"If the product philosophy is right, the consumer will also get on board."
Wine & Partners zeigt, wie ein erfolgreiches europäisches Weinmarketing aussieht
Wine & Partners shows what successful European wine marketing looks likeWine & Partners cashes in on wine promotion. The Viennese agency was founded by Dorli Muhr, who now employs five staff members and serves clients such as Robert Mondavi, Lenz Moser, Alois Kracher and Freie Weingärtner Wachau. And they do so throughout Europe. Top labels with top products.wine promotion is your specialty. But you also work for culinary products. How did you come up with this menu?
Dorli Muhr: Because eating and drinking is one of the most beautiful things there is. Why should I voluntarily do something that is less beautiful? However, it is important for Wine & Food PR that the products have a good taste and an exciting story.
If need be, you can also invent them...
Muhr: No, that would be nonsense. You can't do that without philosophy. You have to be able to convey a story with the product. By the way, it doesn't necessarily have to be related to luxury.
But luxury sells better.
Muhr: Not necessarily. If
If the philosophy of the product is right, the consumer will buy it. They often have a love-hate relationship with luxury. They want it, but can't necessarily afford it. A good story that people can identify with has much more influence than luxury. That's why we work very closely with our customers. For some, we even make sure that they work with the right importers in each European country. After all, they have to be convinced of the philosophy of the product. Otherwise, as we know, they can't stand behind it. The story has to be round - from the producer to the buyer. We have to convey taste. We can't just say "this is great, you have to eat or drink this," but show how you can recognize something good.
And how do you do that?
Muhr: For example, I give wine seminars especially for women and show them that they can recognize for themselves what is a good wine and what is a better wine. The point is that they develop trust in taste, that they shouldn't let themselves be talked into everything.
A fact that does not only apply to women when it comes to wine. Why do so many consumers lose their own power of judgment out of reverence for the contents of a wine bottle?
Muhr: Wine is sophisticated, and so far it has not been easy to find access to wine. Especially for wines from the Old World, i.e. France or Italy. In contrast to the competition from the New World, such as Chile, California or Australia, they are often closed, more difficult to access, still have to be stored and so on. This creates uncertainty.
Don't these two poles of wine totally clash?
Muhr: Of course, because in the Old World "good" is defined as that which cannot be approached and which "the layman" does not understand. This can be controlled either by quantity or price. In the New World, on the other hand, wine is sold as an accessible and immediately enjoyable beverage. There, in contrast to Europe, stories and explanations are always included on the label. The wine buyer is informed right from the start and is not left standing in the dark wine cellar. Personally, I like this much more, although I appreciate the wines from both sides of the oceans very much. Knowledge about enjoyment must be accessible and available to everyone.
One of your main clients is Robert Mondavi Winery, for which you work the European continent. Isn't it difficult to represent a label that doesn't enjoy the same level of recognition in all countries?
Muhr: It's more of a challenge. Of course, working with the core markets of Austria, Germany, and Switzerland is already a lot of fun, especially since the term Robert Mondavi doesn't have to be explained very much. The label is already well-known, and we don't have to start with Adam and Eve. That's not the case everywhere. But PR is like a relationship between a man and a woman. There's also never a point in time when you say, "Now I've achieved it." You're constantly working on it. You can actually only recognize an emotional status, but you can't measure anything. Relationship building is indeed constant work, and PR is interpersonal communication. Those who understand PR to be propaganda are absolutely wrong. One of the most essential tools of PR is understanding the other person. Recognizing how to convey a piece of information so that it is useful to the recipient, and so that he or she ultimately does something with it.
Do you have only female employees for this reason?
Muhr: Women are clearly more sensitive in this respect. For example, I can tell who my female employees are talking to by the way they behave on the phone. They respond differently to our customers. Men are often tough decision-makers, and women are more concerned with the atmosphere and know how to work with emotions.
Interview: Chandra Kurt
Dorli Muhr: Because eating and drinking is one of the most beautiful things there is. Why should I voluntarily do something that is less beautiful? However, it is important for Wine & Food PR that the products have a good taste and an exciting story.
If need be, you can also invent them...
Muhr: No, that would be nonsense. You can't do that without philosophy. You have to be able to convey a story with the product. By the way, it doesn't necessarily have to be related to luxury.
But luxury sells better.
Muhr: Not necessarily. If
If the philosophy of the product is right, the consumer will buy it. They often have a love-hate relationship with luxury. They want it, but can't necessarily afford it. A good story that people can identify with has much more influence than luxury. That's why we work very closely with our customers. For some, we even make sure that they work with the right importers in each European country. After all, they have to be convinced of the philosophy of the product. Otherwise, as we know, they can't stand behind it. The story has to be round - from the producer to the buyer. We have to convey taste. We can't just say "this is great, you have to eat or drink this," but show how you can recognize something good.
And how do you do that?
Muhr: For example, I give wine seminars especially for women and show them that they can recognize for themselves what is a good wine and what is a better wine. The point is that they develop trust in taste, that they shouldn't let themselves be talked into everything.
A fact that does not only apply to women when it comes to wine. Why do so many consumers lose their own power of judgment out of reverence for the contents of a wine bottle?
Muhr: Wine is sophisticated, and so far it has not been easy to find access to wine. Especially for wines from the Old World, i.e. France or Italy. In contrast to the competition from the New World, such as Chile, California or Australia, they are often closed, more difficult to access, still have to be stored and so on. This creates uncertainty.
Don't these two poles of wine totally clash?
Muhr: Of course, because in the Old World "good" is defined as that which cannot be approached and which "the layman" does not understand. This can be controlled either by quantity or price. In the New World, on the other hand, wine is sold as an accessible and immediately enjoyable beverage. There, in contrast to Europe, stories and explanations are always included on the label. The wine buyer is informed right from the start and is not left standing in the dark wine cellar. Personally, I like this much more, although I appreciate the wines from both sides of the oceans very much. Knowledge about enjoyment must be accessible and available to everyone.
One of your main clients is Robert Mondavi Winery, for which you work the European continent. Isn't it difficult to represent a label that doesn't enjoy the same level of recognition in all countries?
Muhr: It's more of a challenge. Of course, working with the core markets of Austria, Germany, and Switzerland is already a lot of fun, especially since the term Robert Mondavi doesn't have to be explained very much. The label is already well-known, and we don't have to start with Adam and Eve. That's not the case everywhere. But PR is like a relationship between a man and a woman. There's also never a point in time when you say, "Now I've achieved it." You're constantly working on it. You can actually only recognize an emotional status, but you can't measure anything. Relationship building is indeed constant work, and PR is interpersonal communication. Those who understand PR to be propaganda are absolutely wrong. One of the most essential tools of PR is understanding the other person. Recognizing how to convey a piece of information so that it is useful to the recipient, and so that he or she ultimately does something with it.
Do you have only female employees for this reason?
Muhr: Women are clearly more sensitive in this respect. For example, I can tell who my female employees are talking to by the way they behave on the phone. They respond differently to our customers. Men are often tough decision-makers, and women are more concerned with the atmosphere and know how to work with emotions.
Interview: Chandra Kurt
