Grape tales: How storytelling & bold marketing can help SA's wine industry

A post of mine reflecting on the need for stronger, more effective marketing in the wine industry was reposted in a LinkedIn News brief. The brief included other pieces on declining global wine consumption levels.

It prompted a recall of worrying profitability statistics I came across in researching the wine value chain - around 38-40% of wine producers made a loss in 2022, with only between 9-12% turning a profit. Both these data points are worse than what they were in 2018.

The number of primary grape producers has decreased by over 30% between 2012 and 2023, according to data published by SA Wine Information and Systems.

Producing wine is hard, yet we have farms, producers and brands fighting the good fight, producing world-class wines.

As with most sectors of the economy, we should see some input and finance costs stabilise or decline with inflation and interest declining. In addition, the benefits of a stable electricity supply will be felt on the production floors and ultimately on balance sheets. Finally, revenues will hopefully improve as tough economic conditions ease for consumers.

We hold thumbs that better days are on the horizon.

But consumers can't buy products or services they don't know about or are intimidated to try. And this brings me back to the wine industry's marketing problem. Having a stellar product is essential, but not enough as the data on profitability and decline producers indicate.

Here I draw parallels from my career as a journalist, specifically my time at Eyewitness News, under the inspirational journalism and marketing leadership of Katy Katopodis . By combining innovative, consistent marketing with credible, trusted journalism and a commitment to operational excellence, we were able to grow what was essentially a regional feeder brand into a stand-alone award-winning national brand which punched above its weight, competing with newsrooms with far greater reach and resources. The first two factors (trusted journalism and operational excellence) are qualifying criteria – they get people to consider your product. Strong, innovative marketing and authentic brand storytelling helped us develop a competitive advantage.

Like the wine industry, journalism faces social and economic headwinds that have prompted concern and deep introspection. Both continually fight a perception problem, but equally, they share another fundamental characteristic - passionate South Africans who love what they do, are vital to our social and economic fabric, and have amazing stories to tell.

I look forward to being moved by those stories - while savouring one of our many fine wines, of course.

Cheers!

[Photos from Klink Art Wine Experience by Slow Wine Co. and 223 Jan Smuts Creative Hub]