Promoting Wine by Country

Abstract

Purchasing products based on their country‐of‐origin is often employed by consumers as it is a short cut in the often lengthy decision process. Researchers have studied this country‐of‐origin phenomenon for several decades notably with an emphasis on durable goods understandably as durable goods tend to be high involvement purchases. The proliferation of brands and lack of knowledge can mean that wine too can be a complex purchase for many consumers. With the assistance of store displays by country many consumers use country‐of‐origin to simplify their wine choice. Generic wine promotions by individual countries further reinforce the country‐of‐origin concept for wine. This study sought to understand the level of understanding of certain countries as wine producers. Tourist‐based activities and price promotions were perceived as suitable strategies for generic bodies. These facilitate the purchase of wines from a country for the first time. The research focused on the case of Switzerland as it has low recognition as a wine producing country. Results show that Switzerland's products have a high quality image and this could be exploited in developing a generic campaign.