Super Bowl Push Fuels Early 2018 Sales

For Yellow Tail

A year ago, Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits’ Yellow Tail became the first wine brand in almost four decades to advertise during the Super Bowl. With the brand set to return to the big game for a second time on February 4, Deutsch Family president Tom Steffanci tells SND that the excitement around the Super Bowl effort has generated improved performance for Yellow Tail over the first month of this year.

“Our new Super Bowl ad tested even higher than last year’s, and we believe the response and impact will be even greater,” Steffanci says. “Month to date sales are trending at +9% versus last year and we expect the accelerated growth to continue through early February.”

Featuring spokesperson Yellow Tail Guy and his kangaroo sidekick, the new spot accounts for around $5 million of Yellow Tail’s overall annual media spend of $10.3 million, and will be accompanied by online video and social components on YouTube, Hulu, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat. The TV commercial will run in 80 markets, up from 70 in 2017, and is expected to reach 3 million more consumers than last year.

“The first spot of the new campaign that aired last year during the Super Bowl focused on showing a variety of occasions where you might typically expect to find beer or spirits but instead you find Yellow Tail,” Steffanci notes. “This spot focuses on just one occasion—a surprise party—and it allows us more time to tell one story with an element of surprise and more humor.”

A partnership between Deutsch and Australia’s Casella family, Yellow Tail ($6.99 a 750-ml.) is the fifth-largest wine brand in the U.S., selling around 7.8 million nine-liter cases annually. Lately, the brand has been fighting an uphill battle as consumers have migrated toward higher pricing tiers in the wine market, slipping 1.9% in Nielsen channels and 0.8% in IRI channels in 2017.

“The price tier in which Yellow Tail competes ($4-$7) is a difficult one,” Steffanci admits. “That price segment is declining about 4.5%, if you exclude bag-in-box.” The good news, he says, is that the brand has steadily gained share since the new campaign launched, and Deutsch’s research shows that last year’s Super Bowl spot helped bring new consumers into the franchise.

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Sales Slip 6% For 2017

Washington state-based Ste. Michelle Wine Estates reported a 6.4% net revenue decline to $698 million for the year ended December 31. The winemaker’s shipment volumes were similarly soft, falling 8.6% to around 8.5 million cases, with parent company Altria citing negative impact from “competitive activity, continued trade inventory reductions and slower premium wine category growth.” The company’s full-year results were also hampered by a challenging fourth quarter, during which Ste. Michelle’s net revenues fell 8.5%, to $227 million, and shipments slipped 9.7% to around 2.8 million cases. According to Impact Databank, Ste. Michelle's 14 Hands and Columbia Crest brands slowed from double-digit growth in 2016 to growth of 2.5% and 1% respectively last year.

News Briefs:

•Beam Suntory and Stoli Group USA have settled their dispute over Stoli’s hiring last month of former Beam exec Rudy Costello as its new chief commercial officer. Both parties issued statements saying they’re pleased with the out-of-court resolution of the matter, in which Beam had claimed that Costello’s hiring violated a non-compete agreement he had with Beam Suntory. Stoli Group USA tells SND it’s glad the dispute has been resolved and that it will be business as usual moving forward with Costello as the company’s new CCO.

•Folio Fine Wine Partners has been appointed the national sales and marketing agent of the Russian River Valley’s Dutton-Goldfield effective immediately. Folio will represent the Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir ($45), Dutton Ranch Chardonnay ($40) and a selection of the limited-production, single-vineyard wines, including Rued Vineyard Chardonnay ($60), Walker Hill Vineyard Chardonnay ($60), Emerald Ridge Pinot Noir ($65), Fox Den Vineyard Pinot Noir ($65), and Cherry Ridge Vineyard Syrah ($50). Dutton-Goldfield marks the first Sonoma producer in the Folio stable.

•Moët Hennessy USA’s Chandon brand has debuted a new limited edition of its Sweet Star sparkling wine for the spring season. Rolling out now through May 15, Chandon Sweet Star’s limited edition packaging features a flower motif and is being distributed across Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Texas at a retail price of $26 a 750-ml. A demi-sec blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier made in the méthode traditionelle style, Chandon Sweet Star is suggested to be served on its own or as a cocktail base.

•Puerto Rico’s Destilería Serrallés has launched Don Q Double Aged Vermouth Cask Finish Rum to select retailers across the U.S. The 40%-abv rum is a blend of spirits aged five to eight years in American oak before a four to six week period of extra maturation in Mancino Vermouth Vecchio casks. Don Q Double Aged Vermouth Cask Finish Rum is now available in limited quantities for a suggested price of $49.99. Don Q sells more than a quarter-million cases annually in the U.S., according to Impact Databank.

Craft Brewing And Distilling News:

•Hood River, Oregon’s Full Sail Brewing has launched Tangerine Twist as the newest offering in its Session series of beers. A lightly hopped golden pale ale, the new entry is at 5.2% abv and is billed as having aromas of citrus zest and tangerine. Session Tangerine Twist is rolling out now through April on draft, in the Session Series 12-pack and the Session Mashup Variety 12-pack. Full Sail, whose other brews include Hop Pursuit IPA, Amber Ale, Cascade Pilsner, Blood Orange Wheat and Exit 63 Blonde Ale among others, ranks as the 29th-largest craft brewer nationwide, according to the Brewers Association.

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