Magnum appearance for Swiss wine
Wine A major advertising campaign by LGK aims to rid local grape juice of its musty image.
Wine A major advertising campaign by LGK aims to rid local grape juice of its musty image.
Now the wine is finally being poured. For the first time since the introduction of vines by the Romans over 2000 years ago, Helvetia's winegrowers are also engaging in joint marketing communication between the Alps and the Jura, Lake Constance and Lake Geneva. In 2003, when the revised Agriculture Act came into force, the wine industry association launched the Swiss Wine Communication (SWC) in addition to its existing sales promotion, market observation, technology and economics commissions. The SWC, into which the Swiss Wine Exporters Association has been integrated, is responsible for coordinating and implementing the marketing strategy abroad and now also domestically.millions for domestic marketing SWC Director Jürg Bussmann is pursuing ambitious goals: On the one hand, he wants to improve the image and positioning of the niche product Swiss wine in its most important markets, Germany and Belgium, as well as in the growth markets in Asia. On the other hand, the SWC is trying to increase the added value of the entire wine industry. The association's efforts are worth CHF 5 million a year to the Federal Office for Agriculture, seven percent of the total CHF 65 million for the
Promotion of agricultural products. Together with half of the subsidy from the sector, the SWC now has CHF 10 million at its disposal, 80 percent of which will be used for domestic measures from now on.
The strategy group has thus developed a new marketing strategy for the next three years, which has been approved by the interregional communication committees. On this basis, SWC, together with pitch winner LangGysiKnoll (LGK), has developed an image campaign that aims to create new awareness for Swiss quality wine among the various target groups - from retailers to end consumers and restaurants - to break down prejudices and halt the decline in consumption in the medium term.
Philippe Varone, President of the umbrella organization, sees preconceived judgments and hasty assessments as one of the reasons for the decline in sales and market share of Swiss wine. According to the Federal Office for Agriculture, consumption fell again in the 2002/2003 wine year, as in the previous year, to 285.7 million liters, 40 percent of which was Swiss wine. While the upward trend in the consumption of foreign wines continues, the situation has deteriorated further.
especially for domestic white wine. The bottom line is that only one in eight consumers - mostly older and with high purchasing power - now prefer Swiss wine to foreign wine. "If you ask for reasons, the price issue comes up first," says agency co-owner Silvano Spezia.
The problem is homemade. It is true that the strict and voluntary implementation of the yield restriction has had an effect: Domestic production and the yield per square kilometer have been massively reduced and the quality of the wine has improved considerably as a result. Today, top Swiss wines can be counted among the world's elite. However, this has hardly been communicated, which is why consumers have not changed their attitude.
Jürg Bussmann from SWC: "In terms of price, Swiss wines can hardly compete with imported products. A ready-to-drink imported wine often costs less than one franc per liter before crossing the Swiss border. However, mass production, low wages and environmentally damaging cultivation methods are not uncommon, especially with wines from the New World." From this perspective, the low cost price certainly has its price, explains Bussmann. However, Swiss consumers neither pay it nor perceive it negatively. "Nor has it become clear in the past that a fresh wind has been blowing in the Swiss wine industry for a long time. And that producers are now operating at a high to the highest level in terms of varietal care, cultivation, vinification and marketing."
But a trend reversal is in sight, says Spezia. While the average consumer is still enjoying wholesale offerings from the New World, trendsetters among wine lovers are becoming enthusiastic about new wines with a strong character from domestic regions, reports Ulla Schu, head of the advisory group. And because fashion trends also play a role in wine, the communication of Swiss wine is also aimed at these opinion leaders from the private and hospitality sectors.
That's why the LGK creative team led by CD Simone Quast has cut off old habits. "When you think of Swiss wine, many old images come to mind. For example, 'vineyard above Lake Geneva', to name just one," explains Quast. The new overall campaign counters this with something completely new: a world of urban lifestyle in which today's quality Swiss wine takes its place as a matter of course. "We show - admittedly with a slight leap into the future - what happens when more and more Swiss people discover more and more Swiss wines. What is discovered sparks new interest and meets with increased goodwill," the CD is convinced.
Urban world: Swiss drops are positioned as a trend.
Now the wine is finally being poured. For the first time since the introduction of vines by the Romans over 2000 years ago, Helvetia's winegrowers are also engaging in joint marketing communication between the Alps and the Jura, Lake Constance and Lake Geneva. In 2003, when the revised Agriculture Act came into force, the wine industry association launched the Swiss Wine Communication (SWC) in addition to its existing sales promotion, market observation, technology and economics commissions. The SWC, into which the Swiss Wine Exporters Association has been integrated, is responsible for coordinating and implementing the marketing strategy abroad and now also domestically.millions for domestic marketing SWC Director Jürg Bussmann is pursuing ambitious goals: On the one hand, he wants to improve the image and positioning of the niche product Swiss wine in its most important markets, Germany and Belgium, as well as in the growth markets in Asia. On the other hand, the SWC is trying to increase the added value of the entire wine industry. The association's efforts are worth CHF 5 million a year to the Federal Office for Agriculture, seven percent of the total CHF 65 million for the
Promotion of agricultural products. Together with half of the subsidy from the sector, the SWC now has CHF 10 million at its disposal, 80 percent of which will be used for domestic measures from now on.
The strategy group has thus developed a new marketing strategy for the next three years, which has been approved by the interregional communication committees. On this basis, SWC, together with pitch winner LangGysiKnoll (LGK), has developed an image campaign that aims to create new awareness for Swiss quality wine among the various target groups - from retailers to end consumers and restaurants - to break down prejudices and halt the decline in consumption in the medium term.
Philippe Varone, President of the umbrella organization, sees preconceived judgments and hasty assessments as one of the reasons for the decline in sales and market share of Swiss wine. According to the Federal Office for Agriculture, consumption fell again in the 2002/2003 wine year, as in the previous year, to 285.7 million liters, 40 percent of which was Swiss wine. While the upward trend in the consumption of foreign wines continues, the situation has deteriorated further.
especially for domestic white wine. The bottom line is that only one in eight consumers - mostly older and with high purchasing power - now prefer Swiss wine to foreign wine. "If you ask for reasons, the price issue comes up first," says agency co-owner Silvano Spezia.
The problem is homemade. It is true that the strict and voluntary implementation of the yield restriction has had an effect: Domestic production and the yield per square kilometer have been massively reduced and the quality of the wine has improved considerably as a result. Today, top Swiss wines can be counted among the world's elite. However, this has hardly been communicated, which is why consumers have not changed their attitude.
Jürg Bussmann from SWC: "In terms of price, Swiss wines can hardly compete with imported products. A ready-to-drink imported wine often costs less than one franc per liter before crossing the Swiss border. However, mass production, low wages and environmentally damaging cultivation methods are not uncommon, especially with wines from the New World." From this perspective, the low cost price certainly has its price, explains Bussmann. However, Swiss consumers neither pay it nor perceive it negatively. "Nor has it become clear in the past that a fresh wind has been blowing in the Swiss wine industry for a long time. And that producers are now operating at a high to the highest level in terms of varietal care, cultivation, vinification and marketing."
But a trend reversal is in sight, says Spezia. While the average consumer is still enjoying wholesale offerings from the New World, trendsetters among wine lovers are becoming enthusiastic about new wines with a strong character from domestic regions, reports Ulla Schu, head of the advisory group. And because fashion trends also play a role in wine, the communication of Swiss wine is also aimed at these opinion leaders from the private and hospitality sectors.
That's why the LGK creative team led by CD Simone Quast has cut off old habits. "When you think of Swiss wine, many old images come to mind. For example, 'vineyard above Lake Geneva', to name just one," explains Quast. The new overall campaign counters this with something completely new: a world of urban lifestyle in which today's quality Swiss wine takes its place as a matter of course. "We show - admittedly with a slight leap into the future - what happens when more and more Swiss people discover more and more Swiss wines. What is discovered sparks new interest and meets with increased goodwill," the CD is convinced.
Urban world: Swiss drops are positioned as a trend.
To feel good: A campaign by LangGysiKnoll aims to improve the less than intoxicating image of Swiss wine >> page 7
Luca Aloisi
