Mark West Goes After Young Men (but actually)

Millennial males are not the target demographic for many wine brands. According to the WineDirect case, women comprised 57% of the wine-drinking population, and 66% of the Millennial wine-drinking population. This shows that there is an opportunity to pull out the young male buyers and convert them to wine drinkers.

I was recently chatting with a friend of mine who is a brand manager for Constellation Brands. She said that one of the brands she is managing, Mark West, has specifically targeted young males in an effort to build up this demographic. Constellation Brands bought the Mark West label for $160M in 2012. At the time, it was one of the nation's best-selling pinot noir, producing over 600,000 cases each year.  Mark West had positioned themselves as the "Pinot for the People", targeting a $10-12 per bottle price point and making the wine "simple to understand". This combination positioned the brand well to take on this young male population.

Since the acquisition, Constellation has clearly targeting this demographic. My friend had mentioned that Mark West had done a tailgating tour of the South earlier in the year to raise brand awareness and attempt to establish wine as a alternative tailgating beverage, like at Stanford tailgates ;). On the website, there is a pairing recipe for Chocolate Oatmeal Cream Pie Football Cookies (yum!!). Other recipes on the menu include pulled pork, ribs, brats, and jalapeno poppers. Sounds like a good tailgate to me!

And to prove that the marketing scheme has worked, last Sunday I was compelled to pick up a bottle for myself. Nailed it!