Walking into your local Molloys Liquor Store or O’Briens Off Licence can be a bit daunting if you know nothing about wine. One thing that’ll hit you straight away is that the labels all look the same. Why don’t marketers take advantage of this and come up with something unique to separate their product from the competition?

Well, it all comes down to the risk associated with the purchase of wine. Your typical customer is not a wine connoisseur and will consider the purchase a high risk decision. When put in an unfamiliar buying situation, consumers will look for visual cues that are familiar and reassuring. A traditional wine label screams ‘I’m a safe choice – your dinner guests will be happy with me!’

Could the bottle demand a €58 price tag if loud colours were used along with modern fonts such as Arial? Certainly not.

However, brand managers positioning their products in the lower end of the market can take advantage of unique designs to highlight the product’s great value. For example, Vina Lixia is priced at €5.49 in Molloys. You could nearly describe the label itself as a piece of abstract art. The unique design catches your eye and the absence of traditional cues highlights the fact that this might be affordable.

Apart from the labelling, marketers need to pay close attention to issues such as the shape of the bottle, the quality and colour of the glass. For example, wide bases are often associated with low value.

The labelling needs to reinforce the artisanship associated with the product. For example, marketers should think twice before adding an email address or website to the back label. As consumers, we don’t like to think that there is fast broadband access at the winery in France.