Adelaide teaches the world about marketing wine and spirits

Even though France boasts thousands of years of winemaking and South Australia only 200-odd, French (and Chinese) students come to Adelaide to learn about wine and spirits marketing.

The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science at the University of South Australia and South Australia’s famous wine regions have hosted Professor Herve Remaud (KEDGE Business School in Bordeaux) and his Global MBA program students seven times so far.

“Bordeaux in France makes almost as much wine as all of Australia, including Bordeaux’s cru classé (classed growths) such as Chateau Lafite Rothschild — currently a mere $2390 a bottle at Dan Murphy’s for the 2010 vintage,” Prof Remaud said.

“If a great part of this success is due to history and quality, sustaining a vibrant wine and tourist industry is a different story and we have to learn modern marketing techniques, which is why we come to Australia.

“Because of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute’s knowledge of brands and consumer behaviour, our group learned things that we cannot access elsewhere.”

On the final day of the course, the students travel through the Adelaide Hills to visit wineries and critically review the challenges wine brands face in order to grow sales and brand reputation.

Students tour several wineries and one distillery, including Shaw & Smith, Bird In Hand, Applewood and Paracombe.

Among the students was Lucas Leclerc, technical director and winemaker at Chateau Lafon Rochet, a Bordeaux classed growth founded in the 17th century. “Wine marketing is nothing if we don’t see it on the spot,” said Leclerc. “Visiting all the wineries, we have understood how difficult or easy it is to implement a good marketing strategy.”

The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute is a long-term partner of KEDGE Business School’s Global MBA program, welcoming MBA students from its Bordeaux, Marseille and Shanghai campuses to UniSA since 2001. Recently, the wine marketing course opened up enrolment to UniSA postgraduate students and industry professionals.

Dr Armando Corsi, a Senior Researcher at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science who runs the course, sees great benefits for the Australian cohort.

“The UniSA Postgrad students and industry professionals benefit from mixing with wine marketing students from France and China, learning consumer purchasing behaviour for wine and spirits; how to build online presence; and the fundamentals of negotiation with channel partners.”