After our discussion on Inniskillin's marketing strategy to position the product in Duty Free Stores I looked out for other instances where wine was marketed at an airport. During last week's weekend travels I got introduced to Vino Volo at the Oakland airport. As a quick refresher/introduction: Vino Volo has been founded in 2012 to provide airport travelers with a unique fine wine & dine experience - referred to as the "Vino Volo experience".
From my point of view, Vino Volo has focused strongly on developing a recognizable brand connecting with a unique experience around wine. Recalling my personal experience, I was pleasantly surprised to receive detailed information on coasters for each wine in the flight I ordered (as I researched later it's the patented "Vino Chart") about profile, bouquet and flavors. Besides the wine experience itself, I was impressed by the somewhat mediterranean ambiente, friendliness of the service and the quality of the food which, as I found out during my research, are deliberate characteristics of all Vino Volo "wine lounges".
Researching further into Vino Volo, I found out about its retail and loyalty programs rewarding consumers frequently purchasing wine. Understanding the need to tie consumer closer to your business I am curious to find out in the course of the class how wine consumers behave regarding loyalty to specific wines / wineries vs. switching frequently to new wines.
Furthermore, this might be somewhat ahead, but I am curious to find out how Vino Volo as alternative (?) distribution channel is very unique or whether similar "wine lounges" targeting the wine enthusiasts exist and how they drive demand in recent years.
Further Resources:
- https://www.vinovolo.com/story/
- http://whartonmagazine.com/issues/fall-2012/tasting-for-two-types-of-wine-drinkers/
- https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/about-deloitte-life-great-idea-takes-flight-innovation-alumni.html
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/all-we-can-eat/post/vino-volo-will-no-longer-be-just-a-terminal-wine-bar/2012/07/09/gJQARHlPYW_blog.html?utm_term=.c3ae9187c183
Commenting on my own post after the class with Doug Tomlinson: My first impression very well matched what Doug explained and portrayed about Vino Volo. Having progressed with the class now I can respond to my query that Vino Volo as a wine lounge is rather unique.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as a demand driver I see Vino Volo's influence rather small. Discussing the target consumers in class this would most likely never reach the broad masses. 2 million consumers is a solid number, but it's not a big share of the total market - and most likely Vino Volo will never achieve a mass market scale.
However, next time I am at the airport (i.e. tonight) I will be on the lookout for Vino Volo for another great wine experience.