New Site Sponsor - Wickman’s Fine Wine Auctions
May 30th, 2006
If you’ve visited the site over the past couple of weeks, you would have noticed that I was trialling limited Google Ads on some pages. There were a number of things that I didn’t really like about the Google ads. Primarily that I had no real control over what companies were promoted via the ads.
Thus, I am pleased to be able to remove the Google Ads and replace them with a business that I am happy to endorse, Wickman’s Fine Wine Auctions.
There are a couple of things about Wickman’s that sets them aside from other wine auction houses in Australia.
* An annual charity auction for the Multiple Sclerosis Australia charity.
* A charity section in each auction with unique donations from various industry sources and no commissions charged on lots.
* A “guaranteed provenance” system where they will take extra steps with certain lots to guarantee that they have been stored properly.
* Low commissions - 5% for the seller and 10% for the buyer.
* Reasonable shipping - it costs less to have a case of wine shipped from Wickman’s in Adelaide to Sydney, than it does to have a case shipped from a leading auction house in Sydney to me!
I’m glad to recommend them and I think it is worth checking them out, and if you are interested, signing up for their newsletter in advance of the next auction that starts in July.
May 31st, 2006 at 8:19 am
I know it’s Australia’s flagship wine, but couldn’t they find something else to set them apart, it’s so old school? What about a Giaconda or Leeuwin Estate, just something a bit more modern?
May 31st, 2006 at 8:54 am
I see where you are coming from, but I guess the good thing about using Grange is that it is internationally recognised as being the top Australian wine, even by people who aren’t seriously into wine.
May 31st, 2006 at 9:57 am
Why not Yellow Tail? That’s heaps recognisable…. oh wait no…
I guess it is a challenge to get your message across (premium wines) while also ensuring as many people as possible understand it. It’s a risk to use something that most people won’t recognise - you’re potentially wasting dollars. It does perpetuate itself though. Grange has recognition so marketers use it and its recognition increases as a result.
Most marketers are risk adverse - if the quality of grange took a huge dive and never regained, i think it would take years for people to stop using it in ads.
I myself, and i think Cam you do to, see the education of Australia’s depth of quality wines as a key goal of my site. I think it flows from a constant battle with friends at dinner parties bringing Penfold after Penfold.
ooops i’m ranting
May 31st, 2006 at 3:38 pm
It might be Australia’s most famous wine, but I don’t think it’s our best wine. Hugo touched on a salient point, that across the Penfold’s range there is a sameness about the wines from year to year. Okay it’s reliable, but is it interesting? But the point I want to make is this - if everyone uses Grange in their ads to promote themselves, what is the point of difference to bring me in as a customer? For many people, the sight of Grange conveys a connotation of expensive or exclusive, we may know that is not true of wine auctions for the most part, but does the average punter? Accessability is not a dirty word. BTW Cam I do like your site sponsorship, much better than Google ads.
June 2nd, 2006 at 12:58 pm
Hey Guys,
Cam, love the site. Did a search for Australian Wine Blogs and seems you are topping the charts.
I run a few major wine events around Australia so if you guys would be keen to find out about them just let me know. They include the Shiraz Alliance taking place in the Barossa this July.
The Grange converstaion is interesting as we have just confirmed that Peter Gago, winemaker, will be looking at 86 vs the 96 (king of Grange) at the Shiraz Alliance, looking forward to it.
Cheers
June 2nd, 2006 at 1:24 pm
Will,
Thanks for the comment. I (and I’m sure the readers of the site) would certainly be interested to hear about events as they are coming up. I did think about coming to the Barossa for the Shiraz Alliance, but my thoughts were that I might need a quiet remainder of July after Wine Australia has come and gone through Sydney.
‘86 vs ‘96 will be very interesting, although some people I know might question ‘96 being the (undisputed) king of Grange! I haven’t tried enough vintages of it to make that call though.
Hugo and Tankedup,
Both your points are interesting and well thought out and I’m sure Mark Wickman will be taking them in as part of the feedback on this ad.
I guess it depends on what market is being aimed for, and I would guess that the readers of this site may be more enticed by a Giaconda, Wendouree, Torbreck or similar.
I still think that if you are aiming at the widest possible audience, then Grange has an aura and level of interest about it that may have people looking at the ad and the site behind it.
June 13th, 2006 at 10:29 am
Sure Cam, the Wine Australia whirlwind is certainly a taxing time. Somehow I have to be at both.
For the Sydneysiders you should definately diarise the Tri Nations Celebration Tasting on Monday August 28 at the Sofitel Wentworth.
315 wines from New Zealand, South Africa and Australia hand picked by the countries representatives Bob Campbell MW, Michael Fridghon and James Halliday.
Seriously good wines - only $120. This is a hidden gem of a tasting.
http://www.boutiquewines.com.au/Tri%20Nations%203.htm
June 27th, 2006 at 7:23 am
Hi Chaps,
Thanks for the feedback. Actually I am an amateur marketeer so anything I do marketing wise should be viewed with a pinch of salt. The Grange image was circumstance not foresight, I needed a high resolution bottle image for some leaflets, posters etc. I was putting together in a rush and, funny enough, the printing company I was working with had a high res image of a Grange I could use, so I went with that.