Following our recent delivery of the Small Business Online seminar series here is a simplified version of an excel spreadsheet to ascertain the worth of selling direct to customers.
Pricing Example
And here’s the content of the first seminar as a pdf.
Sellingwineonline.pdf
yes this was the header in the Sunday Times last weekend. Here’s the story
Or if it disappears here it is below, but before that, Peter Forrestal, I think it’s time at the bar for you, especially as you seem to be thinking…I know, let’s kick theses local small wineries while the industry is hurting, even though I’m a supposed expert wine writer I don’t think about these new brands trying to cut through…what we need is more beige.
WA wineries laughing stock over childish names
* By TREVOR PADDENBURG
* From: The Sunday Times
* April 03, 2010 6:50PM
WA wineries and vineyards have become an international laughing stock for using childish names such as Greedy Sheep and Moaning Frog, according to experts.They say names such as Swings & Roundabouts, Mongrel Creek, Devil’s Lair and Howling Wolves also have drinkers scratching their heads – as does the Bare Rooted wine label which depicts two koalas fornicating.
“Cute critter” labels such as Swooping Magpie, Wombat Lodge, Clown Fish, MadFish and Flying Fish Cove are also a “gimmick”, according to respected Perth-based wine writer Peter Forrestal.
Then there’s wineries and vineyards with just plain puzzling names – including Random Valley, Skuttlebutt, Kerfuffle Wines and Suckfizzle – and ones with a touch of philosophy (Carpe Diem Vineyards) and a few body parts (Knee Deep Wines).
Winemakers say the names are fun and only “wine snobs” would criticise them. But the trend has been slammed by Forrestal, who is STM’s wine critic and produces Quaff, a weekly newsletter and annual guide to Australia’s best value drops. He said other experts agreed and that quality should be the key selling point.
“It doesn’t make me chuckle, it makes me groan,” Forrestal said.“For heaven’s sake! The best way for these wineries to succeed is to produce a decent wine, rather than rely on a gimmick.
“I’m certainly not alone. I think you’ll find other wine writers would agree.
“Margaret River and WA have a fantastic reputation Australia-wide and, indeed, around the world for producing some very good wines. That seems a better way to go than shrieking out, ‘I’m different’.”
Forrestal said names should at least reflect the region they were from.
Referring to Greedy Sheep Wines, he said: “The sheep is hardly the mainstay of the Margaret River economy.”
And of Howling Wolves, he said: “There were no wolves in Margaret River last time I checked.”
But winemakers have hit back, saying there is no need for pompous titles and that fun names create a unique selling point.
“It stands out and that’s what you’ve got to do,” Howling Wolves Wine Group director Allan Waters said.
“People go to the bottle shop and there’s 3000 different brands – something has got to grab their attention.”
Mr Waters said his label was named after US blues singer Howlin’ Wolf, reflecting the company’s ongoing sponsorship of music festivals and gigs.
“It’s a bit of fun, we don’t take it too seriously,” he said.
“You don’t go to the movies and analyse how well the film was made, either it entertained you or it didn’t. Wine is the same, it’s a leisure thing.
“I’m sure there are purists out there, but those people who are really serious probably wouldn’t buy our wine anyway. Only 5 per cent of people buy an $80 bottle of wine and pontificate about it.”
Greedy Sheep Wines owner Bridget Guiney agreed, saying her label was “a catchy name that stuck in people’s memory”.
“We’re marketing to younger people. They want something a bit more approachable,” Mrs Guiney said.
“We’re not wine snobs – there’s too much of that already.”
She said her neighbour’s sheep broke into her vineyard and snacked on the leaves and grapes during her first vintage in 2005, giving her the inspiration for the Greedy Sheep name.
Margaret River Region Wine Festival director John Bradbury said some of WA’s best wines – including those with unusual mes – would be available for tastings from Thursday, meaning wine buffs could decide which drops they preferred.
Give me strength…………..
we’ve just finished up doing some initial youtube videos for Voyager Estate……
you can see them all here
Sauvignon blanc now accounts for one in three white wine bottles sold in Australia, with 70 per cent produced in New Zealand! WTF. That’s 120 million bottles of sauvignon blanc exported from New Zealand last year.
Perhaps its time to take the gloves off….. lets focus on getting people to drink SSB from Margaret River… stay tuned.
The Margaret River Wine Industry Association has received a $152,335 grant from the Federal Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research for an ‘AusIndustry’ initiative.
The money will support the association’s ‘Uncorking the Web for Wineries’ project, designed to assist grape growers and wine producers to deliver efficient eCommerce.
Association president Leah Clearwater says it will assist the greater regional wine industry in meeting present challenges.
“The Board is strategically focused on providing tangible platforms for the Margaret River wine industry to grow and develop in a range of areas, particularly online commerce and internet marketing,” she said.
Over the next two years, Uncorking the Web for Wineries will deliver information on internet use for grapegrowers and wine producers in developing and sustaining their businesses.
“And we are very pleased to take this opportunity to partner with Dr Cam O’Beirne and his company, Free the Wine, to implement a project that will increase the innovative profile of our region,” Clearwater said.
“We have already achieved great success with Cam in the past on our very popular Margaret River podcast series.”
Dr O’Beirne says the program’s main objectives are eBusiness development, targeted training and strategic mentoring services.
“The project will use multiple methods to educate and enhance the skills of people within the wine industry, including seminars and one-to-one training, as well as other innovative new media techniques such as online resourcing and podcasting,” he said.
“In today’s rapidly changing communication world, utilising a Web 2.0 framework will allow the ‘Uncorking the Web for Wineries’ project to enable all wine businesses, small or large, to maximise their participation in the digital economy.”
The first ‘Uncorking the Web for Wineries’ workshop is scheduled for early April 2010 with more information available soon from the Association website at www.margaretriverwine.org.au
Charlotte has just been elected to the Board of the Margaret River Wine Industry Association where she hopes to bring some focus to overall marketing for in a regional sense for members and strategic wine business for the Association.
A while back the chief of Vinexpo suggested that the internet is “not a suitable tool for wine sales”
Here’s the story and our response (scroll down the page, amongst others)…are we still burning witches?
Two recent studies have shown that pricing terminology can influence buying. The University of Indiana found that a psychological pricing effect was seemingly apparent in some stock market trades, and that ”buys’ outnumbered ’sells’ when prices ended in 99, with the second most popular number for ‘buys over ’sells’ being 49. In another study at Ohio State University, when numbers appeared larger people thought they were worth more, 300 cents was apparently worth more than 3 dollars, because three hundred seems bigger. Do these people understand maths?
(source: Dr Con Stavros, RMIT)
A QR Code is a two dimensional barcode designed to be used with a compatible mobile phone. By simply scanning the codes via the camera on a compatible mobile, the codes act as a gateway to a whole new world of accessing mobile information, mobile websites & content. In Australia Telstra are currently introducing these codes in new Telstra 3G or Next G™ mobiles.
So imagine someone has your bottle of wine with a QR code on the back, takes a picture with their mobile, and is instantly directed to your website where the winemaker pops up on their screen and starts telling them about the wine…..
Check out this example, it’s huge in Japan.
Free The Wine has just completed our biggest project of the year – the WineSMART series of podcasts of the local wine industry. We interviewed 20 different industry experts within the Margaret River wine industry and got them talking about viticultural processes, wine production, and marketing and communications to customers.
The purpose of the WineSMART project was to assist local producers by providing them with access to 1.) innovation adoption, through the use of podcasting as a means to deliver information, and 2.) best practice examples in areas that directly affect the way that vineyards and wineries operate.
Using new media and technology to drive innovation adoption, the project improved information flow between producers using podcasting. Don’t know what podcasting is? It’s a means of publishing audio and video information via the Internet, allowing users to subscribe to a feed of new files (usually MP3s) that are delivered automatically to a home or business computer, or iPod. Find out more here.
People involved in the project include Denis Horgan of Leeuwin Estate, Dr John Gladstones, the founding father of Margaret River wine, Ed Tomlinson of Lenton Brae, Vanya Cullen of Cullen Wines, David Hohnen of McHenry Hohnen Vintners, Rob Mann from Cape Mentelle, Stuart Pym from Stella Bella, and many others.
Congratulations to client Saracen Estates with the opening of their magnificent new cellar door in Wilyabrup, Margaret River. Complete with a brewery on site, it’s a great place to take the family on a lazy afternoon and watch the world go by….
Welcome to new client Repertoire Wines, a small boutique producer in Margaret River. We are working with them to develop some exciting label concepts and branding for their wines.
We’ve been a bit busy of late, with website design, label concepts and eCommerce systems for new clients Adinfern Estate, Greedy Sheep, Pemberley Farms in Pemberton and Big Brook Wines Pemberton. If we can help your business call Charlotte on 0447 698822.
Cam has been working with a global supermarket chain to design their Australian online liquor sales channel.
Doyen of Australian wine James Halliday’s new Australian Wine Companion rated the ‘03 Hill of Grace ($660) 89 points. He also gave the ‘06 Angove’s Long Row Cabernet ($9.99) 89 points. He gave the ’03 Grange ($550) 95 points. He also gave the ‘06 Zilzie Shiraz ($15) 95 points…hmmm (stolen from the guys at WBM). Read into that what you will, what message are you sharing about your wine?
We are pleased to announce the addition of Charlotte O’Beirne to the team at Free The Wine. Charlotte’s area of expertise is in assisting clients to increase wine sales, devising marketing plans and budgets, promotions, launching new wines and working with distributors to develop new and established markets worldwide.
For the past 5 ½ years Charlotte was the Sales & Marketing Manager at Stella Bella Wines, one of Western Australia’s most recognised wine brands where she established new markets domestically and overseas, worked with distributors to grow sales and helped to establish the brands of Suckfizzle, Stella Bella and Skuttlebutt in the minds of the wine public.
Prior to that she organised the inaugural Margaret River Wine Show, which is now an established event and an important part of the local Margaret River wine industry.
Please contact Charlotte O’Beirne for further information >> 0447698822
We’ve just completed the website for Lost Lake Wines in Pemberton, a very popular cafe and cellar door for tourists and locals alike. Take a look.
We’ve just finished the design for That Margaret River Stuff – a range of local stuff including olive oil and dukkah. Nice. Read the rest of this entry »
We’ve just finished the Cape Mentelle website, take a look
A couple of great articles here on changes occurring to how wine is/could be marketed, well worth a read….
Marketing Wine in the 21st Century, read what Phil Sexton from Giant Steps and Mark Kehoe from Grays Online have to say….
and Australia’s UK Market Overdue for Review by Mike Paul
We’ve had a busy start to the new year, with new clients coming on board; Jerusalem Hollow Wines, the sparkling wine of Margaret River, Settlers Ridge Organic Wines, and Saracen Estates, one of the showcase cellar doors in the region. If we can help your business grow and find a market, drop us a line.