Successful wine brands ‘tell a story’

In a competitive market, in order to succeed as a wine brand rather than a label you have to tell a story, according to Concha y Toro’s marketing director.

Sebastian Aguirre, marketing director for Concha y Toro’s premium wines

Speaking to the drinks business during a recent trip to Chile, Sebastian Aguirre, marketing director for Concha y Toro’s premium wines said: “It’s hard to find true wine brands on the market, most are just labels.

“The wine market is highly competitive and in order to succeed in building a strong brand you have to give the consumer something more by telling a story.

“I think wine companies should be taking a more of an emotional approach to marketing in their bid to engage with consumers.”

Defining the difference between wine labels and brands, Aguirre said: “Wine labels are commodities, while wine brands actually mean something to consumers.”

He also outlined three tactics to help build a successful wine brand: “You need to over deliver for your price point, have a strong presence around the world and find ways to add value to a commodity category.”

Last October, Casillero del Diablo entered the top 10 selling wine brands in the UK for the first time, fuelled by a 35% rise in year on year volume sales to 1.1m cases.

The Casillero del Diablo brand tells the story of the devil’s cellar

Despite pressure from supermarkets to keep prices low, over the last five years the price of Casillero del Diablo in the UK has risen from £5.99 to £7.99.

“The price rise didn’t happen overnight. We wanted to try it out and see if the brand could stand it. Selling at a higher price has helped raise the consumer perception of the wines,” Aguirre told db.

“But the price rise had to be justified, and the quality of the wines within the Casillero stable has significantly improved in recent years.

“Our Sauvignon Blanc, for example, used to come from the Central Valley and now Marcelo Papa sources fruit for it from three coastal vineyard sites,” he added.

Concha y Toro’s top selling brand, Casillero del Diablo, tells the story of the devil’s cellar. The story goes that in the late nineteenth century, the company’s founder, Don Melchor, noticed one day that some of his top wines had gone missing from his cellar.

In a bid to keep the thieves at bay, he spread the rumour that his cellar was haunted by the devil, which led to the creation of the Casillero del Diablo brand in 1953.

Last year, over 4 million cases of the brand were sold in 140 countries, with the UK its biggest market at over a million cases.

The brand’s best selling wine is its Cabernet Sauvignon, on 1.5m cases, with its Sauvignon Blanc shortly behind on just under a million cases sold last year.