Recent insights from the IWSR Australian Wine Landscapes Report (2024) show that the domestic wine market has changed. The regular wine-drinking population is shrinking, making it imperative to attract new drinkers to the category and ensure regular wine drinkers are choosing Australian wine on more occasions.
The research shows that there is a valuable opportunity to engage with consumers interested in learning more about wine, notably Gen Z and Millennials, who are adventurous, socially engaged, and high average spenders in both on- and off-premise settings.
This changing landscape has shaped the direction of Wine Australia’s new ‘We make a wine for that’ campaign, designed to align Australian wine with everyday moments and make it the beverage of choice for a wider range of consumption occasions. For trade outlets, it’s an opportunity to make wine feel more approachable as part of an occasion.
With over 100 grape varieties grown across 65 wine regions, the campaign spotlights the quality and diversity of Australian wine which offers domestic shoppers a perfect bottle to match any consumption occasion.
Paul Turale, General Manager Marketing of Wine Australia, says: “The campaign is built around the premise of connection, celebrating relationships and moments that matter.
“Through this campaign we celebrate the diversity of occasions that define today’s culture and give shoppers confidence that there really is no need to look any further than Australia because ‘we make a wine for that.’”
Targeting category share from imported wines and other competing alcohol categories, the campaign is an effective and affordable way for the sector to increase domestic sales and engagement and attract new drinkers.
Building momentum around the campaign
“Wine consumption is declining globally, driven in part by less-involved consumers leaving the category and increased competition from other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage categories,” explains Turale.
“The campaign aims to get adults who have some level of awareness of wine to choose Australian wine more frequently for more occasions, which will in turn drive sales of Australian wine and benefit the whole sector.
“From well-loved classics to innovative and emerging styles that are shaping the look, feel and taste of modern Australia, there is always something new to discover about Australian wine,” he continues.
To grow domestic market share, Turale is calling for a collective industry approach, where the sector adapts and meets consumers where they are.
“Sector collaboration will be critical, as we work together to give this campaign momentum. A strong and consistent message needs to be visible across the path to purchase journey for wine drinkers to ensure cut-through,” he continues.
To ensure a unified national message across all elements of trade, Wine Australia will provide resources and support for retailers, wineries and on-premise venues.
A free marketing campaign toolkit will be available on the Wine Australia website from June, with templates, assets, and messaging to help to bring the concept to life across all customer touchpoints.
With consumer rollout beginning in August, Turale encourages retailers to look for opportunities to align the campaign with Australian wine category activities to increase relevance, share of voice and category awareness in a crowded market.
“We’re inviting retailers and trade to engage through social media, catalogues, in-store POS, tastings, PR and events. The campaign is flexible so they can maintain their individual branding and point of difference in the market.
“The impact with shoppers will be made if we can have consistent re-enforcement of the campaign messaging throughout the path-to-purchase journey, so that when they get to the shelf, they will choose Australian wine.”
Wine Australia will broaden the audience reach and engagement for campaign-related events by promoting them on its Australian Wine website, and retailers can also benefit from an umbrella media and digital campaign throughout the campaign period.
To sign up to the campaign, visit wineaustralia.com/wemakeawineforthat and gain access to downloadable campaign guidelines, social and POS assets, poster templates, creative activation ideas and the event submission portal.
