Social trends determine consumption and with it wine packaging and the wine trade. Customers do not buy just any product; they buy the product with which they identify. Differentiation is called for! That can only succeed through holistic marketing strategies and innovative packaging solutions. Hawesko, for example, relies on thermal technology, and the South African wine and gin brand “Mosi” uses the app “LABELinmotion” developed by Vollherbst, in other words augmented reality.
Why differentiation is necessary and worthwhile
The wine market is fiercely contested. Places on the retailer’s shelf are limited. Anyone who wants their wine bottles to stand out has to come up with something. And not just anything. Chasing trends may bring small successes, but not lasting effect. Because in the long run the customer buys the brand they can identify with. And for that brand they are also prepared to pay more. More and more estates are investing in Special Editions or flagship wines. These premium products in small batches are costly in production and marketing, because holistic marketing strategies have to be developed. But these investments pay off in the medium and long term, because the premium products generate unusual attention and upgrade the whole range – right down to the entry level. Appreciation becomes value creation.
“INCREASE PERCEIVED PRODUCT VALUE through emotion. The feeling of holding something unique in your hands is indescribable”
Thermo technology on the label – colour shows drinking temperature
Online wine merchant Hawesko is placing greater emphasis on diversification in its own brands. Felix Frommherz, responsible for exclusive brands at Hawesko, believes that Germany generally lags behind when it comes to product personalisation. Hence: “We have made use of the successful marketing concept of Special Editions from the USA and tried it in wine. With success,” says Felix Frommherz. For the young own brand “Fleur de Fruit”, Hawesko, together with Vollherbst, uses thermochromic technology in the wine label: when is the wine at the perfect drinking temperature? When the blossoms on the label take on colour. Ingenious! Felix Frommherz: “Individual labels are a brand-strategy instrument at Hawesko. The Vollherbst team developed Fleur de Fruit with us through a combination of innovative impact and openness to the new. That is how a successful own brand came about.”
Augmented Reality – Experience storytelling up close
With our idea – the “LABELinmotion” app – the label comes to life. Augmented reality (AR) labels tell entire wine stories digitally and take consumers on a digital journey. That can be a link to a YouTube video in which the winemaker explains how the wine was created. It can be a spectacular tourist excursion. For example to Victoria Falls in South Africa. “Mosi” is the outstanding wine and gin brand of Joseph Dhafana. Mosi is short for Mosi-oa-Tunya, the indigenous name for the Victoria Falls, and translates as “the smoke that thunders”. This World Heritage site appears as a beautiful drawing on Mosi’’s labels, which become colourful waterfall animations with the LABELinmotion smartphone app.
Download the LABELinmotion app:
Download Google Play
Download App Store
