Over the weekend Stormhoek featured in the South African Sunday Times.
Below is article in full for your reading enjoyment.
Wine blogging stirs up a sales storm
Rowan Philp: London
It is a winery so small that half of its vineyard could fit into the KWV cellars. The wine it produces is hailed no greater than “pretty good” by its own marketing people.
Yet Stormhoek is now the world’s most talked-about wine online and it has trebled international sales in 18 months.
Yet Stormhoek is now the world’s most talked-about wine online and it has trebled international sales in 18 months.
Fresh from its latest mischievous brand-building ploy in February — filming British supermarket-goers on their views on love — the Wellington winery is now selling more than one in five bottles of premium SA wine in the UK, and is set for one in four this year.
Yet experts said this week the company’s broader achievement was blazing a new marketing trail for all small SA export businesses, by harnessing the power of Internet blogs to become a global microbrand.
Yet experts said this week the company’s broader achievement was blazing a new marketing trail for all small SA export businesses, by harnessing the power of Internet blogs to become a global microbrand.
Established in 2003, the boutique Stormhoek label sold 50 000 cases — mostly in the UK — in 2004. Last year, it sold around 150 000 and, with a new deal signed with retail giant Tesco this week, its CEO has projected sales of 240 000 cases this year.
Stormhoek is the winery that caused headlines on three continents in December by having 3.5 million UK-based discount vouchers downloaded from its website, breaking global blogging records. Designed for suppliers and “friends” of UK liquor retailer Thresher, “40% off all wines” coupons were offered without any promotion or marketing.
Threshers stores were clogged with discount hunters, and its stocks depleted after one of its smaller customers, Stormhoek, posted the voucher on its website, and, audaciously, also linked it to Britain’s most popular blogging site. The phenomenon was described as a fluke and an error at the time, and Thresher’s profit margins were under threat as 150 000 vouchers had to be redeemed at the discount rate in 10 days.
Stormhoek estimates that it sold an extra 12 000 cases in the frenzy — and sales rose almost 500% at Sainsbury’s, another UK retail giant, over the same period.
Threshers stores were clogged with discount hunters, and its stocks depleted after one of its smaller customers, Stormhoek, posted the voucher on its website, and, audaciously, also linked it to Britain’s most popular blogging site. The phenomenon was described as a fluke and an error at the time, and Thresher’s profit margins were under threat as 150 000 vouchers had to be redeemed at the discount rate in 10 days.
Stormhoek estimates that it sold an extra 12 000 cases in the frenzy — and sales rose almost 500% at Sainsbury’s, another UK retail giant, over the same period.
Jason Korman of Stormhoek, said: “It’s all about being talked about. No one really cares anymore about where your wine is from, or even about its subtle qualities.”
And , rather than it being an “error”, Korman and his maverick marketing team in London said the frenzy was simply one result of “viral marketing” in an overall marketing strategy to create “a community through conversation”.
To achieve that, Korman sought to find the person in Britain who communicated with the most people for the least amount of money, and found Hugh McLeod – the man the Financial Times has called “the most influential blogger in Britain”.
And , rather than it being an “error”, Korman and his maverick marketing team in London said the frenzy was simply one result of “viral marketing” in an overall marketing strategy to create “a community through conversation”.
To achieve that, Korman sought to find the person in Britain who communicated with the most people for the least amount of money, and found Hugh McLeod – the man the Financial Times has called “the most influential blogger in Britain”.
A cartoonist and marketer with an online cult following, thanks to his blogsite www.GapingVoid.com, McLeod got carte blanche to innovate from Stormhoek’s marketing guru Graham Knox.
He broke rule number one by dishing out free wine to bloggers, on faith that they might talk about the wine online — and it worked. Next, he sponsored a series of “geek dinners” for bloggers in California’s Silicone Valley, and elsewhere, in a bid to generate brand awareness through “social gestures” to one of the world’s most naturally communicative communities.
“With blogging as your medium, it really is possible to create a global awareness with the marketing budget of a flea,” he said.
“You look at wines in a supermarket, and go, how do you compete with hundreds of thousands of wineries? Well, you can’t by showing people pictures of your winery, and telling them how good the wine is. You talk about what they want to talk about — often, not about wine at all — because all you need is a lot of people going, ‘Hey, we’ve heard of you guys, we like the things you do, and your wine is pretty good, so I’ll buy it’.”
He broke rule number one by dishing out free wine to bloggers, on faith that they might talk about the wine online — and it worked. Next, he sponsored a series of “geek dinners” for bloggers in California’s Silicone Valley, and elsewhere, in a bid to generate brand awareness through “social gestures” to one of the world’s most naturally communicative communities.
“With blogging as your medium, it really is possible to create a global awareness with the marketing budget of a flea,” he said.
“You look at wines in a supermarket, and go, how do you compete with hundreds of thousands of wineries? Well, you can’t by showing people pictures of your winery, and telling them how good the wine is. You talk about what they want to talk about — often, not about wine at all — because all you need is a lot of people going, ‘Hey, we’ve heard of you guys, we like the things you do, and your wine is pretty good, so I’ll buy it’.”
In the run up to Valentine’s Day last month, McLeod and a small film crew went on a roadshow of 36 Tesco supermarkets, from Inverness to London, filming customers in the wine section responding to the question: “What does ‘love’ mean to you?”
He wore a branded T-shirt and stood around bottles of “Big Love” Stormhoek, featuring another broken rule: a cartoon wine label. He didn’t forget his on-line “community”, downloading nine three-minute clips of the documentary onto YouTube.
“A conversation is a two-way street – you can’t just preach your message; people no longer want messages about products. You’re creating a community.”
He wore a branded T-shirt and stood around bottles of “Big Love” Stormhoek, featuring another broken rule: a cartoon wine label. He didn’t forget his on-line “community”, downloading nine three-minute clips of the documentary onto YouTube.
“A conversation is a two-way street – you can’t just preach your message; people no longer want messages about products. You’re creating a community.”