Project Wine: Lifting all Boats
How to create a Brand Awareness Advertising Campaign for Wine
from Grassroots to Success
September 13,2024
The State of the Wine Industry: 2022-2024
In 2022, Rob McMillan of Silicon Valley Bank called for a Brand Awareness Campaign for the Wine category for a variety of reasons: decline in overall US wine consumption, a broadening of competitive consumer beverage choices, and a lack of relevant wine messaging to younger target markets.
Wine consumption fell 8.7% in 2023, according to leading industry analyst the Gomberg Fredrikson Report, a sobering reversal for an industry that had, for a quarter-century, taken annual growth for granted.
In 2025 the landscape hasn’t changed for the better.
Spirit sales have surpassed wine for the first time, and the younger generation of wine drinkers have yet to be persuaded that wine is an delicious choice.
OTT/CTV can connect us one-to-one with Wine Drinkers
The media and creative landscape has changed dramatically over the last several years with the rise of OTT/CTV during COVID. We now have the ability to target and retarget consumers one-to-one, and the ability to utilize direct response mechanisms via texting and QR codes.
Creative campaigns that once cost millions of dollars to create and broadcast are now able to be created and distributed for a fraction of that cost. Targeted creative can be distributed to consumers who are already inclined to try or purchase wine, have a specific Household Income, or are a particular age demographic.
Direct response via QR codes to a landing page that can offer benefits and help measure consumer engagement accurately. The QR Code can lead to a links for retail, events or a specific web page.
A Grassroots Idea:
Make Wine part of the beverage consideration set for consumers again.
THE IDEA
Create a 4-month test campaign in 2-3 DMAs in California.
Los Angeles and the Bay Area. Add on would be San Diego.
Initial total overall investment: 800K for Media, production and management
A/B test and learn what works. Go to other key target states 2026.
Build a grassroots campaign in 3 sizes of volunteer contribution from wineries and vendors:
Bronze: Be part of the team. Listing on Landing page.
Silver : Promote A Wine Area (IE Sonoma County) via texting or QR code for engagement #s.
Listing on Landing page.
Gold : Promote XYZ Winery via texting or QR code. Link on Landing page to retail or booking appts.
Administration and Creative would be produced and administered by Undisclosed Location, Inc.
Proof of Concept Campaign: Q3-4 2025
GOAL:
Run targeted, multiple creative versions in the 2024 California test.
June 2025-December 2025. Measure ROI and engagement via media tracking.
Plan to run optimized creative in key wine markets (TX, FL, NY & Chicago) in Q4 2025
with additional support and dollars.
WHY CALIFORNIA?
Californians drink more wine than any other market in the nation.
More great wine is produced here than anywhere else in the nation.
Californians vacation in California.
We can tap the beauty and hospitality of Wine Country as a backdrop for our work.
The authenticity and eccentricity of its denizens should be on full display.
If you can raise all boats among 39M Californians you can raise all boats in wine friendly markets: TX, FL, NY, IL.
The Tagline: Pass My Glass
This is a tagline that is at once inclusive and is a call to action.
Broad appeal to a 35-65 demographic.We are selling wine and the lifestyle that is a associated with it. We want mind share.
Good food, Great people. Creativity.
Beautiful landscapes and terroirs. Aspirational living but without the serious gatekeeping that has been the quiet part of our industry.
Campaign Direction
Create a call-to-action campaign to encourage people to consider, remember and re-engage with wine as a beverage choice via messaging that meets them where they are in life stage/demographics/psychographics.
Multiple creative versions of the Pass My Glass tagline will feature Millennial, Gen X and Boomer Targets.
Tone is inclusive, fun, and aspirational.
We sell the Tagline and mood boards as part of the program contribution.
No specialized creative changes per winery or vendor.
Overall Demographic Target Coverage : 35-65
End all spots with direct response supers: QR codes that send consumers to a landing page.
Creative Direction
Avoid endless “perfect” Bottle Shots.
Avoid Guy, Dog, Truck—expected visuals.
Feature the REAL authentic people who ARE the wine business:
Farming, Crushing. Bottling. Tasting.
Show consumer enjoyment across settings in Wine Country.
#1Show Seasonal BTS of wine country.
#2 Signage of Wineries in CA
#3 :15 Toasting coffee cup and wine glass (Inclusivity of non alc beverage choices + wine)
#4 Graphics only of wine varieties. (IE You don’t know what Albariño is-but it tastes great with oysters.)
#5 Food shots w/ Wine with a funny script on pairing
#6 The Good Stuff…just ask (Small winery focus). Drink like you are a local.
#7 Varieties. Educate with humor. Make fun of Chardonnay-show how Chard is Chenin etc.
Cabernet…why is it special and expensive? Why Merlot is delicious.
Proposed Levels of commitment
Bronze: $2500
Gold: $25,000
Silver: $15,000
Estimated Impact of Sponsorship investment
Level One $2,500 Estimated impressions: 87,500
Level Two $15,000 Estimated impressions: 525,000
Level Three $25,000 Estimated impressions: 875,000
How we Launch: PR and Social and Podcasts
Appear on Wine Podcasts to promote our program:
The Winemakers, The Black Wine Guy Experience, Levy Dalton, BedRock, The Millennial Somm
Create an IG account for Pass My Glass. Ask for individual interpretations of Pass My Glass from influencers and other wineries.
Contact editors + Bloggers : Bon Appetit, Sunset, Food and Wine, Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast. North Bay Business Journal, Press Democrat, Tom Wark.
Pass My Glass Campaign Measurement
Measurement is important to assure we are utilizing our resources effectively and reaching our audience with messages specific to different demographics.
Our goal is to help shape consumer beverage consumption behavior positively towards considering and choosing wine. Part of influencing that behavior is inherent to the specific media buy and subsequent analysis.
Immediate campaign impact – with CTV/OTT we can see ROI over 60-90 days, A/B testing creative executions and tracking will see what moves the needle via OTT/CTV metrics.
We will report out monthly to measure engagement. Sample reporting slides in the Appendix.
Who are we and why are we doing this?
We’re tired of reading articles about the demise of the wine business. No one is coming to save us no matter how many people agree on the problem. It’s time for Wine to grow up and become a real marketer. Just like other successful beverage brands…beer, spirits, coffee, tea or soft drinks.
Are we different? Sure. But not by that much.
We need to seek out the consumer, tell them why we are here and show what’s in it for them.
This will only work if we all contribute to the solution.
We believe that the leaders in the wine and hospitality business today can make an investment, stand together and make change…lifting all boats for wineries large and small.
We hope that you will join us. And help us get others to join us.
Barbara Gorder
Barbara Gorder is the President of Undisclosed Location, a national consulting firm. She helps her clients build successful business strategies and creative marketing approaches with bespoke, experienced teams from around the US. She is an expert in new media, how it intersects with creative and has relationships with VaynerMedia, Starcom and MediaLink.
After she graduated from Northwestern University, Barbara began her career in Chicago at Leo Burnett and DDB, creating fully integrated advertising campaigns for General Mills, Maybelline, Hallmark, General Motors, P&G, and Reebok. She has won many awards across a wide variety of consumer categories: ADDYs, One Show Gold Pencils, Mobius Awards, D&AD, Effie Awards, GM Launch of the Year (2X), and a Coty Award.
Her clients range from start-ups to Public Companies--Tech to CPG. They include Purple Wine Group, Constellation, and Aetna, among many others. She enjoys giving back by working for local 501C3s like Audubon Canyon Ranch and Caritas Village in Sonoma County.
Barbara lives on Sonoma Mountain and has worked as Keynote Chair of the DTC Wine Symposium since 2010. She has brought nationally recognized “Blue Ocean” speakers to the largest wine marketing conference in the US. The DTC Steering Committee has built a $4B sales Channel for US wineries in the last 13 years, raised $2M for Free the Grapes, and grown DTC shipping from 17 to 47 States. She passed WSET 2 with distinction. And she recently became a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier Sonoma.
Appendix
Definition of OTT/CTV
OTT has proven its tremendous ability to successfully reach audiences, enhance ad segmentation, improve ad engagement, and maximize cross-channel campaigns. OTT services offer a wide variety of content consumption options for consumers, and increasing ad inventory types for marketers–Streaming services to YouTube. As more people cut the cord and move towards online-only media consumption, the way to reach these consumers is increasingly via CTV OTT advertising. 30% + y/y and it now exceeds traditional TV.
As a result, companies are now more strategic about their OTT targeting to connect with the right users, most predominantly via CTV advertising. OTT targeting utilizes data and analytics to understand viewer preferences, demographics, and behavior, allowing advertisers to serve ads tailored to specific audience segments. By delivering ads to the right viewers at the right time, increasingly with the use of contextual advertising, OTT targeting helps maximize the effectiveness of advertising campaigns in the rapidly growing realm of online streaming services.
https://mediaradar.com/blog/alcohol-advertisers-shift-approach/ttps://mediaradar.com/blog/
Be part of Pass My Glass. Give us a call.
Brian Baker:
(707) 363-5931
Barbara Gorder:
(312) 972.2833 (PST)
Barbara.gorder@unlo.com