How to attract the French to wine? Bring back those who shunned him? Make it more accessible to young people? The sector is working on the subject, aware that, for the moment, there is no miracle solution. The vast majority of people even remain skeptical of the options proposed: less alcohol in juices or no alcohol at all, cans to appeal to young people, colorful and more impactful labels, juice from a single grape variety to simplify… But few brands dare to break with the corkscrew ritual.
Olivier Dauvers, author and publisher specializing in mass distribution, is increasing the number of conferences on the subject, taking care not to antagonize professionals. Without hiding from them that the sector “no longer resonates with the times”, what “is aimed at the parents of those it targets”.
He takes the example of beer: the 25 and 33 centiliter cans, in addition to being light, adapt better to small desires than the 75 centiliter bottle. He suggests, for low-priced vintages, to do away with labels decorated with a coat of arms or a castle. And to stop promoting a controlled designation of origin (AOC) which misleads the consumer more than it reassures. “The AOCs have taken on the role of brand, explains the expert. However, we expect a brand to offer a consistent product. At Novotel, I don’t want to have sometimes a large bathroom, sometimes a shower in the corridor. But, in Bordeaux wines, we have bottles at 1.99 euros and others at 1,000 euros, it’s incomprehensible to people. »
The Bordeaux seduction operation
Bordeaux has started to respond to the challenges with two advertising campaigns, one in July 2023, to show the diversity of tastes of its red wines, the other at the beginning of February, which brings together winegrowers and consumers in the same images. The highlight is a video spot, broadcast on the Bordeaux wine website and social networks. There are two versions, one for France, “Evin law compatible”, the other for international, where we see, in a joyful and uninhibited atmosphere, the wine flowing into the glasses and the consumers bring to the lips.
“We wanted to put the consumer at the heart of this campaign, even if it meant shaking up the professionals”, recognizes Florence Bossard, marketing director of Bordeaux wines. According to her, the vineyard has focused for too long on codes specific to oenologists, perpetuating “a product and know-how anchored in a consumption that is no longer that of today”. The ambition is clear: “building the consumers of tomorrow”who, for the moment, are eyeing competing drinks, due to lack of communication that corresponds to them.