Current Issues of Domestic Wine Marketing

Tessényi, Judit – Katona, Norbert

Keywords: wine consumption, strategy, branding, wine tourism JEL: Q11, Q13, R 21

The increasing role of the wine market is an important economic and cultural domestic goal, although, during domestic and international market changes, increasing global competition and environmental challenges, the development of a stable and flexible strategy for this sector could be a huge challenge. Basic objective of the study is to identify factors along which the defining strategic pillars of wine marketing can be further strengthened. Primary research was adapted to the systematically literature overview of current international and domestic studies along the defining strategic dimensions, the prominent role of wine tourism, and the changed consumer habits. The study summarizes the main conclusions of four semi-structured expert interviews with domestic experts of significant experience in the field of wine. The interviews were conducted in person and over the phone, and after the content analysis, we synthesized the factors in a comprehensive SWOT analysis. The results pointed to the need for a regional cooperation that goes beyond individual producers and the implementation of a well-coordinated national wine marketing strategy that effectively builds on the social and cultural dimension of wine, while being able to respond sustainably to the ever-changing consumer habits. Based on the possibilities outlined, the basic condition supporting the entry into the domestic, but even more so the international market, can be the maintenance of the research and breeding infrastructure, and the construction and communication of a strategy based on its results. The role of central coordination in line with the direction of ethical marketing is extremely important because business and marketing activities serving the needs of each generation must be approached in a differentiated way, and all of this must be implemented in cooperation with the integrated management of other strategically important sectors, such as tourism.