How video will be the norm in wine marketing within three years says Matthew Dickinson

By Matthew Dickinson

Published: 23 February, 2015

Following last week's web video masterclass and seminar hosted by Google and YouTube for members of the UK wine trade and students from Burgundy's School of Wine Business, wine consultant Matthew Dickinson gives his personal summary and looks at how video is going to change the way the wine industry communicates.

In an exclusive column for Harpers.co.uk he writes:

It is rare that you get to go to a conference that turns pretty much everything you've ever learnt about marketing on its head. A select group of English winemakers and a group of students from ESC Dijon, led by the incomparable Dr Damien Wilson, an Australian with a penchant for hats (and making me feel uncomfortable about England's cricket prospects), were hosted at Google's funky modern campus in Soho last week. The subject? How to use Youtube more effectively as part of your communications strategy.

The roster was stellar - Robert Joseph, Helena Nicklin ('The Wine Bird'), Stephen Cronk from Mirabeau (otherwise known as 'that bloke with the shoe'), Diana Isac from Winerist, and Derek Scobie a strapping bearded Scotsman from YouTube.

For those of us born in the 70s (or before), telly was pretty limited, and quite frankly crap. With several notable exceptions (Captain Pugwash being one of them in my case), you'd prefer to be outside, rain or shine, admiring your mate's new Grifter, or trying not to share out your cherry Spangles. Today's kids are almost at the point of giving up on telly, despite considerable evolution, in favour of Youtube - short films, hilariously amateur in some cases, very often disturbingly weird.

Most wine companies screw up their video communications, as Robert entertainingly demonstrated, like we do most things that require us to be friendly to consumers. But there are glimmers of light, one of them being Stephen and his short clip on how to open a bottle of wine with a shoe (and a wall) - 50 seconds crammed with personality, the label of his brand facing forward, 9.5 million views and counting. That's 9.499 million more than all those expensive corporate videos showing the chateau, vineyards and the owner talking about his (yawn) soil types.

The beauty of YouTube, as Derek pointed out, is that it is marvellously unpredictable, but he did a great job at giving us 10 guidelines on how (possibly) to get it right. Stephen didn't get paid for doing his minute of fame, but he sure got his brand out there - and that's crucial for most of us.

He, and Helena too, are straightforward, normal people without budgets but who really know how to talk to average consumers. This 'disruption' has caused upset in some quarters, but that's what revolutionising communications is all about. The beauty too is that the cost is minimal - but that's not to say that it doesn't take grit, guts and effort. In fact, it's safe to say that being without a budget forces you to think outside the box and keep at it.

So you heard it here first - I predict that in three years' time, every wine company with any form of communications strategy will be using YouTube (or similar) to communicate its message. Most of us will screw it up royally, and end up talking about canopy management and why this is important. But the savvy ones will be engaging with what consumers and viewers like to see and hear, and will be getting great brand exposure.

And a quick final comment - YouTube is just coming up to only its 10th birthday. Soon it will feel as dated as Spangles, but for now it's where the cutting edge really is.

* Matt Dickinson runs a commercial and marketing agency for the drinks industry based in France.

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