Product placements in movies have only become really popular in the last ten years—and now they are becoming blatantly obvious. The Sex and the City movie had about 10 different shots of Starbucks and Smart Water, to name a few. But with the rising costs of production, I am sure that these well-placed “ads” help defray some of the expenses (Sarah Jessica Parker’s fee, perhaps??) 

I always look hard when I see a movie at wine labels.  Most are hard to decipher…but there is one clear stand out that is immediately recognizable: Clos du Val’s light brown label with the white script swirls.  Over the past 5 years or so, Clos Du Val has been in tons of movies and television shows. However, I do wonder if the expense and effort to get into all these movies was worth it. Amongst wine people, the label is most certainly recognizable. But I think that is a small minority of the general movie-going population, especially considering some of the programming—“In Her Shoes” and “Joey” to name a few. Although they were also in “Fever Pitch,” which as a Red Sox and Jimmy Fallon fan, I LOVE that movie.

When I look deep down inside though, I am definitely jealous of Clos du Val and all their Hollywood connections. I would love for Clos LaChance to have some kind of celebrity encounter. There have been a couple brushes with fame over the years:

• We had a taping of a reality show here called “Married By America.” This is pretty D-list in terms of the show, it was really, really cheesy. And the segment never even aired. The premise of the show was that 14 pairs of two complete strangers got engaged. One ends up winning a wedding at the end plus 200K or something like that. The couple that came to the winery for their “date” were so NOT into each other at all. It was kind of comical. The production crew was awesome though. They had just come off of the Bachelor shoot….working with Andy Firestone (another big Winery promotional gig). 
• We once got word from a friend of a friend of Ron Howard’s that he was a big fan of our Merlot. That was thrilling for me because I am a HUGE fan of Arrested Development, his now defunct TV show. But I heard its coming back in a movie. Hey Ron, if you are out there, we would love to do a product placement in the movie. Maybe Gob can make a bottle disappear to the sounds of “The Final Countdown.” That show NEVER should have been cancelled.
• Our Southern California Account Specialist was in a restaurant selling one afternoon and sat right next to Hillary Swank. Since all of our sales people are very social people, she struck up a conversation and got her to taste our Pinot. We then sent her a few bottles.
• Bode Miller stopped by the winery after a round of golf last summer. He was super cute but not very talkative. We are all skiers in our family, so it was pretty cool to meet an Olympian.
• We sponsored the LA screening of “The Departed.” It was a little slow in terms of celeb being at the actual event…as most of them attended the New York screening the week before. I couldn’t go (it was my son’s birthday), but my sister Kristin went. She did have a Leo DiCaprio sighting. He was also supposedly drinking our Merlot.

Over the years, we have had rumors of other possible celeb drive-bys or connections to our winery/brand. I have learned to not get excited about them until I actually see it happen. But if anyone out there who is reading this is somewhat famous, please do contact us for, well, we’ll probably give you pretty much anything.

A picture of the Married By America Couple, Jennifer and Xavier.

Surviving  Growing in a down market.

In over a quarter of a century of sales/marketing for small to medium sized California wineries, I have experienced numerous market fluctuations/recessions. I have never had a down sales year, and actually have often seen bigger than expected increases in tough economic times. There are several reasons I attribute to attaining growth:

The wine industry is somewhat resistant to bad economic times. People seem to drink more, but often trade down. This presents you with the perfect time to establish greater margin products in your portfolio. People will be moving away from their “standard ,“ that they have been purchasing in “good times,” and looking for direction in trying something new at a lower price.  This opportunity to establish yourself and your company is seldom witness to so willing a customer for change.

Many competitors look to do business as usual. They often look for a quick fix. Dropping prices and margins moves boxes, but does nothing for the future of the brand and its image. Being progressive and looking to the opportunities this type of market condition offers the greatest growth potential.

Be positive, what brings us out of this often is led by those who aggressively seek to grow rather than contract. They emerge faster and stronger, with greater positioning for when the market expands.

Compete in the right place (categories, price points, trends), at the right time. Establish for your company a new market footprint. Pursuing the same old is not a recipe for success. Typically a good portion of your sales increase percentage over the previous year is achieved through new products and new focus. This is an ever changing/evolving process that requires constant evaluation and re-evaluation.

Here are some observations to reflect on and to use to your advantage:

• Mass production wineries will look to big deals to make numbers. This erodes the market price point for their brand on and off premise. Panic mode seems to set in. The big deal you buy into now, is often followed by an even bigger deal that your competitor down the street will buy into. You are then stuck with large inventory of a product that your competitors have a price advantage on you.

• Consumers will be looking for more/better. They will seek out value. True there is a comfort level associated with mass production wines; however consumer brand loyalty is now less important to your bottom line than customer loyalty. Promoting brands that are not available everywhere is a key to establishing better customer relationships.

• Value/perceived value:  A small production wine has an intriguing story to tell the consumer. This perceived value to the consumer involves getting more for the same $’s. Whether the alternative to the mass production wine is a limited production/single vineyard/estate bottled/ hand harvested/organic/sustainable, these all offer the consumer more than the usual.

• Explore, expand and promote hot new categories/trends that are experiencing growth. These include Organic/Sustainable wines, Unoaked Chardonnay, blends, appellations, and countries. Less “manipulated” wines  can also offer opportunity; hand-picked, unfined, unfiltered, estate bottled, single vineyard. A more natural approach to winemaking.

• Look to re-align your selection and inventory. As the consumer trades down, key price points become more important and greater diversity in that range is the way to achieve growth. The consumer will be looking to move away from what was their regular wine in good times, to something new @ a lower price. This is your opportunity to steer them towards wines that offer you higher margin.  Higher end sku’s need to be replaced by those that will see movement, turn and greater margin %.

• Brands that are limited in production offer better margin potential, and less of a chance to your being exposed to the customer as having a higher price on a specific item than your competitors.

• Interaction with your customers is now more important than ever. They will look to you for direction and guidance. Let them know that you are there to assist them in their search for their new standard. Being prepared to offer them alternatives, accompanied by thought out reasons and options is an integral part of building customer loyalty.

Flat doesn’t have to be the new up for everyone. Good Selling !

So Kristin and I were carpooling that day and went to pick up Amber, like the good, obedient daughters we are. On the drive down 101, we noticed Amber was getting a little gassy. We didn't think much of it...she's an older dog, and well, who doesn't get gassy every once in awhile?

Things started going awry when we were going down 101, right about at the airport. Amber wasn't just a little gassy. She was VERY gassy. Audibly gassy. Disturbingly smelly gassy. . We opened the windows, laughed a little and felt bad for Amber, whose tummy was obviously hurting. We figured once we got to the winery she would “do her business” and be done with it.

That was NOT the case. I won’t go into detail about her “business” but it wasn’t pretty. She came back in the winery, tail between her legs, looking very sad. It was awful. The entire office smelled really, really bad. Someone even went home sick. I was trying to do some tasting of new releases for some marketing materials and ugh, that couldn’t happen.

That night, after depositing Amber back at my parents’ house, a few CLC’ers went to a Happy Hour thing. I had a glass of cheap chardonnay (Mexican Restaurant) then a beer, then a nicer glass of wine when I got home. All of it was grossing me out. Nothing tasted or smelled good. Even my dinner that night was unappetizing. And I always inhale any type of Mexican food.

This got me thinking—about branding and consumer experiences. How something completely out of a marketers control ( a dog’s smelly ass) can have such a profound effect on how someone experiences a product. I consider myself pretty aware of these things—having been in the wine business for some time now. However the average, or even above average consumer, probably does not realize that if you take a big whiff of skunk before you drink a glass of Syrah, that it was the skunky smell that caused it to be so unappetizing, not necessarily the wine. Same thing with food and wine pairing. Mix the wrong wine with a certain dish and blech. It tastes terrible.

With the thousands and thousands of different wine brands out there, what exactly is brand loyalty in this business? And when is it engrained in the consumer? After the first sip/glass/bottle? After the first 5 good experiences? It differs for everyone, but I would imagine that for the majority of consumers out there is that the first impression of a wine is a key moment. And that moment is so defined by many things that are out of a marketer’s control. I feel very different about the wine I was drinking when I broke up with a boyfriend vs. the one I was drinking when I got engaged.

I guess that’s why we have such a beautiful place here at Clos LaChance—so we can trick everyone into having a great time and thinking our wine is the best ever!   (tongue in cheek here).

Anyways, this is a little rambling—I think my brain is still suffering from the effects of Amber. She is much better this week. Thanks for asking.