Sister Winery Brands Take Opposing Social Media Approaches:
A digital marketing exploration of “Screaming Eagle” & “Jonata”
These days, everyone seems to be on social media whether it’s your grandmother, your favorite fashion brand, or your local Lexus dealership. But is it really essential to have a successful social media presence in the wine and spirits industry?
Introducing Screaming Eagle
I recently came across the Screaming Eagle wine brand which is known for its rarity, but mostly for its high price point. If you haven’t heard of it, then that’s probably because you are not a cult wine enthusiast and therefore don’t typically shell out $2,000-$20,000 a pop. Their original vintage, a Cabernet Sauvignon from 1992, has been rumored to sell for up to $500,000. I was unable to personally find this pricing online, but I was able to find bottles from 2012 that go for $14,000… Perhaps it’s not too far-fetched after all. The wine is grown at a very small vineyard with only 57 acres in Oakwood, CA. Only 600–700 cases of wine are sold per year and consumer demand is quite high.
The brand’s website appears minimalistic, lacking any sort of pop with its basic black background and white lettering. For a luxury wine brand that supposedly has a strong cult following, their website does not reflect this at all. There is no personal touch or company history to make consumers feel a connection to the brand.
A key factor which shocked me most though wasn’t just the simple layout of the website or the fact that the mobile website is adaptive. It was the fact that there is no product information available whatsoever to purchase or even to browse their collection. In fact, there is hardly any content at all.
What they do have is a wait list you can sign up for and a login section for members to purchase wines as they come available. According to the website, the wait list can take up to several years to get on since they have met their capacity as defined by their limited production and supply. In order to get on the list today, an active member has to drop off. Hence the long wait.
A Lack of Social Media Presence
I took it upon myself to see if this cult wine brand existed on any social media platforms or if they simply relied on their consumers’ word of mouth to consistently sell out of their luxury wine. With a wait list that takes several years to get onto, they had to be excelling somewhere. So was it through social media?
I scoured Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube to find their brand presence. The sole platform where I struck gold was Facebook. The brand has not set up any pages on any other platforms, though is tagged occassionally by consumers with #screamingeagle. The Screaming Eagle Facebook page is not verified. There is no telling if this page was even created by someone from the winery or if it was a page created by a fan. It contains a profile image of the brand logo as seen on the website, a custom description which is pulled from Wikipedia, and…that’s it. There are no posts or signs of consumer engagement of any kind. Not even photos. Clearly, this brand does not need help with sales given their high demand to low supply ratio. But is it still important to optimize their social media presence?
Let us not forget that Screaming Eagle is a wildly successful cult wine brand. If they are already doing so well, do they really need to optimize their social media presence? Could it actually hurt them to jump on the social media bandwagon that so many luxury wine brands seem to have resisted?
I believe it could only benefit the brand to create content and a presence across social media to deepen their connection with their consumer. The goal of using social media does not have to be about sales. It can also be a vehicle to make consumers aware of their brand philosophy and history. This approach allows the ability to create a personal relationship with the consumer and communicate what your brand stands for. This is what makes people love cult brands so much. Social media is a great way to convey that message.
Brand protection is crucial. We are in the Social Era and consumers rely heavily on their peers and social media. Social media has been known for its ability to make or break your brand. If you are going to have a social media account for your brand, then optimization, correctness, and consistency are key. In Screaming Eagle’s case, if they are going to have a Facebook page (which I think they should), then they need to take advantage of protecting their brand image. How does that make you feel about a brand when you visit their page and it is lacking content and information? Is the connection you felt towards the brand before visiting the site as strong? Yeah, it may not prevent you from purchasing from them, but what impression were you left with? My guess is the experience probably had some underlying effects which slightly tarnished your perception of the brand.
Discovery of Sister Brand
In my exploration of Screaming Eagle, I discovered their sister brand, Jonata.
The Jonata vineyard is comprised completely of careaga sand. You read that correctly. Sand! While for most grape growers this would be a recipe for disaster, somehow this unique sand yields perfect control and growing conditions for the Jonata vignerons. Even they do not understand this mysterious effect, but they do not question it. Their Cabernet is notable for being the best in the region. A feat which many vineyards have struggled with given the soil conditions near the Ballard Canyon.
As I clicked through their website to find out more, I was surprised that these two brands were even related. How could they be? Whereas Screaming Eagle’s website exuded a standoffish and very back to basics layout lacking content and graphics, Jonata’s website appealed to me very much! *Props to the web designer.*
The layout is very modern, it flows cohesively, and has a very personal touch. I’ve never tasted a bottle from Jonata before but just browsing through their website made me want to visit for a tasting tour. The photos used and the company’s philosophy made me feel a strong connection to the brand.
Jonata is sold at a much lower price point, albeit still on the higher end of the spectrum for the average wine drinker pricing between $25-$250 a pop. I would consider this an aspirational brand for myself since it appeals to me but is just above my price point at this stage in my life as a graduate student.
Sister Brand Takes the Opposite Approach
Curiously, I decided to explore deeper to see if they use the same approach to social media as their sister brand.
In the ‘Contact’ section of the website, there are easily accessible links to the brand’s Facebook and Instagram. Neither page was verified which is an opportunity for improvement on behalf of the brand, but other than that the pages are optimized. Instagram seems to be their go to platform which indicates that they know their market well. From the website and the labeling, Jonata is a simple, modern, and strong brand. It is more attainable than Screaming Eagle and it feels more approachable as well. Whereas Screaming Eagle does not offer wine tours which may seem standoffish for a wine brand, Jonata does. Images of consumers enjoying themselves at the winery flood the brand’s Instagram location filter. The brand’s Instagram uses appealing images of the wine and the landscape which are posted consistently 3 times per week. There are 775 followers on Instagram. They use relevant hashtags and engage with followers who comment on their posts which is essential to bridging the communication gap with the consumer.
Similarly, Facebook has 694 followers but the last post is from March 1, 2016. The page is not kept up to date and yields low activity and engagement as a result. With a young target market, the brand seems to be putting most of their eggs in Instagram’s basket these days.
Although not found on the website, I did discover a Twitter page for the company. The page is branded with another brand “The Hilt” as is their Instagram account. Seeing as the company uses a website dedicated solely to Jonata, it would be best practice to brand their social media accounts in the same way for consistency and brand separation. The Twitter page also posts 3 times per week, every week, but these posts are not original content. The posts all link back to their Instagram post of that day. This approach is not authentic. The way I see it, Instagram’s main approach is images and Twitter’s is verbage. They should speak to their consumers in these different ways as specified for each platform.
Overall, Jonata is killing the social media game for their target market on Instagram and should keep up the great work.
My Two Cents
Although considered sister brands, the target markets between Jonata and Screaming Eagle are very different. Being more affordable and approachable, Jonata is the high-end aspirational brand to which there is a larger target market in comparison to Screaming Eagle. The target market for Screaming Eagle may be the top 1% of the economy but they seem to know how to reach their consumer very well via word of mouth and other outlets besides social media. The exclusivity and rarity of the brand draws in a very loyal following. As some Jonata consumers make higher incomes, they will aspire to make it onto that exclusive wait list for the sister brand.
Even though Screaming Eagle clearly does not need help with sales via social media, it is still important for all brands, no matter how well you are doing sales wise, to protect their image by setting up verified pages so that others cannot do it for them and risk tarnishing their name. It is a wonder to me still why brands do not take advantage of the free social media outlets available to them to create engagement with their consumers or at least create a verified page to provide the correct contact information to potential consumers. Once a page is created it is usually nearly impossible to delete unless you are the account owner. Whether we like it or not, we are in the social era and social media is ruling the marketing world today.
Regardless of your brand’s success or stance on social media, it is crucial to take ownership of your brand’s presence on across social media platforms. Brands need to control their message and their image. Anyone can create a page for a brand. In today’s society it is far too risky to let these pages go unverified.
This post was created as part of the Global Luxury Management Program at the NC State Jenkins School of Management. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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