A unique and memorable wine label is one of the simplest and most cost effective ways of getting wine buyers to give you a second look. We take a look at what you can achieve if you find the right shape.

So you know that you make a great wine, but unfortunately buyers who have never tried it, or don’t remember the brand from the last time they tried it, are blissfully unaware of that. All consumers can see are shelves stuffed full of hundreds of bottles of wine and the only thing to tell them apart is price, bottle shape, colour and label. So how do you make sure yours gets consideration?

Well clearly bottle shape and colour are the big stand outs. Slim and elegant or short and rustic–bottle shape gives a good indicator of what kind of wine you’re going to get, as does the colour of the glass and the label. But for many boutique wine makers, ordering a bespoke bottle just for them simply isn’t an affordable option.

So what have we got left? Well, research shows that the style, colour and shape of the label are hugely important. While many of your wine-savvy customers will be carefully choosing their wine according to grape, vineyard and vintage, plenty more, who only know they want a decent rich fruity red to go with steak, will be looking for other indicators of the experience they’re likely to get. And you’d be surprised how many use the aesthetics of the label as an indication of style and quality.

This is why so many wineries have now started to use unusual and creative label shapes; they can seriously help to tip casual or occasional buyers towards a sale. A label shape a shopper has never seen before, coupled with high quality, modern design, sends out a strong message about the confidence of your brand and the dedication to your craft. This is a particularly important indicator for younger buyers, who have a tendency to prefer wine brands with humour and originality rather than those that stick to old-fashioned, traditonal values.

Changing the label shape is also a pretty simple and cost-effective compared to changing the entire shape of the bottle, and when done well can have exactly the same knock-out effect. So why should you go for it? Number one because it’s a differentiator that will elevate your bottle over a number of pretty similar looking wines. And number two, because if you stick to a consistent, memorable shape that truly reflects your brand, your customers are much more likely to remember the quality of your wine and pick it again. Simple.

Sub Headings are Exciting Too!

Selling wines to China have becoming a very popular topic among Australian wineries these few years, according to data from the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation, in 2008 China imported 25.1 million litres of Australian wine, this was increase to 40.5 million litres in 2009 and now still growing, making China as Australia’s fourth largest exporting market by value but number one for value growth. As many Australian wineries all gearing up to catch the wave, here are some of our insights.

The look & feel
Researches shows that chinese consumers are particularly sensitive to packaging styles which communicate history, prestige and heritage. Such preference often lead wineries to choose cork over screw caps, simulating aged paper labels via design and having crest like logos.

Majority of Chinese consumers are Aspirational wine drinkers, whom often focuses on the value of the brand more than the wine itself. Hence, they would pay more attention to the brand's heritage, culture and wine regions.

Association of words & numbers
Due to the differences in culture, a perfectly appetising name in the western world may sometimes bring a mind of unpleasant images or connotations to the Chinese consumers.

For example, a well known Australian wine brand often uses Bin to name their wines, the English word "bin" pronounces the same as “sick” in Mandarin. Its is very common in Chinese culture to make associations with numbers or words based on how they are pronounced, this is also why the number four (4) is often avoided in the Chinese society as it shares very similar pronunciation as the word "death" in Mandarin.

Bring on the Red
Approximately 80% of the Australian wines exported to China are red wines. This is often attributed to health benefits, the similarity between red wine tannins and those found in tea, and the fact that the colour red stands for happiness and celebration in Chinese symbolism.

International brand with localised strategy
Developing a truly localised strategy for both packaging and marketing in response to specific consumer preference has became critical in current Chinese market, however there is often a gap between the western and eastern culture and their preferences in taste, colour and packaging design. This makes sub branding an excellent strategy which allows wineries to tailor made a sub brand specifically to attract positive attention and increasing the sales in China while avoids cultural impacts to the master brand in Australia.

As part of the risk management, it is also critical for wineries to register both the English and the Chinese brand names before entering the Chinese market to preserve intellectual property.

With Australian wine’s current positive momentum in the ‘high-end’ and ‘premium’ segments in China, this is the season for success to those wine makers sensitive of these cultural variations.

Bottoms up! or should we say Gan Bei!

Oakway Estate - one of the award wining boutique winery in the heart of Geographe Wine Region of Western Australia. With generations of wine making history, the brand identity & packaging was due for a makeover. Approached by Wayne & Ria Hammond, the owners of Oakway Estate, the project was to bring wider recognition of this fine Western Australian wine to an audience outside its home region.

After we conducted an equity study and developed new brand positioning, inspirations were drew from different aspects of an actual oak tree to streamline the package design to reflect the brand’s heritage and values.

The new modern design, which portrays a sectional view of an oak trunk as well as the capital “O” from the name Oakway Estate, was well received from shelves to cellar doors. With a refreshed brand identity and clean illustration, the new label design created differentiation, and elevated the pride of this smart, authentic Australian brand.