Our goal was to develop a best-in-class digital strategy that positions Gallo's Rosé brands as the consumer choice, ultimately driving purchase by showing that there is a Rosé for everyone. Rosé is the #1 growth category in the wine segment. It grew at an unprecedented rate of +96% in 2018. With 249 new Rosé SKUs introduced in 2017 alone, the product style, price point and brands differ greatly. Rosé is made from a variety of grapes that are found all over the world. There is not one true "Rosé Style." The style can range from incredibly sweet to extremely dry, with varying tasting notes depending on production. This varietal has seen increased volume from new users, as well as varietal switching and expansion with existing consumers. Therefore, consumers are looking for simple guidance on how to choose the right Rosé for them. The current shopping experience has created confusion for consumers at the shelf, and retailers overwhelmed by how to choose the perfect assortment to meet their shopper's tastes, price point, and personality.
Through our omnichannel strategy around Rosé, we enabled category growth and assisted shoppers in finding products they will enjoy. The Rosé Your Way™ program consisted of targeted media buys, an interactive chatbot, and in-store point of sale with educational materials. The program ran March 1 through September 30, 2018.
Our content strategy focused on driving awareness of the Rosé category, as well as our brands. We sought to not only drive curiosity, but fuel Rosés trend-worthiness. Content centered on occasion inspiration, taste information, and recipes/pairings. Our PR team secured editorial placement with large publishers such as Refinery 29, gaining more than 21 million impressions. Through both paid and organic efforts on Facebook and Instagram, we garnered an additional 9 million impressions, with over 25.3k people engaging with the chatbot to find the right Rosé for their taste buds. To provide further reach and authenticity, we partnered with 20 influencers to review our products. They reached another 7.6 million impressions with nearly 63k engagement results.
The core of our Rosé Your Way™ campaign was our Facebook Messenger chatbot. Our chatbot is the first of its kind – a wine mobile concierge – to help shoppers decide which Rosé will be right for them. The chatbot verifies that the shopper is over 21 years of age, then asks a quick series of questions based on taste and occasion to make the perfect recommendation. Once a recommendation has been made, the consumer can explore more information about the brand, find a store nearby, or learn more about Rosé. Additionally, after the shopper opts in, they can receive push notifications within the chatbot for content around Rosé pairings, recipes, etc. The chatbot was featured in store, in digital media advertising, and on our Facebook page.
In addition to the messenger experience, we reached shoppers through mobile ads within 24-48 hours of their next anticipated grocery or liquor store trip. The messaging centered on allowing our Rosé concierge to aid in the shopper's selection of the perfect Rosé for their tastes.
Over the course of the campaign, the chatbot garnered more than 180.5k engagements, with the average interaction lasting 42 seconds, which is longer than most television ads. The mobile proximity ads yielded 4.39 million impressions with a high level of engagement.
We also offered point of sale that was educational in nature, both directing shoppers to the chatbot, as well as outlining the varying styles of wine in simple, consumer-centric verbiage that described the wine style. We enlisted the help of in-store digital advertising, which included a gamification aspect where a shopper could earn points by scanning the UPC code of a bottle, effectively putting our Rosés in 102.5k shopper's hands. Website, banners, social and email assets tying back to the program were available to retailers across the country to display on their own digital properties. The Rosé Your Way™ program was executed in 72% of retailers nationwide.
Not only did this program generate 20.9 million impressions and more than 180.5k interactions, it drove impressive sales results for our retailers; +124.6% in dollars sales vs. the previous year. In those first two months, the Rosé category within IRI grew +67%/ +66% in dollar sales and volume March-April, and Gallo's Rosé SKUs grew +83%/ +112% respectively in dollar sales and volume during that same time frame, resulting in Gallo brands outperforming the market by about 15% in dollar sales, and almost double in volume.
In the regions where independent liquor stores prevail, Gallo experienced an avg. of +55% in depletions. In Retailer A, Gallo had 16% share of the Rosé category in 2017. Through this program, Gallo increased its share to 37%, secured six brands in the Top 15 Rosé 750mLs, while also driving overall share growth for the retailer.
In Retailer B, Gallo increased case volume by +133%, with dollar growth trending an astounding +222%. The strength of the program also resulted in more rose SKUs being added to the store assortments to better meet the increased consumer demand.
We as marketers are too often focused on the message we want to get into market about our brands. By taking a step back and speaking to our target consumer on their terms versus ours we were able to drive strong sales results.
NOTE: All data sourced from IRI.
