A little over a month ago, a journalist named Jason Wilson reached out to me for an article he was writing. An article for the Washington Post on… wait for it… marketing wine to millennials. The article is titled Hopes Of The Wine Industry Rest On Millennial Shoulders.
They times, they are a-changing.
Jason had done a blind tasting and label reveal with some millennial-aged students of his and was creating a piece based on the results. We spoke for a while on statistics, theories, and execution in both branding and marketing, and I was alternately thrilled and terrified to see the final piece. When it was printed, I was immediately a fan – and not just because I’m featured in it, though OBVIOUSLY it’s a big reason.
He focuses on a wine brand put out by TXT Cellars – which in my opinion is an invaluable study in underestimating one’s consumer and operating without authenticity. I hope that anyone who has decided to take the leap and develop a brand with millennials in mind will take five minutes and read the article. And THEN take the time to truly learn about your target consumers before lobbing a product out to market.
The most valuable takeaway (I think) is one millennial’s reaction to a TXT cellar label:
In the [blind] tasting, I also included the TXT Cellars wines; [when revealed] they received the harshest criticism. “Ohhh noooo, I hate this so much,” said one 20-something named Kinsey. “I’m embarrassed that this is what they think people my age want.”
Me too, Kinsey. Me too.
Couldn’t agree with the harsh critic more. When I first saw those labels, I thought they were a joke. They’re definitely marketed to an audience that isn’t even of drinking age yet.
Colleen – RIGHT??? Jason was the first person to tip me off about these back in March and I was MORTIFIED. I was so happy he did the blind tasting and reactions with millennials before he wrote about them. So. Not. OK.
Leah – I’m 25 and agree that I would never buy the “WTF!!! Pinot Noir” or any of the others in that line. This is said having never tried any of them, just based purely on the name.
It’s borderline offensive to me that after their market research this is what they came up with. THEY DID DO MARKET RESEARCH RIGHT??
This is also the winery that has brought us “Four Aces up Your Sleeve Wines”, “CoZi Wines”, and “Funky Llama Wines”… while there aren’t nearly as repulsive, it makes you wonder what research they did. They’re obviously trying to reach us… but on the surface they appear to be trying TOO hard. Us millennials pick up on that. When there are literally thousands of comparable alternative wine choices available to me at any given time… I want my wine to have a feel of being genuine. The difference for me of a nice wine and a “plonk” wine is how much I trust the winery. “TXT Cellars” doesn’t convey trust. I haven’t tried it, but it sounds like plonk table wine.
Leah as you highlighted in the Wine Market Council data that millennials are one of the fastest growing wine consumer segments, and that they mirror high-end buyers… but I think the approach taken by TXT cellars ignores some of WMC other key findings. For example, millennials associate wine with sophistication…. that the wine we drink is a status symbol amongst our peer groups… what would my peer group think of me showing up with the “LMAO! Pinot Grigio” to a classy wine&cheese function?
Let’s compare this, for example, to the Cupcake Vineyards line…. this lower-end wine has also been marketed to our age segment, but this wine has been embraced. When I bring this wine to a party I get “OOH! I love this”…
What causes this disparity? And how can a wine-related business best capture this millennial demographic without alienating them like TXT Cellars has done? Would love to hear your thoughts.
TXT Cellars is a joke. Brands need to understand not how we talk on our phones but what motivates and moves us.
Our company hopes to change the way we drink wine by creating a truly relevant millennial wine brand. Please take 5 minutes to answer this survey to help us understand how you drink wine.
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-The Team
Hi Steffan,
I agree with your TXT comment, for sure.
But seriously, dude. Don’t put your company’s survey links in the comments of my blog.
-Leah