Chateau Ste. Michelle

In the world of sales it's all about getting noticed. Whether it's an eco-friendly car, a sky-high pair of platform shoes or even the latest concept in vacuum cleaners, the product that conveys its message best--be it environmental consciousness, sex appeal or efficient cleanliness--is the one that captures the sale. Once in a blue moon, this is an accidental occurrence (think last holiday season's Snuggie™ blanket phenomenon). But typically, it is a well thought-out process involving players at every level of the supply chain.

The wine industry is no exception. More often than not, awareness is created at the shelf, and wineries spend loads of time and money creating packaging that gets noticed. And while bottles, shippers and displays come into play, perhaps the most noticeable element of wine packaging is the label itself.

A label's function is to attract attention, communicate a message and persuade the consumer to buy. A good label does all three things simultaneously. In fact, a 2008 survey by The Nielsen Company of multiple wineries, including both domestic and imports, found universal support for labels attracting attention and strong support for generating a purchase. But, it is important to note that once a purchase decision has been made, the product must, above all, deliver. If not, stiff competition in the marketplace will quickly expunge any sales advantage.

Toasted Head

For years the wine industry has consistently been one of the fastest growing segments of the alcohol beverage industry. Since 1999, more than 3,000 new brands have crowded onto store shelves. Remarkably, this number represents 70 percent of the active brands today. Yet market research indicates that brand loyalty for wine is extremely low. Variety-seeking consumers are happy to try new things, and burgeoning shelves beckon with possibilities. Additionally, the occasion for which wine is served impacts the degree of label importance. For instance, a Friday night pizza-and-a-movie wine label is not the same as a Saturday night dinner-party-with-the-boss wine label. One might be fun or gimmicky while the other is strictly serious, conveying the purchaser's wine knowledge and good taste.

Whichever the case, "liking the package" plays a significant role during a purchase decision. Consumers at the shelf are bombarded with a myriad of choices including color, varietal, price and origin--all before they even decide on a brand. So what is a winery to do? Wisely, most use the label as their No. 1 sales weapon, enlisting the help of top design firms or working with independent artists and designers who team with marketing and winemakers to get the job done.

Staying Power

In terms of visibility, wine package design and, in particular, the label greatly outlast advertising and promotional campaigns simply because the bottle is there, sitting in the consumer's home or displayed on a table during consumption. For this reason, many wineries opt to enhance their already successful labels to bring a fresh, updated look. But there are other wine companies that like to keep consumers guessing, changing and adding labels at an almost startling rate.

(CSM) of Woodinville, Washington takes the former approach. Jan Barnes is the marketing director and attributes a significant increase in sales to a package update launched in 2006. She said that the success of the Columbia Valley tier is a combination of packaging and the wine itself. "Our winemaker Bob Bertheau and I have an agreement. Marketing sells the first bottle (through packaging), and winemaking sells the second (through wine quality)," said Barnes. "CSM has been around for more than 40 years, and we've enjoyed some nice publicity due to consumers' interest in us and the wines of Washington state. But with literally thousands of wines to choose from, we needed a package enhancement for the Columbia Valley tier that would help us stand out from the crowd."

Barnes and team set about designing a label that would convey quality, heritage and the wine's handcrafted feel. It's paid off. According to Nielsen's data, the dollar volume growth for CSM's Columbia Valley Chardonnay has jumped to a ranking of five in 2008, up from 14 in 2005. Chardonnay sales in 2008 were up a little over 12 percent, and the total brand was up 16 percent. "We're very pleased," said Barnes. "The label is our best billboard and only point of sale in many instances. We spent hours deliberating package details, and it's wonderful to see it all come together."

Like Barnes, Matt Cline likes his labels to have impact. Cline has a new venture called Three Wine Company; as a small, fledgling business, he knows it's important to convey his message using his winery's label. "We want our label to tell our story," said Cline. "Not only do we print the words 100-plus-year-old vines on our label, we use an abstract piece of art to depict the story we want to convey." Cline also uses color liberally with each varietal having a different background hue. "When everything else is the same--the foil, the bottle shape, etc.--color is an easy way to separate wines in a brand. It's helped us alleviate confusion in the marketplace, whether that's sitting in a line-up at a tradeshow or in the store," said Cline.

Matt Cline's new Three Wine Company labels depict colorful images conveying vines 100 years and older using abstract images.

On the other end of the spectrum is the Don Sebastiani and Sonswine company. Anyone who's perused the wine section lately will undoubtedly be aware that their Three Loose Screws and The Other Guys brands are in a constant state of flux. The company is in the business of building wine brands, and it's anyone's guess what this team will come up with next. According to co-proprietor Donny Sebastiani, his company is looking to entice hip, contemporary consumers with labels that grab attention. "Part of our advantage is that we have product segmentation that allows for different wine packages for different occasions," said Sebastiani. Take, for example, the Hey Mambo brand. Sebastiani describes this wine as an inexpensive pizza wine, a field blend similar to those made by home winemakers in years past. Its bold red and white label is easily recognizable, jumping off the shelf in the under-$10 price range.

"From a branding perspective, most of our wines tell a story that their labels then help sell," said Sebastiani. "In the case of Hey Mambo, we're capturing that old candle-in-the-Chianti-bottle feeling and giving it a 2009, fashion-forward look."

Plungerhead

Red Diamond

But one of his newest brands, The Crusher, portrays a different image altogether. A premium, single-vineyard wine being sold to restaurants and independent shops, this wine doesn't require shelf presence. As such, it has a classic label that doesn't even mention the Sebastiani family name, rather the Wilson Vineyard in Clarksburg from where its grapes are sourced. This brand conveys quality and heritage, and its label tells that story.

Not to be dismissed, labels in the entertaining realm are often edgy, drive recall and can be conversation starters. According to Nielsen data, there are 19 celebrity label brands, 108 "critter" label brands and 16 transportation label brands in this segment. One of the earliest examples of an entertaining label is Yellow Tail from W.J. Deutsch & Sons. Peter Deutsch, president, said, "I think the Yellow Tail label is seen as fun; there is a component of people wanting to have fun with wine instead of taking it too seriously."

A small amount of Internet surfing underscores this fact. Posts can be found on wine parties, where guests compete for best label, or on blogs, for those interested in discussing the finer points of humorous labels.

Redesigns work for different reasons

Of course, there are times when wineries need label redesign for altogether different reasons. Red Diamond, another brand from Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, had one of those issues. When the brand expanded to include off-premise sales in addition to its current on-premise, restaurant-only sales, the marketing team found the packaging didn't work as well as it should. Lacking a paper label, the graphic blended in, keeping the bottle from being noticed on the shelf.

"The wine quality was there and the brand had a loyal following, but without the shelf presence, we weren't getting the sales numbers we wanted for the expansion," said Brett Scanlon, vice president of domestic wine marketing for Ste. Michelle.

Scanlon sought help from a design firm. Together, they created a dramatic new label that works phenomenally well for this brand. "Black labels are historically not successful, but the iconography of the red diamond against the black patterned paper makes the bottle noticeable on the shelf even from quite a distance," said Scanlon. "2008 showed strong SKUs for this brand with wine volume for the Merlot up 54 percent and the Cabernet up 38 percent."

Diana Pawlick, director of channel marketing for Constellation Wines U.S., tells a similar tale. The company's Toasted Head brand has a distinctive label that depicts a fire-breathing bear. A recent label makeover called for color enhancements to strengthen the image and unite it with its shipping components, which were noticeably different. The shipper was redesigned to leverage the label's strong colors. It was given an image with a package-sized bear positioned on the left side. This bright, punchy image repeats when cases are stacked and can be used for murals or wrapped using the side panels for added effect.

"We renewed our shelf presence by refreshing the label's colors and giving them more pop," said Pawlick. "But what really worked for us was giving the shipper a new look. We ran an incentive program to see who could come up with the best design. This got retailers excited, and they sent us some great examples of how they used the shipper to draw attention to our product. Sales shot up as a result."

Michael Short is the wine buyer for Sonoma Market in downtown Sonoma, California and has been in the business of selling wine for more than 30 years. To say that he's seen it all when it comes to labels is an understatement. From the tempting to the trite, the whimsical to the downright silly, Short has years of experience and observations. "I'm a traditionalist when it comes to labels," said Short. "I believe a winery's label should be an instantly recognizable trademark of sorts for that brand. A few labels come to mind like Ridge Vineyards, Sonoma Cutrer, Trefethen and Stags' Leap. These labels are easily spotted on the shelf. They are true to themselves. And while they may have been updated or modified over the years, they are still basically the same as when they were put on that first bottle so many years ago."

Short elaborated, stating that, in his opinion, the higher-end the wine, the less the label tends to vary. "Some drastic changes cause wine labels to get lost--almost like a winery is starting from scratch and marketing a totally new wine," said Short. Further, he pointed out that within the alcohol beverage industry, wine is where most of the change lies. "Distilled spirits do a better job of protecting their market share," said Short. "Consumers don't have to hunt for Absolut or Jack Daniel's. These brands maintain the signature look that helps sell their product."

Speaking of signature looks, Ravenswood Winery's raven logo and its "No Wimpy Wines" motto are probably two of the most recognizable pieces of wine imagery today. So successful is the icon that the three intertwined birds are used on labels, tasting room merchandise and just about everything else that comes from the winery. Fans of the brand flock to the winery to show off their raven tattoos and, according to tasting room lore, the image is considered one of the top tattoo designs requested. Today, as always, the brand is synonymous with big, rich, full-bodied and intense wines and, according to winemaker Joel Peterson, "The odds are good that consumers will find a reliable bottle of Ravenswood in any store or restaurant anywhere in the country." Now that's consistency.

So whether it's signature looks or constantly changing images, there is no doubt that labels help sell wine. Either conveying a message of ancient vines, handcrafted quality or "Let's have some fun," the role of the label is critical. Especially these days, when there almost isn't a "typical" wine consumer and occasions often dictate purchase decisions, labels sell not just wine but lifestyle. wbm