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The chief element of
direct mail campaign was a brochure. The reader was immediately confronted with a stark, bold headline on front of brochure:
"WHERE DO YOU GO TO TALK TO INVESTORS WITH $TRILLIONS TO INVEST? When brochure was opened, inside headline provided answer: "TO THE WINE COUNTRY”
On left side of inside page, we developed a fanciful photo that conveyed message we wanted: In photo, Holmes was wearing a suit and holding a cellphone, sitting at a desk which had a computer on top of it, in middle of a winery. Next to desk was a street sign that said “Wall Street.” The other side of page told story of Buyside and how it reached this affluent, influential audience of institutional investors. The copy also directed readers to an offer in back.
As part of offer, companies that responded to mailing would receive a free bottle of BuySide wine—white or red.
The mailing and promotion powered magazine to success far ahead of schedule. But wine proved to be more than a launching pad in a direct mail campaign. It became part of magazine’s positioning, separating it from competition. The wine angle proved powerful for years to come. At money management conferences, where wine was given out at BuySide’s booth, people would come into conference and ask ‘Where are wine guys?” Everyone knew what they meant.
While developing a private label wine may not be for everyone, there are other ways to use wine creatively in affluent marketing. Wine tastings, and food and wine get-togethers have been used successfully by professionals seeking to market their services to an affluent audience. But like wine itself, it takes taste and sophistication to make it work.
Leon Altman is the founder of InvestingIN.com (www.InvestingIN.com), a website that provides articles and newsletters about opportunities in different areas. To sign up for any of its free newsletters, go to http://www.investingin.com/freenewsletters.htm.
