The San Francisco Chronicle ran an article today on the 21-30 crowd (Millennials and late Gen Xers) that profiled their buying habits with regards to new labels online purchasing. The research was produced by the St. Helena trade group and found a strong affinity for private labels among this age group. Don't let the headline fool you though - its not just imports they are after.
Now, it just so happens that our DINKS target is exactly this - early Millennial and late/transitional Generation X. So here is my thinking.
There has been a tendency to dismiss the wine aspect of Mendocino out of hand, except as an aside to a possible "green strategy" due to biodynamic (organic) growing practices. Perhaps we might take a moment to consider this morning's article. It seems to me that there could be a huge untapped strength in the uniqueness of Mendo's small label vintners.
We've all read research in the past that shows a growth in wine and mixed drink consumption among our target and this morning's article confirms a fascination with small labels and unique brands among Millennials and transitional Xers. Also, you may recall the search for authenticity and customization as being central to our target's lifestyle. If you've had the opportunity to speak to a rep from a Mendocino winery, then you know how they gush about the bold tastes and uniqueness of their product. It's true too - I'll see if I can get a Ceago wine ordered for you all to try (outside of class). I'll pair it with a Mondavi so you can understand the difference. It's incredible.
Its representative of what you find in Mendo and I think it could be a hit with our target, in light of new research. Of course, we'll want to follow up on it with our own.
Please read this morning's article and consider the wine angles that may exist both online and in terms of tourist traffic; and how they might fit into our overall strategy.
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2 comments:
The wine is a good angle to look into, but is it going to be our main focus? The article had some good points, but it also clued into the fact that the over all younger segment of the target would not be interested. "U.S. wine consumers ages 21 to 30, called the millennial generation, are more loyal to IMPOPORTS, while OLDER wine-drinkers prefer domestic labels." ("He found that 67 percent of wine consumed by those ages 43 to 61, the Baby Boom generation, was domestic.")
Ok, so the DINKS drink domestic wine? Will they plan a trip with the destination being Mendocino or Napa Valley when their focus of the trip is wine? I don't know, I think they'll be heading up to Mendocino to walk on the trails and snuggle by the sea. And stop in Napa Valley for their wine.
Plus there's the thought about getting people to drive up somewhere where their wine isn't well known, will they want to do that?
"It will be difficult to get those who are loyal to imported brands back to California brands."
These are all just thoughts.
-the quotes are from the article-
I don't think it's a main focus, no. I do think we have tended to ignore the fact that this is a wine region full of third and fourth generation masters whose families made Napa/Sonoma into a world power of Wine. Why? It seems to me that crafting a specialty-shop type image is attractive. Our goal isn't to beat Napa/Sonoma, it's to settle in next door as an offbeat cousin
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Import vs Domestic is, I would think, a bi-product of the demographic more than a hard preference. This age group puts a lot of value on authenticity & customization.
If a Cab scores a 92 with wine enthusiast and is domestic, it is a well executed "formula wine" - they all taste almost exactly the same, plus or minus a little bit of oak. The appeal of international wines is often the variety.
At the very least, it would be worth testing. Based on my last trip to the wine country (I have a few club memberships) I would call it a huge-over-exaggeration to say that young people don't drink domestic wine. What they do crave, however, is a varied experience to add to their own.
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As far as planning a trip - it seems to me that there is more than one approach to getting that to happen. We're trying to craft a new perception of a whole region. This would be one way to raise the awareness-profile of the region pre-visit. If people are familiar with the arts and wine of Mendo, it might well lead them to decide to spend a weekend doing all the other cool stuff there as well.
Bottom line, this is a pretty important part of the area. I feel that we overlook it to our detriment.
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