Wine Industry

I read an article in my research for the garagewineco project that struck my interest- wine consumption for Chilean consumers is decreasing. While this could seem devastating to the Chilean economy, it opens up new opportunities for export-led growth in the industry.

It was interesting to do this project because I learned a lot more about wine exports and how difficult it can be to enter some markets. Fortunately for Chile, their reputation as a wine country continues to grow. This will make it that much easier when their focus shifts to exports over a focus on their home country market.

Their share of the international market continues to grow. The home country not only allows Chile to sell to more consumers worldwide, but it also allows them to sell at higher prices. In the U.S., many Chilean brands are seeking to enter the realm of premium wines, thus making an even bigger profit.

Personally, I'll drink whatever is cheapest. But I never claimed to be a wine aficionado. Wine lovers across the globe are excited for this new change though, and some are even beginning to prefer Chilean wine over others that are more well known, such as wines from France and Napa Valley. New-ness and exclusivity are helping Chile take the world of wine by storm.

Gets Me Every Time

I hate to go back to the topic of Starbucks... but that's a lie, I love this topic.

Tonight when deciding where to study, I weighed my options. Home, (which was a joke because I don't get anything accomplished there), Cafe Baul (which has wifi and coffee drinks, but sometimes sketchy music), or Starbucks (which has wifi and yummy coffee drinks, an ambience I enjoy, and a view of San Martin as well as the ocean). The choice was clear. Baul was closer and maybe a little cheaper, but Starbucks, although farther and a bit pricier, feels like home.

I think it's incredible what this company has done, which I have said before. But to have a brand that is so internationally known is amazing. One thing I really like about the Bux is that, besides for a few minor menu changes, nothing changes from country to country. Starbucks employs the tactic of global standardization flawlessly. They have a brand so powerful that it is really its own place. When you step inside the coffee shop, you're not in the U.S. or in Chile or in Bangladesh. You're now in Starbucks world. Which is so comforting to someone who is missing the comforts of home. It's a trip back to something familiar, if you can look past whatever foreign language the people at the counter are speaking.

My point is that because of what they have accomplished, somehow Starbucks dragged my lazy self 4 extra blocks and made me pay 1 extra mil, and I don't feel cheated one bit. Sometimes when I hear of the marketing tricks used to get people (including me) in the door, I feel suckered. But Starbucks just always feels like home.

Finger Lickin' Good

Last Friday I noticed a sign on San Martin for a coming soon "Popeye's" chicken restaurant chain. Cerca de the McDonalds that Chileans have come to know and love. South Americans, although they have a wide array of homegrown chains and restaurants, have a large thirst for U.S. originated restaurants. This is why I am not surprised that Popeye's, the "Louisiana kitchen" that we are very familiar with in the states, has made its way down to Viña del Mar.

What I was a little confused about, however, was the language the advertisement was in. It said something along the lines of "Coming Soon! Popeye's chicken, from Louisiana's kitchen, marinated and slow cooked...." And I'm not sure of the rest. But I know that we've learned over and over again how relevant language is in international marketing. It was surprising to me that they didn't even attempt to use Spanish in their sign. I can see that they are coming at it from the angle of "we're from the U.S. so love us," but I know that I don't know the word for 'marinate' in Spanish, so I doubt most Chileans know this English word.

It seems to me that they could have done a better job of mixing Spanish and English to get across their message. Yes, they're a U.S. company and believe that should have appeal in and of itself. However, they should have attempted a little further to integrate into the culture here in their advertisement. Which is my opinion from what I've learned in the class this semester.

World Cup Advertisements

With the World Cup coming up, companies are spending a lot of money on marketing techniques to incorporate futbol and futbolistos into their products. The World Cup is a huge deal in South America, but even more this year since Brazil is hosting. 

I'm wondering if the same thing is happening in the U.S. right now. In the U.S., sports drinks and snack foods use sports teams and stars to market all the time, but more so with basketball and baseball. It's harder to use soccer in marketing because, although the fan pool is growing, it is still not very popular in the U.S. compared to other sports. Even with the world cup coming up, I'm wondering if it would be worth it for U.S. brands to incorporate soccer into their advertisements. I'm not sure it would attract as many consumers as here in South America.

I think that's one important thing about global marketing- you have to know all about your target market. The World Cup may seem like a global event that would apply everywhere. But you have to take into account whether the sport is popular in that country, and whether their team even made it into the cup. You have to do your research when using sports to advertise. You wouldn't use baseball in South American advertisements because it is not that popular here. 

I'm excited to see how the advertisements increase as the cup approaches even closer.

Weekday Deals

We went in to a hole in the wall completo store last Monday night and noticed that there was a 3 for 2 special, Monday through Thursday. We had been to this completo place before, but only ever on the weekends, so we had never noticed the weekday deals. Since then I've noticed weekday deals in a few different spots. I think these are similar to happy hours in that they draw in people when there wouldn't usually be any. For example, completo places become more popular during the late nights of the weekends. And bars become more popular later on the evening.

In the states, we have deals as well. However I've found them to be a little different. For example, there might be a different special every day of the week, but a special that lasts all night. And happy hour, while it exists, is much earlier in the night and does not last as long.

It seems to me that these weekday deals are necessary here in Chile to obtain customers at all. In the U.S., most big restaurants or popular places will have business no matter what, but here, customers have to be drawn in by something in order to give their business to a restaurant.

Lack of Diversity at the Supermarket

One of the first times I went to the supermarket here in Chile, I was ecstatic to see the wall of "American" style Lays potato chips. A little piece of home. As I continued to make visits to the grocery store though, I found myself wishing there were more options to choose from. Just a few months ago I was the pickiest eater you could have ever met. But Chile has apparently made me a changed woman, because I want to try any and every food I see. It was sad for me then, to see the options for new flavors shrink as I progressively tried all the flavors of snack foods and candy and soda on the shelves.
I know we talked about market research last week, so I have been trying to figure out how this lack of diversity correlates to Chilean culture. I have noticed a lack of variety within restaurants as well (you can order chorrillanas or an empanada). I´m assuming that if this result did come from market research, it would have resulted from Chileans´ risk aversive tendencies. They stick to what they know and are comfortable buying the same products and flavors that they can already trust.
I think this may make the market in Chile less competitive, but it seems to be working for them.

Marketing with Lies?

This weekend, some friends and I went to Santiago. Friday night we found ourselves in Bellavista, and as we were walking past a street corner, a man called out to us to inform us that we were specially invited to this club down the road, where there was an open bar for the next hour if we went right now. So we asked how many free drinks we would get exactly, which he replied with "1, 2, 3, 4, 5... however many you want!" So we agreed to go with him to this club, walked inside, and he directed us to the dining area first, because apparently we had to buy a meal in order to get the free drinks. We thought one chorillana would be fine, because we all love food, and an open bar was waiting for us on the other side of this plate. But then our server told us that we'd have to buy something else since one chorillana only covered 4 of the 6 of us. He then informed us that the number of free drinks depended on the amount of food we purchased, and that the open bar would only really last for another 20 minutes.
An experience like this makes it awfully difficult to trust restaurant and club promoters. They are only looking out for their own interest- which is to get paying customers in the building. In the states, in Des Moines at least, there are no street corner promoters, but it's also less common to see misleading promotions and deals. What you see is generally what you get. Here in Chile, though, I feel like they are always kind of trying to trick you, whether it's with an unmentioned covercharge or a string they forgot to say was attached. You have to be careful about which restaurants you trust, otherwise you'll end up paying $20 for an "open bar." (Which we didn't- we left. In a slight rage.)