Is the wine industry ready for the new label technology?

Many in the wine industry talk about the novelties in label design that are revolutionizing the industry. They are people who point out that there are new label papers, applications that use aluminum foil, embossing techniques, shrink sleeves, colors and scannable (QR) labels. Yes, wine labels have a nice new look. But a new approach that will capture the imagination, uses captivating technologies, combines tantalizing colors, and has shown research indicating that customers are impulsively forced to pick up and handle the product on which the label appears. When was the last wine label you saw that you were able to experience?

That new label product being touted in the wine industry is a hologram. Holograms have been around commercially since the mid-1970s. Tea National Geographic Magazine featured a small holographic image of an eagle on the cover of a monthly issue. I saw it and was amazed that you could see the eagle side and then the opposite side just by turning the magazine cover.

I was a marketing manager for a company in Manhattan and was so intrigued by the holographic image that I wanted to use it in our consumer brochures. The biggest drawback was the price of the holographic image; approximately $ 2.00 each. Today, hologram labels can be made, by volume, for as little as $ 0.05 each, 1 x 1 inch. Pre-production / setup costs would be approximately $ 2,500. A front wine label could cost approximately $ 0.74 each for a 4 x 3-inch size.

“Actual costs depend on how sophisticated the final image must be to obtain the desired visual effect,” says Mr. Alec Jeong, General Sales Manager at Integraf, a supplier of holographic labels. “For a high-quality hologram, pre-production can start as low as $ 1,000 for something as simple as a logo or go up to $ 8,000 for a beautiful screen that combines 3D depth, animation, and amazing reflections.”

What makes holograms so interesting? Holography is a photographic technique that records the light scattered by an object and then presents it in a way that appears three-dimensional. In the 70s, the object to appear in 3-D, the model had to have the actual size of the image to be generated on a special paper using lasers.

New techniques now allow 3-D images to be generated using computer graphics modeling that can be applied to laser-like images to generate 3D effects.

What makes the application of 3D holographic labels so interesting for the wine industry?

The holographic images produce a 3-D effect that captures the consumer’s attention when searching for wine on the shelves. Applications can be tailored for vertical or horizontal bottle displays.

· Producing a 3D label today is profitable.

· Holograms can be used to combat counterfeiting of some wines.

Holographic images can be tailored for many marketing requirements: branding, neck hangars, and eye catchers for consumers passing down a hallway. For example, some holograms can be produced that will produce a burst of light when passing through a hologram label.

· It is not necessary to make the entire label as a hologram.

These labels speak to the millennial generation who are tech savvy. This demographic represents more than 60% of the wine market and is driving the growth of wine sales.

Ms. Toni Hamilton, Marketing Director for ASL Print FX, has established some guidelines for effective wine labels. Do the holograms fit your guidelines? Ask, for example, on a store shelf, will the label attract attention in 3 seconds? Some research already done by Integra indicates that holographic images work well. Will a holographic image reflect the wine, the winery, and the target market? Each demographic responds to messages and the delivery format of a message differently. The investigation and the evidence would be the judge; Below you will find more information about the applications on the market. Lastly, in almost all demographic markets, labels must be fun, they can be humorous, they must use unique graphics, and they can be a little bizarre.

A label design company in Napa has said that there are exceptions to most of the rules about good labels – images of bugs on labels, however, get passed on.

We know that wine labels are / can be: art, informational (partly by law), entertainment and are used to influence consumer action. The following are some thoughts on the interaction of a wine label with the consumer.

As a consumer, do you think we are immune to manipulative marketing tactics? we’re too smart for that trick, right? But we shouldn’t get defensive about wine marketing tactics because the label can give us a lot of information (not just legal jargon) about the branding options available to us. Labels create lasting loyalty, stimulate new wine tasting, encourage enjoyment / expectations (the mental expectations of psychology), and allow us to connect with the creators of some of our favorite wines / wineries and winemakers. Combined with the Internet, we can now be more informed about our wine purchases and become educated brand evangelists for great wines, both cheap and expensive.

The life and value of a wine label are based on research and testing. And research shows that “the more consumers like the label, the more they like the wine.” At least that’s according to Mr. David Schuemann, owner of CF Napa Brand Design, a top-notch label marketing and design company in wine country.

David Ogilvy, an icon of the advertising industry, had many quotes about using visuals to sell products. One that I appreciate, which can be applied to holographic wine labels, “If you catch the eye on the first frame (which applies to TV commercials) with a visual surprise, you have a better chance of retaining the viewer. Commercials because they open with something boring. ” “On average, five times more people read the headline than the body of the text.”

Aside from advertising (print, television, direct response), the wine industry generally has an important marketing tool in its bag of tricks to reach the consumer and motivate the consumer towards that first test: the label is an important tool in the bag. The label cannot carry and perpetuate a bad brand, product or image for success. But, it will encourage a test and then a regular customer.

Wine Business Monthly has reported that in the Hispanic market 70% of the wine purchase decision is related to price, the recommendations represent 40% and the label design represents 14% of the purchase decision. Obviously, there are many crossovers between categories, but the relative importance of wine labels is enough to make it important in the sale of wine. If the family’s recommendations arose due to a test initiated by a tag and a follow-up recommendation, the tags could affect sales by almost 30%: tests and buybacks.

Mr. Kyle Swartz, reported in Drink dynamics, January 2016: “Regarding labels, 46% of women said they were intrigued by” traditional / classic / sophisticated “designs. 39% were intrigued by” fun and fantastic “looks, while 37% noted Labels indicating “organic / sustainable” wines. “Ingenious and intelligent” attracted 36% of respondents, and “benefiting a cause that interests me” intrigued 30%. Do you think any of these answers influence the holographic label discussion?

These comments are important given that 83% of the wine is bought by women, of which 36% are millennials and are mainly focused on shopping experiences not only on the product itself. Since the US is the world’s largest wine market, labels are extremely important. Swartz is also noted to report that 53% of women browse labels. As Ogilvy pointed out, the first frame (substitute “visual impression” for our discussion) will provoke further exploration.

Wine is once again in the center of attention due to its growth, mainly attributed to millennials. As a demographic, millennials make up about 60% of the US market and focus on wine purchases by the $ 11 to $ 20 bottle of wine. However, labeling strategies are not necessarily driven by the price of a bottle of wine. At ALL price points of any product, the product is repurchased based on a price-to-value ratio. Nobody buys Two Buck Chuck thinking that the quality / value is a bottle to be stored for 10 years or put up for a fine wine auction at Christy’s. But at any price, the labels will generate evidence for the value proposition and that communicates with a brand strategy.

In an attempt to show that I am not disconnected from reality. We all recognize that there are many components that influence our decision about buying wine, in addition to personal preferences acquired / established for a specific wine. For this discussion, we focus on the tactile and visual questions that lead us to taste a wine that we see in ourselves for the first time; these are not listed in any order or inclusivity.

Price

Design label

Bottle / Product Weight

Type of closure (cork or plastic stoppers with screw cap would not be visible under the aluminum foil)

Description of the wine on the front and back labels

Varietal / style

Denomination / AVA

Familiarity with the wine producer

Recommendations (friends or merchant or winery)

As a side note: More recently, a lot of attention has been paid to the Chinese wine market. Here the label is very important because of the traditional importance of images and colors. Interestingly, colors like red, gold, and yellow connote wealth, good luck, and elegance.

I found a 2010 study written by Vince Bonofede from California Polytechnic State University. The title of the research is- ANALYSIS OF THE AESTHETICS OF THE DESIGN OF WINE LABELS AND THE CORRELATION WITH THE PRICE. Contrary to the title of the study, it did touch on label design issues in wine selection. The study was based on mathematical and regression analysis and examined 7 categories of rules related to design aesthetics.

After a complex analysis, Bonofede concludes: “Ultimately, wine is meant to be enjoyed, not a stressful walk around the island of wine. If a wine label is what catches your eye first, then go for it and enjoy. “. That is, if a wine label were aesthetically pleasing to the consumer (i.e. color, shapes, font sizes, etc.), then the label could have an overall effect on consumer opinion of the wine (Burnhard, Martin and Troncoso (2008).

I think holographic labels will soon make inroads on wine labels. Certainly, the use of such images will promote product testing, conversation, reading labels for information, promote the brand and promote a product and a winery image that is durable. The frequency and impressions of such a tag should be explored as a component of marketing.

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