REthink Wine Blog

Pushing five decades of excellence, Communication Arts is the preferred publication among Creatives searching for inspiration, information and award winning ideas. Every year, Communication Arts carefully selects the best of the best creative introduced throughout the passing year and presents it to the rest of the world in its single annuals. Currently, there are five individual annuals uniquely dedicated to advertising, design, illustration, photography and interactivity.

Frequenting the glossy pages of last year’s Design Annual No. 48 is the packaging of several wineries around the world. Listed below are the awarded companies.

To learn more about Communication Arts visit their website.

Communication Arts: Design Annual 48 November 2007. Pages 7, 13, 14, 20, 22.

Do you ever have days where you wake up to the sound of birds chirping outside of your bedroom window? You wake up feeling rejuvenated, refreshed and ready to start your day. Your ordinarily congested ’stop-and-go’ commute to work is reduced down to a cool cruisin’ fifteen minute ride.

When you get to work, the coffee has already been made and tastes just right - not too strong, not too sweet. It’s just the way you like it. When you get to your desk you notice that the usual stack of paperwork waiting on your chair isn’t there.

Throughout the day, you have a fountain of ideas - flowing seamlessly, one after another. You are like a jaguar. Sleek. Agile. Fast. Nothing can stand in your way.

Ahhhhh, if only every day could be like this. You can almost hear the resonance of Astrud Gilberto’s euphoric melody above your ringing phone.

But as they say “what goes up, must come down”.

Just as many of us have experienced days like these, we have also endured the opposite.

You are abruptly awakened by the dreaded pitch of your alarm. Your habitually long commute to work becomes even longer when you get stuck behind a semi that causes you to wait through three streetlight passes before actually being able to make your turn on a green.

Moreover, the coffee pot does not contain fresh, aromatic coffee. Rather, the remnants from last night’s final pot is stinking up the kitchen.

Worst of all, throughout the day - ALL DAY LONG - you’ve got Creative Block and can’t come up with any solid ideas.

As Charlie Brown would say:

For many of us in the creative field, this is a typical dilemma that comes up again and again. Before, (and not so long ago) I used to think that creativity was simply something you’ve either got or don’t got. Your ability to exert your creative skill was like a movement in nature - uncontrollable, unpredictable and at the mercy of a higher force.

But this was a passive assumption. It is true that it helps to be naturally gifted in your career field, or at least a convincing fit for your role. In the film “Mighty Aphrodite” Woody Allen references to this when he explains to Mira Sorvino that “Clint Eastwood doesn’t play a meek little hairdresser”. (Ideally, you are investing your time in a field where you have “some” natural competence.) However, creativity does not consist entirely of “raw” innate talent that you are either born with or not.

Creativity can be practiced, taught and learned. My first art director was the first to correct me on this. Whereas before, I felt that I could only move with the pace of my creative flow - which had its own erratic rhythm - I realized that the defeat of habit through originality is also a learned skill which requires practice and constant prodding.

All of this considered, I do have a laundry list of things I like to do when I feel myself getting stuck with Creative Block.

Maria Piscopo, from Communication Arts, states that creatives need to take time to recharge their batteries.

The Basics
First and foremost, make sure that you are taking care of your basic needs. How’s your diet? Are you well rested? Do you get enough sleep? Have you exercised lately? Taking care of your essential needs is critical in order to function at full speed. There’s no way you will be able to perform your best when the needle is pointing to “E.”

Aside from tending to the basics, I have acquired a few other tips from other creatives searching to breathe new life into their work.

Mood Enhancers
Not St. John’s Wort. Rather, are there special foods, drinks or music that you like to have on hand when you are brainstorming? Are you aware and sensitive to these idiosyncrasies? When I am feeling high anxiety, I break out my jazz albums and let Sarah Vaughn’s deep, soulful voice recalibrate my gears. I clear my mind and start over with a sharper, stronger focus.

Superstition
Like many athletes, some creatives have special traditions or rituals they will engage in when trying to achieve a certain goal. At a former agency I worked at, our copywriter would storm through the office pacing back and forth with a deep contemplative expression on his face as he tried to come up with headlines. When those perfect five words were slow coming, he would hide in his office and close the door where he claimed the **magic** happened. Never to disappoint, he always emerged from his **magic** feng shuied office with new and fresh ideas.

Novelty
“When you need new ideas, do new things.” Simple but effective advice. If you are looking for new ideas or inspiration, why not approach the situation from a different angle? If you continue to use the same method over and over and it does not yield the results you were hoping then maybe you should rethink your process.

As scary as it may seem, we are already in the thick of O-N-D - the busiest time of year for gifting as your customers are eagerly searching for the “just right” present for coworkers, friends and family.

Now is the time to buff up your marketing resources and take advantage of this lucrative season. Inertia is offering creative services to help “dress up” your websites and email ads for the holidays.
Below are a couple examples of clients who have already began their holiday campaigns.

Holiday Email Example:

Holiday Website Example:

Don’t get left behind this holiday season! Contact your client development manager today to learn more about how you can jazz up your marketing for the holidays.

A couple months ago I was cruising the Serramonte mall in Daly City when I spotted an iPod Vending Machine for the first time.

“Wow,” I thought to myself. “That’s so convenient. You can buy an iPod, bottle of Gatorade and pack of gum and be right on your way. You don’t even have to deal with an overly attentive salesperson breathing down your neck following you around the store.”

And that is just the way I like to shop. I am a no frills, no nonsense kind of shopper. Give me what I want and don’t make too much small talk. I like to get in and get out.

The same principle applies to shopping online. I refuse to be forced to spend excessive amounts of my precious time waiting or searching a poorly constructed site. Based upon this commonly shared distaste for sluggish, messy, disorganized stores, an e-commerce site must have heightened awareness of their users’ shopping experience.

It’s for this reason that Flash is so heavily frowned upon when it comes to e-commerce. Who wants to stare at a blank screen while a movie you don’t even want to watch is loading?

Think about it. When you are out shopping would you rather:

A. Hang around a store while you watch a product demonstration. Wait politely as time tick-tocks by until the moment you can do what you initially came in to do. SHOP.

B. Zoom by a vending machine in you rollerblades, toss in some change to the machine and WHAM-O!

The former might be interesting the very first time you buy from that store. But it’s going to get old-real quick. And those feelings of awe are going to be replaced with aggravation and frustration.

If you need proof of this, simply browse through any popular e-commerce sites. At most there may be a banner or two including some light Flash, but it will most likely be relatively small and/or quick to load. Even www.adobe.com, home of Flash CS3, does not include a Flash splash page that you need to ‘click to enter’. They know.

There are numerous other reasons why Flash should be avoided for e-commerce sites.

Information embedded into Flash is virtually invisible to most search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN and others. These search engines are your gateway to the outside world as an overwhelming and increasing number of users rely on search engines daily to find information.

Assuming that your site is found, Flash splash pages can deter users from entering your site. To elaborate, your homepage is your most important page within your entire site. It receives more hits than any other page. If you use a Flash splash page, it becomes a wall between your user and your homepage. If your user never makes it to your homepage, then your chance to make that sale will undoubtedly be flushed down the toilet. Not to mention all those purchases which would have inevitably followed. In addition to all of the other referred customers you could have gained through that one customer that “X”ed out of your Flash splash page.

Moreover, Flash breaks down the web’s most fundamental and powerful features. Web features are built to allow their users to sit in the drivers’ seat. We go where we want to go. But most importantly, we get to make the decision. Flash forces its users into the backseat at the mercy of whoever built the site.

Listed below are a few examples of this dilemma:
- The “back” button doesn’t work.
- The ability to highlight, copy and paste text doesn’t work.
- Link colors don’t work.
- The “Make bigger. Make smaller” function doesn’t work.
- The “Find in Page” feature doesn’t work.

These reasons only skim the surface as to why you should avoid Flash in your website. To prevent these issues from arising, I suggest two alternatives.

1. Rather than using Flash to grab the attention of your users, focus on the quality of your photography and illustration. Coca-Cola is an example of a company which uses its images to capture the attention of its users. Its simple, clean site with plenty of white space gives breathing room to its users allowing them to better focus on the information of the site.

2. If you absolutely must use Flash consider keeping it contained within a banner and be sure to keep it under control. By that I am suggesting that “just because it CAN move doesn’t mean that it necessarily SHOULD move.” While Flash can be useful with its ability to display a series of images all within a neat, contained box, be sure that it is not overly “flashy” and does not make a nuisance of itself. Moreover, if you opt to use some light Flash within your site, be sure that it does not include any critical information that could be better communicated in text which is scannable by a search engine. Apple is a good example of a site that utilizes Flash in this fashion.

So, while Flash may win a few initial “Oooo”s and “Ahhh”s, remember the purpose of your site. If your goal is to improve your users’ shopping experience and to bring them back again and again, I advise to make your site as simple and as easy-to-use as possible.

As a graphic designer, I have a natural inclination to formulate my ideas through pictures and symbols. My imagination flows in colors and forms weaved through a systematic grid. Even when I step outside of my design cave, most of my simple day-to-day actions are guided by a set of icons whether it be an icon on my cell phone or a stop sign at an intersection.

The exhausted cliche “a picture is worth 1000 words” is permeated into our daily lives. Particularly in a fast-paced culture which embraces a “Get to the point!” lifestyle, pictures and symbols are utilized to allow people to understand faster, but not necessarily better.

In some cases, communicating through usage of pictures and symbols is both efficient and necessary. Airports serve as a classic example of how symbols are used to quickly and efficiently guide travelers through foreign territory. Another example is street signage such as stop signs, streetlights and crossings which advise caution and direct drivers through traffic. Both airport symbols and street signage are strong examples which demonstrate effective usage of visuals.

In addition to communicating simple instructions, pictures and symbols also evoke emotion. Photographs have the power the create stopping action and stir feelings, but how do you transform sympathy into empathy to raise a real response? While visuals can be used to create an initial reaction, an extra step must be taken to form a deeper layer of understanding and meaning to your communication.

The traditional formula for an ad consists of:
1. photograph
2. headline
3. body copy
4, product branding (i.e. logo)

As simple and straightforward as this formula may seem, it has evolved over time to become as barren as:
1. photograph
2. product branding (i.e. logo)

Is the written word fading out of sight? Are we in danger of heading towards a society which no longer has a demand for professional copywriters? Will any available passerby be casually delegated as the new “copy provider”?

At home, resting in the corner of my desk is a retired “All-in-One” desktop product which collects dust. Supposedly, it’s promised to print, copy, scan and fax but in reality it requires so much effort on my part to get it to do ANY of those tasks, that I usually give up before I start and resort to other means. Why do I keep it? It’s all I got. Will the new generation of writers be like my “All-in-One”? Able to do a lot of things but inadequately? Relied upon but only because it’s the last available resource?

I grew up on a healthy appetite of written words. Many of my childhood memories include a backdrop of the neighborhood public library. My favorite stories revolves around a glorified hero who struggles to overcome a problem. Like these stories, do as Ogilvy would advise you and make your product the hero of its own story. Support it with detailed facts and information stating why its obviously glorious.

While pictures and symbols will inevitably continue to play a major role in grabbing your audience’s attention, there are still deeper levels of communication which photographs alone cannot capture. Words are magical because they have the power to create and explain the intangible. Words transform an idea into solid reality that you can see, hear and smell.

Whether it be a Silverstein or Steinbeck approach, use the written word to tell your product’s story and make every word count.

A website is a calling card for many companies, opening windows to a wider world.
Many businesses choose to invest in the development of websites to build and spread brand awareness, increase sales, provide improved customer support and to save money. Within your website, it is important to consider the marriage between image and information. In an article by Business Link, it was suggested that while your primary concern may be about the aesthetics of your website, your users most likely care more about how quickly and easily they can access information. In an effort to maximize the results of your website design, I am providing a brief summary of a few of the most important features of an effective website.

Homepage
Your homepage is your most website’s “virtual showroom.” It is considered the most important page because it will receive more hits than any other page within your website. We recommend placing your most important information above the fold at 800 X 600 resolution (The MUG Center). Although approximately 88% of Internet users are now using resolution at 1024 X 768, we still recommend “playing it safe” with 800 X 600 until the gap between users is filled. When sorting the content of your website, the general rule of thumb is “the higher on the page, the better.” Moreover, your homepage should download in 10 seconds or less at the prevalent connection speed. In a survey conducted by Minnesota State University, the mean download time of 60 high profile home pages averaged to 2.8 seconds (WebSiteOptimization.com).

Consistency
Consistency is one of the primary characteristics of an effective website. A consistent header and logo are highly recommended, in addition to easy-to-use, consistent navigation. It is also suggested that repeating information (such as the header, logo and navigation) use no more than 33% of available browser window space.

Balance
While one of the primary purposes of most websites is to educate and provide information it is also important to consider the overall balance and visual effect of your website. Comfortable balance between text, graphics and white space are highly recommended. So, although it may be tempting to fit in as much information “per square pixel” you will actually maximize the effectiveness of your content if you balance your information with images and supporting graphics within a healthy area of white space.

Typography
In addition to maintaining balance, another tip to increase readership is good typography. World-renowned advertiser, David Ogilvy, gives the simple definition of good typography as “easy to read” (Ogilvy). Creating contrast between text and background is essential in making your information readable. While reverse text (white text on black background) is sometimes critical in maintaining the “look and feel” of your brand identity, studies have repeatedly revealed that positive text (black text on white background) is more legible (Ogilvy). When color is involved, we advise using text and background colors which have strong color contrast. An example of this would be deep purple text on pale yellow background. Aside from color contrast, good typography is also large enough to read. The size of your website’s body copy should fall somewhere between 11-13 px depending on whether you are using a serif or san serif font. Web serif fonts such as Georgia and Times should be displayed at 12-13 px. San serif fonts such as Verdana and Arial should be displayed at 11 px. Including white space around your text will also help to increase legibility. You can create this by increasing the leading, the spacing between lines of type. In CSS, leading is achieved through the line-height property. Moreover, tracking, the uniform increasing/decreasing in letterspacing of text, can be achieved in CSS through the letter-spacing property. Kerning, the adjustment of space between two characters, is not currently possible in HTML or CSS. However, in many cases it is not needed as digital fonts contain their own built-in kerning tables (Bringhurst).

Navigation
As mentioned earlier, consistent navigation is essential to making your website user-friendly. Navigation should be legible and concise. We recommend using no more than two levels of navigation as the attention span of the majority of Internet users’ does not exceed two clicks to reach a desired destination. On every page, we also recommend including e-commerce navigation including cart, my account and sign in. Furthermore, a page footer also helps users navigate through your website as it is available on every page allowing users to quickly jump to your most important pages. We include copyright information, RSS feeds (our current RSS feeds include News, Events and Products), site map and contact links. In addition, if you are involved in Direct-to-Trade, we also include a link for trade as well as a Direct-to-Trade button located in the page footer area. Among all of the best practices in web design I have come across, effective navigation is consistently rated as one of the most important features of a website (Morris).

Works Cited
“Best Practice In Web Design.” Business Link. 9 July 2007.

Bringhurst, Robert. “The Elements of Typographic Style.” 9 July 2007.

Chuck. “User Group Best Practices: Web Site Tips.” The MUG Center. 1 July 2007. 9
July 2007.

“Home Page Usability and Credibility Survey.” WebSiteOptimization.com. 5 July 2007. 9 July 2007.

Morris, Terry. “Web Design Best Practices Checklist.” Terry Morris Web Design & Instructional Technology. 9 July 2007. 9 July 2007.

Ogilvy, David. Ogilvy On Advertising. New York: Random House, 1983.

No Snail Mail Allowed
Push past the shot glasses of yeager bomb and glass bottles of corona and you may be surprised to find a few empty wine glasses scattered across the bar tops of crowded nightclubs. Similar observations may be made at hip and trendy wine tasting events catered to an unexpectedly younger crowd. These events are not promoted by traditional means of advertising. Translation: you won’t be finding any snail mail with script fonts and foil seals here. Websites, digital flyers, email blasts and text messaging all hit hard where it counts with this new and rising demographic.

Are these young hipsters embracing the “Wine REvolution?”

The answer is a resounding YES sounded by the heavy clinking of wine glasses and toasting.

Allow me to introduce myself as a proud member of the Millennial generation. We are your next wave of consumers, and we might just become the biggest driving force the wine industry has seen in three decades.

Meet the Millennial
In brief, the term Millennials is credited to William Strauss and Neil Howe who explain that the term was originally coined by the Millennials themselves. Millennials are also commonly referred to as Generation Y and The Internet Generation. The period of birth for Millennials is controversial and range between late 1970s/early 1980s through 2001. In the eye of the wine industry, the age of the Millennial consumer falls somewhere between 21-28 years (“Generation Y”).

The most prominent characteristic of this generation is their overwhelming use of technology including the Internet, cell phones, text/instant messaging and social networking along with many other forms. According to Reynol Junco and Jeanna Mastrodicasa, 97% of Millennials own a computer, 94% own a cell phone and 90% of college students have a myspace account. These unprecedented figures are highly attributed to the Millennial’s early following and adaptation to technology (“Generation Y”).

More Bang For Your Buck
With the coming emergence of the wine industry in the Internet and e-commerce, the Millennial community is revealing itself as a significant target group for wine consumption. Recent studies indicate that the Millennials are responsible for the steady incline of wine consumption in the United States. The percentage of Millennials who consume wine has nearly doubled in the short time span of two years, growing from 10% in 2004 to 17% in 2006. The United States may become the world’s largest wine consuming country if the collective trend in growth continues (Heeger).

In an article in the The New York Sun, Peter Hellman presents Tyler Colman, creator of DrVino.com, who describes wine as “the new black” for Millennials. According to Colman, “(Wine provides) a lot more return on your social investment than beer.” More and more bottles of wine frequent the tabletops at Saturday night dinner parties replacing red plastic cups of bargain beer. A student survey conducted at Columbia Business School revealed a strong majority who felt quality is more important than quantity, and wine overall provided more “bang for their buck”. In addition, wine is becoming the preferred choice of social beverages due to its healthful benefits.

Darryl Roberts, publisher of Wine X Magazine, addresses the rising phenomenon in Millennial behavior and argues that the habits people engage in while in their mid to late twenties lay the foundation for lifelong consumption habits. Moreover, Roberts points out that while most Millennials do not have specific brand loyalties established they have enormous disposable income and a hunger to explore and experience new products.

Considering that the Millennials are comprised of an astounding population nearing 100 million people, it may be worthwhile to get to know this new and rising customer. Public relations agency Ketchum estimates the Millenials’ buying power at a tremendous $172 billion which is projected to continue increasing as Millenials’ gain more recognition in the work force (Clark).

Hot On Their Trail
Sacre Bleu is a leader among wine brands who are quickly catching on to this new opportunity. Their target group is hard marketed towards 21-28 year olds and they are hot on their trail. The name itself “Sacred Bleu” is pulled from French slang “Holy Crap” which they explain as an expression of amazement. On the splash page of their website is a bold “ENTER” button and beneath it reads “No fake ID’s here. You must be 21 to enter” alluding to rules of the nightlife common to most Millennials. A small link to Sacre Bleu’s MySpace account is also readily accessible.

Within their website, Sacred Bleu touches the Millennial consumer’s desire to explore and reads “We want you to discover us and explore not only what wine is but where it can lead.” It further prompts its visitors to share their artwork (graphic art, photography, music or even absurdity) to “showcase innovative, aesthetic.”

Sacred Bleu’s MySpace account also demonstrates a marketing technique which is growing in popularity to reach its Millennial consumer. MySpace is at the top of the food chain for social networking websites. It allows its users to create a personal profile to share interactively with a network of friends. Sacred Bleu’s personal account information is displayed as a 23 year old female from Minneapolis. Their website is filled with photos of trendy venues and beats from over a dozen artists such as Fiona Apple, Flaming Lips, and Tenacious D.

In his article The Millennials Take Centerstage, Jim Clarke explains how necessary it is to reconsider lifestyle advertising to reach this unique demographic. Whereas with Generation X, wine enthusiast magazines pumped with “winespeak” ads could sell an esteemed brand, the Millennials are often not receptive to traditional methods of advertising. (Clark) Lifestyle advertising is a marketing technique in which the user is presented as opposed to the product. Hence, advertisers such as Sacre Bleu push their brands to accommodate the lifestyles of their consumers (“Lifestyle Technique”).

Roberts further supports this argument stating “…the best way to reach, emotionally engage and retain loyal customers, when they’re in their 20s, is to put your product in their hands in an environment that they feel most comfortable in. Then make sure that you reinforce that positive experience with advertising and/or other supportive methods-email blasts, text messaging, print ads in the magazines that they read etc. If you do this, if you engage the 20-something consumer with your product, you will not only sell them your product now, you’ll create brand loyalty and sell it to them for the next 50 years.”

Keep Your Eyes and Your Ears Open
With over 100 million Millennials and counting, the presence of this unique demographic will undeniably be felt if it hasn’t already hit you. Keep your eyes and your eyes open and be ready for the Millennials.

Works Cited
Clarke, Jim. “The Millennials Take Centerstage.” Wine Review Online. 13 June 2006. 7 June 2007. http://www.winereviewonline.com/clarke_on_milennials.cfm

“Generation Y.” Wikipedia. 6 June 2007. 7 June 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Y

Heeger, Jack. “Boomers, Millennials boost wine consumption.” The Napa Valley Register. 8 February 2007. 7 June 2007.
http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2007/02/08/features/food_and_wine/

Hellman, Peter. “For ‘Millennials,’ Wine Is the New Black.” The New York Sun. 9 May 2007. 7 June 2007. http://www.nysun.com/article/54113

“Lifestyle Technique.” Advertising Glossary. 7 June 2007. http://www.advertisingglossary.net/definition/1677-Lifestyle_Technique%C2%A0%C2%A0

Sacre Bleu Wine. Home Page. 7 June 2007. http://www.sacrebleuwine.com/

Sacre Bleu Wine. MySpace. 7 June 2007. 7 June 2007. http://www.myspace.com/sacrebleuwine