The Millennial riddle at wine2wine 2019: should wine businesses market Generation Y?
Most marketing strategies across different fields focus on Millennials, but is this segment relevant for wine producers? Vinitaly’s wine business forum wine2wine, to be held on November 25th and 26th in Verona, Italy, will solve the conundrum with the help of two expert in the field and gifted communicators: TV Presenter Joe Fattorini and Digital Communications Strategist Polly Hammond. Fattorini and Hammond will present opposing views on this demographic group, thus enriching the debate on one of the hottest topics in wine communication.
Wine producers need to look at the beliefs that connect them to drinkers irrespective of age. They need to look at the available wealth of drinkers who will actually buy their wines. They need to look at how people change over time.
As one of the largest consumer groups, Millennials are one of the most closely watched and talked about generations in the wine marketing world. Millennials are now adults under 40, who are buying houses, establishing careers, and raising a new generation of children. As such, their needs are evolving, and therefore, it is time for wine businesses to determine whether they should target this segment or not.
The journey to discovering the answers will begin on day two of wine2wine 2019, Vinitaly’s wine business forum scheduled in Verona, Italy, from November 25th and 26th. wine2wine will address the topic with two sessions presenting contrasting arguments on Millennials within the wine industry. Joe Fattorini and Polly Hammond will enlighten participants on the pros and cons of marketing to Generation Y.
Joe Fattorini is a regular on ITV’s The Wine Show; he is also Head of Sales at Fields Morris & Verdin, part of Berry Bros & Rudd, as well as being an online wine merchant. He has won numerous awards including Communicator of the Year and IWC Personality of the Year, and in 2019 was named among the 25 most influential voices in the UK wine business. Based on his experience, Fattorini firmly believes wine companies should not spend time, nor money on Millennials. During his session—“You were once younger, hornier and poorer: bursting the Myth of Millennials”—Fattorini will explain why wine producers should not give this group preferential treatment and attention but invest, instead, on the other cohorts that are proved to be reliable, that is, moneyed consumers. On this specific demographic segment, Fattorini states: “Marketing to Millennials is as nonsensical as Hunting the Snark. Millennials exist. But they don’t. We were all once younger, hornier, poorer. But there’s no evidence that we have a unique market segment powerfully united by common, defining beliefs that we can sell to. Wine producers need to look at the beliefs that connect them to drinkers irrespective of age. They need to look at the available wealth of drinkers who will actually buy their wines. They need to look at how people change over time.”
Immediately after Joe Fattorini, the stage will be taken by Polly Hammond and her session “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger: Why Millennials may be the best thing that’s happened to wine”. Hammond is a digital communications and branding specialist, author of The Must Read, a newsletter focusing on digital wine marketing. At wine2wine, Hammond will discuss the positive aspects of Millennials’ purchasing power and especially about how they receive and perceive brand identity. On her session, Hammond comments: “Presenting data and anecdata that go beyond ‘millennials are killing wine’, we will look at real life examples of wine brands that are winning with this audience, and how they made it happen. We’ll explore the expectations that drive millennial spending, and the truth of where their money goes (no, it’s not just avocado toast). We’ll talk about how we, as producers, merchants, and marketers, can transform our own priorities to make friends with sub-40s.”
This year’s edition of wine2wine will not only shed light on Millennials but will expand to consumers in general. Participants interested in gaining new insights on how to allure new clients will find their crowd at Adam Teeter and Joshua Malin’s “Using Data To See What Consumers Are Drinking Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow”; Claire Dawson’s “Communication and event strategies for Italian wineries”; and André Ribeirinho’s “How to attract new consumers to wine”.
An Early Bird special tariff is now available until October 30th. For further information, visit the wine2wine website on http://www.wine2wine.net or write to [email protected]. Share your experience by using the hashtag #wine2wine.
About: wine2wine is a dynamic international wine industry forum organized by Veronafiere and held annually in Verona, Italy, since 2014. wine2wine 2019 will take place on November 25th and 26th. The event is a key reference point for wine producers and wine professionals eager to develop and grow their wine business worldwide. wine2wine provides unique opportunities to share ideas on the most important issues facing the rapidly evolving wine industry and to connect with wine professionals and experts. The forum takes place over two days and features keynote sessions, seminars, and interactive workshops which aim to equip participants with practical tools to improve their business. Speakers are renowned experts in their field and among the brightest minds in the wine world from Italy and abroad. Additional information is available at http://www.wine2wine.net or by emailing [email protected].