Wine brands know that one of the most important parts of their market presence is their label, so it is hardly surprising that more and more wineries are embracing new technologies to find unique ways to stand out from the crowd.
Augmented reality has slowly been entering the industry with Australian Treasury Wine Estates using the technology for their 19 Crimes range of wines. The company has created engaging animations linked to each of their wines which feature convicts deported to Australia telling their life stories, while their Walking Dead wine has an animation of zombies.
Now the technology is being embraced by wineries in more traditional regions like Central Otago in New Zealand. Peter Bartle who has worked as a winemaker for 25 years released his new Providore collection late last year and was exploring alternative ways of engaging with consumers when he stumbled upon augmented reality labels.
He currently produces two Pinot Noirs, a Pinot Gris, a rosé, and a blanc de noir made of Pinot Noir which will all feature the augmented labels. To view the designs customers can download the Providore app and simply hold their phone over the label.
The videos will allow customers to see the vineyards where the grapes are grown for each wine and scan around to view the panoramic landscape. They will also be able to view the vineyards in each of the four seasons and enjoy a virtual tour of the estate narrated by Peter who describes the history and background information behind the winery.
There is also the option to access the cinema section of the app which displays short videos made by the winery to allow customers to dive deeper into the brand. The app also links directly to the Providore website where New Zealand-based customers can view more information about the wines and order wines for delivery direct to their homes.
To create the augmented reality content Providore partnered with Wellington-based digital creative studio Maggle. The idea is to take customers inside the world of Providore and to understand and engage with where the wines are being made and who is making them.
“Providore isn’t the first wine company to use AR, but what we are doing is more interactive and engaging. We are creating a whole digital world inside the bottle for people to explore,” explained Maggle’s managing director, Mitch Duncan.
Peter Bartle admitted that he didn’t enjoy being in front of the camera during the filming of the videos in Bannockburn and Dunstan, but he ”wanted something that was going to get us attention and get people talking about our wine brand,” he said. ”We have had nothing but positive feedback since.”
