Study of Wine Producers’ Marketing Communication in Extreme Territories–Application of the AGIL Scheme to Wineries’ Website Features

Abstract

This study measures the communication ability of wineries in two extreme territories of Southern Italy, Mount Etna and the island of Pantelleria. The evaluation of four dimensions of web communication was carried out by the AGIL Scheme (i.e., adaptation, goal-attainment, integration, latent pattern maintenance). The study provides a generalizable model to be applied in other similar studies. Additionally, focus groups of experts were carried out. The method proved to be suitable to measure the communication effectiveness of wineries through websites. Extreme territories may add value to the wine, regardless of the brand. The heroic wines may become the symbol of these territories, helping environmentally safeguard and contrast territory abandonment by rural communities. The findings highlight that effective communication of heroic viticulture may be used to reposition these wines and increase their competitive advantage in foreign markets. The study generates new ideas for reflection on new types of web communication.

The Wine Influencers: Exploring a New Communication Model of Open Innovation for Wine Producers—A Netnographic, Factor and AGIL Analysis

“…They prefer information and recommendations drawn through "word-of-mouth". They do not pay much attention to the geographic zone of production as a quality attribute of the wine [14,15]; however, they are interested in the type of wine, e.g., Chardonnay, Chianti, Cabernet Sauvignon, Prosecco, Barolo, Champagne, Pinot noir, etc., which is used, also, to choose a wine, together with the brand.…”

Historical Wines of Portugal: The Classification, Consumer Associations and Marketing Implications

“…Origin-based, quality certification schemes for food products, such as PDO/PGI, ecological labelling, quality certificates of private organizations or generic denominations of quality, among others, can have positive effects on sales and increase consumers’ willingness to pay for terroir products [ 9 , 22 , 31 ]. In this sense, the HWP classification can be conceived as being an authenticity cue on its own merit, which can function in the market as a heuristic for wine buyers and help improve their perceptions of the quality attributes of the wines falling under it.…”

“…Benefiting from the inputs of other cultures passing by or settling in the Peninsula over the ages, they were necessarily shaped further by local natural resources (indigenous grape varieties) and constraints (landscape and climate). Hence, along with wines from the “heroic viticulture”, still practiced in Italy, for instance, particularly in the region of Sicily [ 9 ], historical wines represent one of the most accomplished embodiments of the concept of terroir outside France.…”

“…Charters and colleagues [ 24 ] suggest, furthermore, that terroir is a valuable marketing communication resource “based on unique physical origins and shared cultural personification that shape a product’s benefits into a meaningful value proposition not possible for products lacking this specific origin”. Terroir and local production methods are believed to combine to create the “body and soul” of ancient wines, conferring the distinctive character that sets them apart from other offers in the marketplace and granting them authenticity [ 9 ].…”

“…Moreover, studies on the product, individual and situational factors affecting how consumers understand and judge the authenticity of food and wine brands remains scarce [ 14 , 37 ], focusing mainly on the perceptions of British, Australian or North American consumers [ 15 , 16 , 23 ]. Recent studies examining the marketing communication activities of “heroic wines” from Sicily are a notable exception [ 9 , 11 ]. Importantly, research has not yet explored the role played by product knowledge in shaping consumers’ perceptions of wine authenticity and related attributes.…”