To say I was blown away by Terry
Wheatley would be an understatement. Terry is an impressive, self-made female
entrepreneur, made even more extraordinary by the industry and time in which
she distinguished herself. I can only
imagine she has endless stories to tell about what it was like to be a female
business leader in the wine industry only 30 or so odd years ago.
When it comes to the wine industry
what interests me most is the branding and marketing component. A segment of
the industry Terry has clearly honed. Given the sheer number of wine brands
available in the market (over 200K available in the US alone), it seems to me
that beyond the production and distribution roadblocks we discussed in our
previous class, building a recognizable and preferential brand in this industry
is uniquely and exceptionally difficult.
Perhaps I have been jaded by my
years in the entertainment industry but I am bullish in my belief that to
succeed as a young wine brand today (assuming for a second that you do not have
the unique marketing expertise or relationships of Terry), requires an already
existent massive level of brand recognition. More specifically, celebrity
recognition.
My opinion is not novel given how
many celebrities have moved into the alcohol industry in the past ten or so
years (think George Clooney’s Casamigos or Sean Diddy Combs’ Ciroc).
Surprisingly, however, one contemporary celebrity has not emerged as a clear
winner in the wine domain. While there are plenty of older celebrities (read; past
their prime) or more periphery celebrities (read; less famous) getting into the
business, (Sting, Diane Keaton, Antonio Banderes and Drew Barrymore all come to
mind), the industry is ripe for a superstar with mass appeal to bring wine even
further into the mainstream than it already is. And I look forward to exploring
this branding opportunity further in my final assignment.
