Branding Vs. Marketing - A Handy Example

The other day Misty brought home an interesting bottle of red wine from Sam's Club. The brand name was "Hand" and it is from Italy. There are many wine labels out there with the word hand in them - there is 14 Hands, HandCraft, Sleight of Hand...just to name a few. But this bottle stood out, it stood out because of the packaging.

For those of you who shop for wine at your local grocer, wine shop or club store, you know that many times your wine exploration is driven by the label and how it catches your attention. Perhaps the subject matter is relevant to you or maybe the bold colors contrasted with the stark labels around it. The thing is, there are so many brands out there today that even if you are relatively knowledgeable about wine, you are surely going to come across some you have never heard of. And those "newbies" are vying for your attention.

So back to the bottle at hand.

What was so intriguing about this one was the molded, concave bottle shape that had a perfect indention for a hand to grip the bottle. Albeit, the hand is probably modeled after a smaller hand than mine, it was still a clever way to get the upper hand on the competition on the displays at Sam's.

However, here's where marketing and branding separate themselves.

I researched HAND RED BLEND WINE ITALY and found nothing. I even pulled out the Google Goggles app and scanned the bar code so it could take me to their website, or at least a distributor. I wanted to know the story of Hand. Certainly they had to have a story on-hand. A company clever enough to mold their bottle and custom cut a label around the "fingers" had to have invested in the brand itself, right?

Well, not that I can find.
Opportunity lost.

While in wine, and consumables in general, it is arguable the taste that is the ultimate loyalty factor, many brands are finding out that a true brand story, a true reason to believe in their brand can also carry them a long way. Yes, people will buy Hand this week at Sam's because it is clever and stands out. A percentage of them will like the taste of the wine and want to buy more for the flavor + creativity. However, retaining these customers long-term is the responsibility of the brand and one that is obviously being overlooked.

So, if you know these good folks at Hand, from Italy (or even their partners at Atlas Imports who also have nothing about this unique product on their site), please send them my way. I'd love to learn their story and help them create a brand. They are off to a great start of enticing consumers to try their product - but they are not inviting them into their lives to be a part of their brand.

Basically, that hand is just waving goodbye to their customers...and their profits.

Serge - ekwede.com - a strategic marketing company