White Girl Rose

The first time I saw a bottle of White Girl Rose I was at a music show after party. The bottle, which was being displayed on the bar, and passed around by guests caught my eye immediately (as it did everyone else’s at the party). A catchy title led to a quick laugh with friends which led to a purchase which led to a picture and a Tweet. Soon enough I was seeing White Girl Rose at parties, restaurants and homes throughout LA but I also seeing it somewhere wine shows up less frequently –-- all over social media.

 In case you are unfamiliar, White Girl Rose was created by Josh Ostrovsky aka “The Fat Jew,” a social media influencer with 10.5M followers and David Oliver and Tanner Cohen aka “White Girl” Babe Walker, a Twitter and Instagram personality with over 2M followers between the platforms.  Both comedy platforms make their living making fun of cultural trends, in fact “White Girl” focuses specifically on mocking white women’s “basic” woes.

While the rise of rose in 2015/2016 was certainly responsible for the exceptional success of this brand, White Girl Rose is the ultimate case study in the power of influencer marketing around a wine brand.  In fact, White Girl Rose was “the most photographed alcohol product on Instagram” in the summer of 2017 according to the founders.

Yes, the bottle is silly and arguably offensive, but it’s also brilliant. It makes you laugh (perhaps squirm) but it also makes you want to take a picture of it and post it on social media. The fact that you are reacting in the first place is valuable – you will certainly remember the brand. The fact that you’re also tempted to take a picture of it and post it on social media is even more valuable. This virality effect leads to heightened interest, greater purchases and even greater domination via a exposure loop.  Having a contemporary wine brand people want to not only drink but also post or pose with? Now that’s powerful.