Promotion should become the main obsession in 2010, say wine producers

The wine market, valued at 450m euros, will strongly focus on
the low and high-price segments, namely on extremes this year,
after low-price brands witnessed significant increases starting as
early as 2009, the main industry players believe. “(…)
Segmentation and accurate positioning are the winning moves.
Communication, promotion in itself, must become the primary
obsession,” said Catalin Paduraru, a shareholder in Vinexpert.
Promotion investments in the wine industry are still extremely low
compared for instance with the beer market. Consumers’ switch to
the low-price segment is also reflected in the trend of the wine
market, which last year dropped by 10% in terms of volume and by
over 10% in terms of value, while brands such as Eticheta Neagra of
Murfatlar rose by 40%. In terms of marketing investments, the wine
market is in the “consumption stage”. Most producers’ marketing
investments are still low despite the tightening competition from
abroad.