Target Pricing, Niche Marketing
It’s a Bitch

This shiraz is a bitch. It says so on the label. Royal Bitch is the name of the wine, one of a sisterhood of budget-priced cabernets and chardonnays from a variety of producers with labels like Sassy Bitch, Jealous Bitch, Tasty Bitch, Happy Bitch and Sweet Bitch. In 2004 a grenache named, simply, Bitch got the postfeminist ball rolling. Then came wines labeled:

•  Ball Buster, a beefy shiraz-cabernet-merlot Australia. 
•  BigAss Red, from California. 
•  Stench, an Australian sparkler. 
•  Fat Bastard, a line of wines from France, sold 425,000 cases by 2004, making it one of the most popular French wines in the United States. 

Ah, the target marketing; Bitch grabs the attention of a certain type of consumer, primarily young women en route to a bachelorette or divorce party, or looking for a special way to say, "I love you" on Mother's Day. Ball Buster is said to make its way to a lot of lawyers from their clients.

 Original article January 4, 2012, by William Grimes, New York Times

Every Picture Tells A Story
A Not-For-Profit Side of Aggressive Labels is Cleavage Creek.        
In October 2007, Budge Brown released the first generation of Cleavage Creek wines. The label of each bottle of Cleavage Creek wine features the image of an actual breast cancer survivor whose story is told on the Cleavage Creek website. “Putting a face on this disease and telling the stories of those who are dealing with it personalizes this and hopefully inspires everyone to take on the crusade,” said Brown. 10% of gross sales is donated to cutting edge research to fund a cure for breast cancer. Brown died in a plane crash in 2011.

Assessing Word-Of-Mouth Marketing

Often What Really Makes Up A Buyer’s Mind Is Not Only Simple But Also Free: A Word-Of-Mouth Recommendation From A Trusted Source. This Is Especially True In Experiential Products Such As Wine, Personal Electronics Or Movies. from McKinsey Quarterly

Eco-System PR; Alliance Marketing

By whatever name, ecosystem PR or alliance marketing the goal is to leverage the self-interest among firms, bringing together the self interested product “ecosystem” in a focused marketing campaign. Such a connected community has greater voice than any individual member. Microsoft and Apple are masters of this strategy; they create a tsunami of alliances with every launch. For example:

• Microsoft launched its Vista OS with PC firms Dell, Gateway, HP, & Lenovo Group.

For smaller firms, the idea is to surf off the wake of the platform company.

• During the Vista OS launch, software maker Wild Tangent boasted that “Gamers can download a free, fully-compatible Vista-ready games console…”

Advantages of building a product ecosystem:

Low-Cost Promotional Tool: A benefit is that the alliance community is larger and has greater voice than any individual member. An aggressive marketing/PR approach to alliances leverages the self-interest of channel partners in a win-win for sales.

For Acquisition or IPO: Proactive alliance management adds “Growing Sales Channels” luster to an offering, and “alliances” are always on the check-list of potential investors.

The Community is the Whole Product: In complex industries such as those of Enterprise Software, Finance, or Telecommunications, the community often delivers the whole product as no single vendor has the complete product. To succeed, firms must form alliances to go to market as a connected whole.

Photo: An eco-system: Dennis Kneale, Managing Editor, Forbes Magazine, USA, William H. Gates III, Chairman, Microsoft Corporation, USA, Caterina Fake, Founder, Flickr, USA, Chad Hurley, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, YouTube, USA, Mark G. Parker, President and Chief Executive Officer, Nike, USA @ World Economic Forum.

swiss-image.ch/Photo by Benjamin Zurbriggen

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