Robert Mondavi Promo Features Wine and Fresh Fruit

Promoting fresh fruit and wine together is a first for marketers at Robert Mondavi, but according to executives, it is a natural tie-in and the winter months are the perfect time to do it. The company is partnering with the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association in a promotion that pairs fresh fruit and salmon from Chile with Caliterra wines. The program is supported by a rich-looking wooden rolling rack and a variety of other P-O-P materials that are appearing in stores this month.According to Gayle Dargan, director of marketing for the Oakville, Calif.-based winery, wine and food are natural components of a meal. "From a consumer standpoint, we are tying wine in with fruit and salmon for healthy eating, which we think is particularly appropriate in the wintertime," she says. "As everyone winds down their holiday eating, it's the perfect time to think about eating fresh and healthy food."Chile's growing season is opposite that of the United States, making it a primary source of fresh fruit for North America in the winter months. "We're trying to bring awareness to the public that a lot of the fruit that they enjoy in the winter comes from Chile," says Dargan. "As a partner in the Chilean Winery, we're always interested in communicating the fact that it is a country with wonderful soil and climate and, as a result, we're able to get phenomenal quality grapes and produce great wine."The main P-O-P component in the program is the wine rack. Branded with the Caliterra logo on both the front and side panels, it can hold 72 bottles of wine and fruit or other condiments on top. "We have done wine racks before," says Dargan, "but we hadn't tied them in as directly with this type of cross-promotion. In addition to incorporating the program into racks that were already in the field, the company also had an additional 300 produced that were specifically branded with the Caliterra logo. "In total, 1,000 to 1,500 racks have been pulled in to support this program," Dargan estimates. The rolling rack was designed and produced by Ruszel Woodworks, Benicia, Calif.Also supporting the program are 7,000 case cards; 20,000 pricer cards and more than 300,000 neck hangers that can be used at the shelf or on the displays. "The printed materials will be much more widespread than the racks because of space limitations," she adds. The neck hangers offer recipes and coupons for consumers. An outside design firm, Mez Design Group, Sausalito, Calif., designed all the P-O-P elements in conjunction with Robert Mondavi's creative services department. The Graphic Center, Sacramento, Calif., did the printing.The promotion is intended to continue through March, but Dargan expects that the racks will remain in many stores long after that. "There is a consumer discount in conjunction with the program," she explains, "and as the wine sells through and that pricing ends, retailers will look for alternative places in the store to put that wine. We have found that the more attractive and sturdier pieces tend to stay up well beyond the life of the program."Dargan says the company's salesforce, in a joint effort with sales representatives of the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association, had a very positive response from retailers during the sell-in.Based on the initial feedback, the company plans to continue and expand the promotion in the future.

Robert Mondavi Promo Features Wine and Fresh Fruit

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