Société des Alcools du Québec (SAQ)

A survey showed 90% of the Société des Alcools du Québec’s (SAQ) clientele were interested in wine, but had limited knowledge, and they felt lost when entering an SAQ store. In-store communications were not designed according to consumers needs but rather according to industry standards. To promote wine culture, consumers needed to discover wine on their terms and understand which bottles to seek out.

The solution came in the form of “Taste Tags,” eight colour-coded taste profiles that correspond to different categories of wine. The system described every bottle of regular wine in the store, serving as an entry point to discover wine culture. Consumers could identify their wine profile, find the corresponding Taste Tags, and determine what bottles best suited their tastes.

A “Taste Kit” was also launched, which offered small quantities of different wines, and wine tasting weekends were held at SAQ stores.

An accompanying campaign launched with three 30-second TV commercials. Also, a competition was held in which contestants could spot a Taste Tag on TV for a chance to win $1,000, and a flyer was delivered to over two million people explaining the Taste Tags. On radio, live shows were broadcast from SAQ stores over two Saturday afternoons.

Online, banners drove to the SAQ site where consumers could take a test to identify their Taste Tag. On popular Quebec food sites Recettes.qc.ca and Ricardocuisine.com, Taste Tags were integrated into recipes. Similar initiatives were executed in Ricardo magazine and its namesake, celebrity chef Ricardo, discussed the Taste Tags on his television show. An iPhone application was also released, allowing consumers to match wines with Taste Tags, find food pairings and locate bottles in retail outlets close to their homes.

The launch period sold 14% more wine cases than a similar promotion and exceeded the target by 31%. For the first time in years, sales growth for regular wine outpaced that of specialty wine, and the taste kits created for the campaign were sold out in less than 10 days.

On the consumer side, over 81% of clients are now familiar with the Taste Tags and 40% used the system to discover their taste profile or select a bottle of wine.