Wine Marketing + Tourism When the Coronavirus is an Issue

Not sure about you, but my travel schedule for March and April used to look like this:

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And now it looks like this:

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If I could boil down the rationale for this difference to one word, it would be this:

coronavirus

Maybe you can relate, especially if Prowein or Vinitaly or Asia had been part of your itineraries too.

It’s an incredible moment that’s impacting the wine world that’s seen, in some ways, as yet another challenge compounding an already-difficult environment involving tariffs, fires, decreasing consumption, and etc.

So as I pieced together the narrative I wanted to communicate at the Wine Marketing & Tourism conference in Eugene, Oregon this week, I was mindful of how wineries are melding together their marketing and tourism efforts in today’s challenging environment.

It had a lot to do with decentralizing wine, and taking the tasting room experience on the road.

It also had a lot to do with reaching consumers where they are, both online and in person.

Most of all, it had to do with that very sweet spot between, on one hand, the experience of wine tourism that makes guests feel part of something bigger-picture and positive and, on the other hand, the granularity of marketing techniques that enable us to build and extend that relationship.

Data’s an important part of that sweet spot, as you know. To get them in the door when they’re tourists. To find them when they aren’t tourists. To meet them where they are, in terms of language and visuals. To be sure that the information that’s “out there” about our wines is accurate. To customize messages and offerings that will boost sales once the guests have left.

Data’s an important part of the sweet spot that humanizes the wine experience.

Here’s the takeaway that rose to the surface this week in Oregon: data’s an important part of the sweet spot, particularly when marketing and tourism are in a challenging environment.

That’s our reality right now.

How can we help?

Please let me know and thank you, as always, for reading.