College Cellars Brand Refresh. Sabrina Bitz Lueck Institute for Enology and Viticulture Walla Walla Community College

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Valerie Booker
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1 College Cellars Brand Refresh Sabrina Bitz Lueck Institute for Enology and Viticulture Walla Walla Community College

2 Story Time No primer on brand theory Discuss College Cellars 1. What is College Cellars 2. Why did we refresh brand? 3. Who was involved? 4. How did we do it? 5. When did we start the process? 6. What was our go to market strategy? 7. What was the market feedback?

3 1. What is College Cellars? College Cellars wines are produced by students and faculty and the Walla Walla Institute for Enology and Viticulture. With access to cutting edge technology and training in time-honored techniques, they craft wines that express the vibrancy of Washington state and its winemaking community.

4 History Institute for Enology and Viticulture and College Cellars of Walla Walla founded in 2000 Political issues regarding state involvement in alcohol production and sales College Cellars is owned by the WWCC Foundation Local wine industry concerns with commercial sales of wine College Cellars was the 20 th bonded winery in the Walla Walla Valley Pushback from a few industry individuals Strong central leadership of president Steve VanAusdle Students did not make the wine until Tim Donahue began instruction in 2010

5 Impact of History on Visual Brand Conservative, Old World design Features old technology No need for product tiers or differentiation Reflects views and leadership of Steve VanAusdle and Myles Anderson

6 Wines Bottled in Governor s White Semillon Cabernet Franc (WWV) Governor s Red Merlot (WWV) President s Blend Cabernet Sauvignon (WWV) Cabernet Sauvignon (estate)

7 Who We are Now 5 staff members with excellent credentials and global wine experience 60 students who come from across the country An advisory committee of industry icons and program graduates A commercial winery and vineyard (and laboratory) with unsurpassed technology

8 2017 Core Tier 2017 Chardonnay Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2017 Scholarship Tier 2017 Partner Tier 2017 Special Tier Viognier Scholarship Red Syrah Sparkling wine RVM Rhône White Blend Scholarship White GSM Rhône Red Blend Dessert Barbera Riesling Cabernet Sauvignon, E ritage Muscat Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon, Discovery Rosé of Pinot Gris Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon, Golden Ridge Malbec Cabernet Sauvignon, Summit View Cabernet Franc Cabernet Sauvignon, Phinny Hill Petit Verdot Sangiovese Carmenère Barbera Tempranillo

9 Wines Now All made by our student winemakers Many grown by our student grapegrowers Produced using cutting edge vineyard and winery technology Close to 1000 medals and reviews Wines are all commercially sold to support scholarships and equipment

10 Or very NOT cutting edge technology Adam presses estate Carmenère by hand It wasn t worth it to run the basket press

11 2. Why Refresh Brand? TL;DR We need a visual brand that reflects the high quality and progressive style of the wines! New tiers or SKUs are being offered by the brand and need differentiation. Winery wants to increase price, needs to show more premium face Capitalize on soft brand of Walla Walla Valley Institute for Enology and Viticulture at WWCC receives no direct financial support from the wine industry Sales of wine directly support student scholarships and allow the program to purchase high-end grapes and equipment Price increase benefits our students and a more premium face reflects the goal of our program founders Internal change that winery wants to signify externally, increased quality, new ownership, change in vineyard sources Increased quality = heck yes New ownership = naw Change in vineyard sources = increased quality and expansion of estate vineyard, partnership with prestigious local vineyards Style is outdated or UGLY Yes, as simple as that

12 3. Who Is Involved? Who are your stakeholders? Lay out reasons for refresh. Language is important here. Likely that your stakeholder(s) are owner/winemaker Meet to get on the same page Decide elements that reflect what s important to them If they aren t on board, this isn t happening. Involved but not too involved. Subjective decision making 75% of designs are made based on judgment or design-by-committee 50%+ are decided by a senior executive!

13 3. Who Is Involved? College Cellars stakeholders Program staff Program advisory committee and program marketing sub-committee WWCC Foundation Board of Governors (technically owners) WWCC Board of Trustees For this set of stakeholders, program mission fulfillment is most important. Looking good is a bonus. Used the language refresh instead of rebrand. Good news, our small staff group are experts on our brand. We can make appropriate design decisions and send upwards for approval.

14 4. The Design Thank you, Sara Nelson Design! Designers They come up with ideas that you didn t expect and help you break out of a bad idea cycle. It s easy to get hung up on an idea or concept that doesn t resonate with your consumers. They do this for a living! If they re on top of their game, they know what s on trend and what is working (or overdone).

15 5. When to Start Rate determining steps 1. Are your bottling dates in the calendar? Best not to bottle into shiners 2. Bottle shape/size change? Call your printer now. 3. Design time 4. TTB time 5. Print time

16 5. When to Start Are your bottling dates in the calendar? Best not to bottle into shiners Is it your goal to have the new design on the next bottled product?

17 5. When did we start the process? Bottle shape/size change? Call your printer now. Shipping and measurement can be a 2 week process. Tell your designer the measurements.

18 5. When to Start Design time Expect 3-6 months Timing can be impacted by Naming: do you need to develop a new name and trademark? Brand story: do you need to establish or clarify your brand story? Hand-crafted wines, boutique, passion for higher quality isn t unique!

19 5. When to Start TTB Time COLA approval can be take less than 2 weeks now. Rejection and resubmission is common.

20 5. When to Start Print time 2-3 days high res PDF or.ai file to proof Foil or emboss plates, file adjustment 2+ weeks signed proofs to shipped labels New projects may require new materials, dies, paper etc College Cellars makes things happen quickly! Exciting opportunities appear that we cannot pass up. We have a label printer that supports our level of crazy!

21 6. Go-To-Market Option 1: phase in slowly Option 2: shout it out, media push Cannot do this without compelling reason and story Get your staff/advocates stoked and ready to tell the story Train your staff DTC mailer for your customers and club members Pitch a story to local newspaper Talk about it at local alliance or organization meetings Have apparel and other supporting pieces ready

22 7. Market Feedback Honestly, nothing beyond the (very positive) anecdotal right now Our wine are 98+% DtC and a tiny bit in local restaurants. So feedback has been from TR customers and wine club members. Students are happy with the change Only 4 months after release with 4 SKUs out An upcoming project for a marketing student

27 Thank You!

A brief look into driving style in red wine production. Timothy Donahue M.S. Director of Winemaking College Cellars of Walla Walla

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