Shop Talk
Shop Talk We talk shop with Liquor Marketing Group and Treasury Wine Estates, and hear about how the companies collaborated on the same goal around a single brand.
The connection between retailer and supplier is an important one, both on the individual store and representative level, but also on the higher level. This has been proven by a recent collaboration between Liquor Marketing Group (LMG) and Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) around a single goal to the make Wynns Coonawarra Estate LMG’s fastest growing red wine brand. That goal has come to fruition just in time for winter, the peak drinking time for red wine. Through a number of execution tactics, new and existing shoppers of the Wynns brand were engaged and educated, leading to growth of 54.7 per cent at LMG in the 12 months ending March 2021. Representatives from the two companies talked
promotional planning, and a cohesive approach across in-store and online. The
National Liquor News though the collaboration and
first step was an education campaign for LMG’s field team, with each staff member
how it worked.
receiving a bottle of the wine to try in a virtual wine tasting with winemaker at
Matthew McEvoy, LMG’s National Merchandise Manager – Wine and Harry Brown, said: “In 2020
Wynns Coonawarra Estate, Sue Hodder. These teams then filtered the education through to the LMG members themselves in the stores.
LMG and TWE undertook a series of joint business
“To complement the education campaign, LMG also rolled out a strong
planning sessions to develop some long-term business
marketing plan to showcase Wynns Coonawarra and bring new shoppers into our
goals centred on driving new growth for both parties.
members’ stores. Specific tactics included: in-store POS and displays, activations
“LMG already had strong performance for the
and Wynns Black Label LMG exclusive gifting, Wynns branded Bluetooth speakers,
Wynns brand; however, these discussions uncovered
promotions in print and digital catalogues, and other social and digital shopper
an opportunity to enhance the position of the $15+
engagement initiatives,” McEvoy added.
Cabernet Sauvignon segment - an area that was
Through such tactics the businesses were able to reinvigorate sales growth for a
underperforming in the independent sector compared
respected, established and esteemed wine brand. McEvoy said this confirmed the
to the total market. It was decided that the focus
hypothesis for LMG and TWE: “that consumers are looking for trusted brands in
on this collaboration project would be on Wynns
premium wine – even in the independents channel.”
Coonawarra The Siding Cabernet Sauvignon.”
For Johnson, the partnership showed how much value can come from close
Luke Johnson, TWE’s Account Manager LMG,
relationships between brands and suppliers. He said the core formula for success in
summarised the potential impact that was predicted,
these relationships is to make sure everyone is: “agreeing up front. Having a shared
and said the two companies: “saw the opportunity to
goal and collaborative approach is key so everybody wins – including the consumer.
grow the premium wine category and give LMG a
“The beauty of our collaborative, transparent relationship and shared goals is
point of difference to their competitors.” The strategy alongside the collaboration had a number of moving parts, from education to 54 | National Liquor News
what helps drive success on both sides. We saw outstanding growth on the Wynns brand in LMG with almost 55 per cent growth; and a by-product is that we now have a workable model to use for forward planning on other brands.”
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