-store credits after 1 referral. Considering the healthy benefits of wine, these companies can also advertise this special feature to the younger generation since these people care more and more about their health.
Yin Lei
I do receive a lot of direct mails in my mail box. However, I only check my mail box when I order somthing online or somebody tell me that they send something to me in my mail box. I don't care those advertisements mails and coupons and I even won't open them because I know what I like and what I need. If I want to buy something, I will search the information by myself. Meanwhile, those mails usually are the things that can't interest me.
I am also not a newspaper reader. I prefer to get news through online websites or social medias. I don't know what is QVC until I read this article and search it on Google, so definitely I am not a fan of it. I think YouTube is more trendy nowadays. YouTube is a big platform for people to display, sell, advertise something. It has a large amount of users and I think the majority of the users are Gen Z and Millennials. As Wine Insider decides to target new customers and get promotions, they can choose YouTube as a new channel. They already did a great job on QVC, so it won't be difficult for them to do the same job on YouTube. Meanwhile, they can target on Gen Z and Millennials.
Although my age is not legal to purchase wines in the US, it is legal to do it in China. I usually get recommendations from my friends and parents. Sometimes, I will be attracted by the advertisement and then buy it.
LH
I receive direct mail from Ulta as well as a couple other companies, but it’s kind of a waste of paper. I force myself to look through their catalogs just so I can say I did and to keep myself from piling them up on my desk… everything they have in their catalogs has already been emailed to me (on a daily basis), so it’s redundant and somewhat useless. I don’t need to be reminded to come into their store, because my need/want for their products already keeps me coming back. I do not read any tactile newspapers, I get my current events from online (not Facebook, but online news sites) and word of mouth/text. I sometimes get coupons in my orders from online sites, but I have a tendency to disregard them, especially if they don’t really relate to my purchase. I do not watch QVC and I am not a fan, because it is utterly boring and I have never seen anything I’ve had any interest in buying advertised on that station. I believe that YouTube is replacing a myriad of media platforms and I use it occasionally, but only for how-to videos. I don’t drink wine, but if I were to seek advice on it, I would go to straight to Google, search different types of wines and their tastes, take note of which I think I would like, then try those out, finally deciding on my favorite flavor via my own taste buds. Alternatively, I might ask the people in my “circle” with palates similar to mine what they like and why. Although I’m not likely to be influenced by direct mail, others may be; well placed ads just might be well received by those looking for something new, but I don't think it's likely unless they are old or have an "old soul."
There are so many changes that have taken place in the modern world in terms of technology, business, marketing, shopping and communication. The changes have influenced more on the Generation Z and Millennials and this is why the traditional means of receiving information have been replaced by social media. I for example do not receive direct mail and neither do I read the newspaper because every piece of information that I need to read about is available on online means such as social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter or Google. I also do not have QVC and neither am I fan because YouTube has already replaced it. Through YouTube, I am able to watch a wide range of videos and learn about everything I need to know. It is also easier because all I have to do is open it from my phone instantly. I often look to Google for wine blogs or YouTube for advice on wine purchases because it is quicker, easier and the information is also wide and varied.
I do not receive a lot of direct mail as my address continues to change every year and I am assuming that most mail is being sent to my previous address. I do inform the important places that I have moved, yet it would be a waste of my time to inform these companies that I have no interest in hearing from. I also do not religiously read a Sunday newspaper, however, I do have an online New York Times subscription to keep me up to date. Online publications like this are much more popular for generation Z as almost all their data is stored on their electronic devices. This helps in terms of convenience for the consumer and for the advertiser as they can access a lot of this data publically. It also is environmentally conscious as there is no wasted print as many people who read the Sunday paper, do not read it all from front to back but rather only read what catches their eye.
Personally, when buying wine, I look at global ratings on websites or ask a trusted colleague. Due to the fact that I am primarily a beer drinker I only purchase wine on special occasions specifically when drinking with others and I attempt to gauge their preferences. When unsure I check the online rating websites as wine is a product I know only the basics about.
I think adapting marketing to social media is the trend of the times. Even though we are not trying to get rid off the traditional methods such as newspaper, and mails in box, it’s smarter for businesses to concentrate more on social media such as email subscriptions, Instagram, Facebook, in order to attract incoming consumers. This is the consequence of technology development and we have to adapt people’s lifestyle.
I do usually get some marketing mails, but I don’t necessary rely on them to reach new information. One of the reasons why I think social media is more effective is that we don’t check our mail box every 20 minutes but we do this in email. Thus, marketing by email is more efficient to reach the consumers.
I don’t read newspaper either. For saving more time, I usually search for information directly online. Or if I do need something more serious, I will just go to the online version of Wall Street Journal and New York Times. Although I believe routinely read newspaper is such a decent thing to do. I am not quite familiar with QVC, since I don’t do television shopping. If I need some reviews, I will just go to YouTube. For me, shopping is more like an experience. If I have enough time and don’t get lazy, I prefer to shop in store. The experience of shopping is more satisfying for me than just unbox that item. Same as wine, I prefer just go a wine shop and try it by myself, but I do read some recommendations and reviews online.
Personally, I never receive direct mail. The convenience factor of email is just far better for everyone whether you are a Baby Boomer all the way down to being part of Gen Z. I also do not read the Sunday newspaper. However, I do have a subscription to the Wall Street Journal to keep updated on important news topics. Before reading this blog post I have never heard of QVC so to say that I am aware of what it is would be a lie. If Wine Insiders wants to start targeting a younger audience I would recommend using social media and finding influencers who reach that specific audience that you want to hit. Rethinking and rebranding Wine Insider should be their number one priority if they want to be around for the long haul.
Christopher Diaz
I look to many sources for advice on wine purchases. I often look at interesting articles
on the internet for advice. These articles provide me with the proper insight into what I am
looking for. One such article is through wine.com. This site provides me with a selection of
wines at discounted prices. They ship convenient and fast, less than three days. I also consider
Winestyr.com. This site provides me with hand selected gift selections that are the perfect gift.
They include luxurious packaging, small production wine from real producers, and the option to
include a personalized gift note at no extra cost. You can select your own wines and select the
gift option during checkout.
A final source for my wine selections is from the Robb report with the 14 best wines of
the year. These include 15 wines instead of just six. These wines span the globe as well as the
breadth of varietals and styles. They all share two things, the potential for long years in the cellar
and the ability to be enjoyed deliciously right now. Some of these wines include the Promontory
2013, Napa Valley, the US Chardonnay and the US Sauvignon Blanc. These wines are all top
notch.
With the development of the times, the advertising methods of direct mail and newspapers have gradually been replaced. Instead, information may from major social networks, such as Facebook, Youtube, etc. Advertising messages received from these social networks are easier and more accessible to millennials. As far as I am concerned, I will not pay attention to the advertising information in the newspaper. I rarely really look at direct mail. If the title of the direct mail doesn't interest me, I won't even open it, but just discard it. If I am interested in a product, I will choose to search for relevant information directly in the mainstream media, and use their evaluation to make my purchase decision. At the same time, information from the media can be more intuitive to give customers more direct information. If I want to buy wine, I prefer to search for more direct information on Youtube to judge the quality of a product.
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