Alcohol abuse kills more than three billion people every year. Smoking, meanwhile, kills more than 8 million people each year, according to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO). In response, several measures have been, and still are, taken to try to dissuade consumption. In particular the Évin law , which entered into force on January 10, 1991 in French law.
Wine a French singularity?
This law intends to fight against smoking and alcoholism. A large number of rules are associated with it, in particular the ban on smoking in public places, transport, etc. But also the obligation to write down the dangers of tobacco or alcohol consumption on packaging and labels. Regarding alcohol, the right to advertise is very limited and monitored.
However, France is in a unique situation. The particular case of wine constantly re-questions the contours of this evin law between marketing and wine. Doesn’t wine seem, in spite of itself, to be an exception to the rule?
The wine sector; a French force!
The wine is recognized, appreciated and valued; France is establishing itself as the leader of the world wine market. In addition to being the largest consumers of wine, France represents 16% of world wine production and 33% of world exports . France is the country whose origin of wine is best perceived throughout the world. This gives the French wine market a certain value. The wine industry continues to develop and the UGCB (Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux) confirms a constant increase in exports. France and its regions are full of exceptional wine-growing lands that promote French know-how throughout the world.
The French way of life
Beyond that, wine is a true cultural symbol , a French heritage. There is something different in the specific case of wine than a spirit or a cigarette. Wine is an integral part of French life. It participates in its gastronomy and “the French way of life”. It is a major lever of socialization. So much so that today, as lifestyles lean more and more towards well-being and good health, alcohol is gradually being banned. Let’s look for example at the consumption of wine by French people in 1960: 100L per year, today: 42L. Thus we see more and more alcohol-free wines and other variations on the market.
How to interpret these new products? Well precisely, despite a desire to reduce their alcohol consumption, consumers still want to be able to drink wine. Because wine is, beyond being very good, a cultural, convivial symbol, a “total social fact” (Marcel Mauss) which brings people together around very specific gastronomic and social rituals.
Our ways of drinking and eating say a lot and bring together many sociological, identity, cultural and environmental aspects. Both popular (table wine) and an object of distinction (oenology rituals), wine is an integral part of human life.
So, what marketing for wine?
There are therefore a lot of marketing assets to be exploited on the wine market. Yet the evin law prevents a majority of these trumps. Communication about conviviality, the joy of having a drink or any other aspect associating well-being and wine is impossible. A simple smile on a wine label must be traded against a closed face and a phrase known to all “alcohol should be consumed in moderation”.
In 2015, the president of the National Cancer Institute and Minister (Agnès Buzyn) of Solidarity and Health in 2017, declared: “advertising accelerates the initiation to alcohol and increases the consumption of those who already drink” .
However and despite everything, in 2016, the government relaxed this law concerning wine declaring it as true French cultural heritage . Talking about color, terroir, taste or bouquet is no longer considered as advertising but as a real cultural language associated with a solid heritage. The case of wine is very specific; because it is difficult to do advertising campaigns on it. And yet it is totally integrated and validated socially and culturally by French society.
An area still remains “grey” for alcohol advertising; influencers . These last few months have seen many wine merchants and producers relayed by influencers on social networks, but also enthusiasts introducing interested Internet users to the wonders of oenology. The Évin law not having envisaged this eventuality, it is not considered as advertising but nevertheless it ensures a real audience.
How to communicate about wine?
So how to highlight French know-how, a strong and culturally valued symbol of identity, without derogating from the limits imposed by this evin law? Well, this requires precise and strategic communication strategies in which you have to go back to the foot of the vine to continue to seduce and embody a French cultural heritage.
Escadrille can contribute to this. We are able to help you with an image study, notoriety and/or a communication strategy !
Who knows how to taste never drinks wine again but tastes secrets
Salvador Dali