Locapour and Geo-targeted Marketing

The micro-trend of being a “locapour” – a derivative of being a “locavore” meaning to advocate and practice drinking wine from close geographical proximity—is about as difficult of a commercial trend to execute as they come.  It’s close to (but not quite as difficult) as a nascent winery relying on three-tier distribution for growth.  Yet, in between conflicting market trends, wineries still need to divine a path to grow their business.

Enter Direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales, available in some form in 33 states.

Now, of course, DTC isn’t anything new, but given the economy in the last year and a half, it seems as if wineries are paying more heed to direct consumer engagement with dedicated focus and planning.

According to news reports from the well-attended Direct-to-Consumer wine conference that took place in Santa Rosa this week, alongside continued froth over the importance of social media, another bright, shiny object was added to the “must-do” list – mobile.

While these types of marketing strategies can work, I have a hard time reconciling the “me-too” nature of following the flavor du jour.

Can it really be that last year’s winery “must-do” of having a Twitter and Facebook account along with video will now evolve to the “must-have” of an iPhone application?

It’s no wonder wineries are in a constant state of dizzying disarray when it comes to marketing.

I’m not a winery marketing consultant, but if I were I would be advocating a Led Zeppelin-like, “In through the Out Door” strategy instead of running with the pack … more salmon swimming upstream than a Lemming running off the cliff.

Specifically, If I said: “Come up with a marketing solution for penetrating a specific geographical market for Direct-to-Consumer sales, leveraging video assets you’re already doing for your winery while trying to actually sell wine, and do so in a 90 day time period,” what would you come up with?

Personally speaking, I would learn to love local TV.  I would ride the balance between creating a local presence while also moving faster than the slow burn that is a Twitter following.

If a fleece blanket with arm holes (the Snuggie™) can become a pop culture phenomenon there might be something to low budget TV advertising.

In addition, if there is enough room in the online market for at least five online wine-a-day direct response companies like the very reputable Wine Spies to sell on behalf of wineries, there might be room for direct response in a different execution.

In fact, there might be something to the extent that a national campaign for beer trades on this type of phenomenon – witness the ubiqitious Bud Light “Tailgate Approved” campaign this fall – which is earnest and falls just short of irony, while actually creating mindshare and selling products.

Every television market in the country has a recognizable local cast of characters in the form of auto dealerships, hot tub manufacturers, residential realtors and punctual plumbers.  These local “personalities” are always exuberant, mildly cheeky and definitely memorable in an endearing way. 

There’s nary a reason that a winery couldn’t pick a specific TV market, come up with several low budget commercials, and blanket the area with fun, kitschy ads that drive viewers to their web site.  If customers happen to buy wine, well, all the better and kind of the point ...

In fact, this national / local approach is, in its own right, a burgeoning trend.

A small business services company called MicroBilt has deployed two ace videographers to do free local-style commercials based on nominations that can be made via the web site, http://www.ilovelocalcommercials.com.

It’s a brilliant idea and their work is brilliant. Acorn Winery in Healdsburg has been nominated for a commercial, as well as several other wineries across the country.

Here’s the other dirty little secret about local TV advertising – we’ve been conditioned to think that TV advertising is too expensive.  Super Bowl commercials cost $3 million dollars.  But, the reality is that buying in local markets is pretty affordable and made more affordable by the week with the declining traditional media advertising market (see also:  “I need a Facebook Fan Page”).

In sum, my overall point is I wish wineries would think specifically and creatively about driving business.  If a winery is serious about ramping up direct-to-consumer sales there are specific factors that go into success – 1) focus 2) focus 3) focus.

Social media and many Internet strategies don’t lend themselves to focus (geographical or otherwise), nor do they lend themselves to specifically moving the sales needle.  But, we all love local messages and we can all name a local TV commercial.

It’s something to think about.  With trends moving local and wineries needing to sell wine in ways beyond the tasting room and distribution, the answer may be in identifying markets one-by-one and joining the coterie of zaniness that is local TV advertising.

The below links are resources for more information:

F.A.Q on Television Advertising

Spotrunner for local TV media buys

Wine Institute Guidelines for Advertising