Wine Marketing: Consumer Persuasion through the Region of Origin

Abstract

This study aims to examine the effectiveness of the communication of the region of origin – through either pictorial or pictorial-textual formats – in print advertising messages for wine bearing a GI label. An experimental design was used to manipulate the region of origin presentation in print advertisement (absent vs pictorial vs pictorial-textual) while measuring participants’ attitude towards advertisement and purchase intention (dependent variables). Results provide empirical support to the appropriateness of highlighting the geographical area, by combining textual-pictorial cues, to induce a positive attitude towards advertisement and purchase intention in wine consumers. The study makes a new theoretical contribution in the field of communication about wine bearing a GI label, since the persuasive effect of the geographical area has not been systematically tested in an advertising context. Although the wine’s place of origin is its signature to many consumers, there is no strong evidence on the effectiveness of conveying the values of such a place through its picture and/or name. For marketing practitioners, the study highlights the opportunity to use extrinsic advertising cues that leverage intangible wine values combining pictorial-textual formats.