The power of the claim in wine communication: how Italian wineries are faring

by Vincenzo Russo

In 1961, Rosser Reeves highlighted the importance of catchy claims based on the Unique Selling Proposition (USP), an exclusive selling point that can immediately convey to the primary brain the distinguishing feature of the company or its product. Thus, if our brain is an energy saver, communication should adapt to this process by accommodating both natural simplification processes and the cognitive errors that behavioural economics has been pointing out for years.

The three attributes of an effective claim

An effective claim should be therapeutic (offering a solution to a problem), original (unique and powerful compared to expectations and competitors), and provable (credible). The therapeutic aspect should not be confused with the health-related meaning of the term, as to be persuasive it refers to a concern and the subsequent resolution of a problem felt by customers. For example, when Tasca D'Almerita uses a strong claim on sustainability, such as "We safeguard the Earth and respect its rhythms," the issue it addresses is the customers' concern about the environment or the naturalness of production. After all, the environmental theme is one of the main value assets of this winery.

Some examples of Italian wineries

Additionally, the claim should respect certain formal aspects to facilitate understanding and memorisation. It should be short or use easily memorable abbreviations, as beyond a certain amount of information, even if truthful, the persuasiveness of the message does not improve (Calder et al., 1974; Alter and Oppenheimer, 2006). For example, Frescobaldi uses the claim "Cultivating Toscana Diversity": short, immediate, and simple. It effectively highlights the territoriality of their products and their distinguishing power. The winery Baglio del Cristo di Campobello focuses on local traditions and the value of the territory's history with the claim "Providence and creation. Our proof."

Fonts also make a difference

Another relevant aspect is the ability of claims to use repetition (e.g., protect, protect, protect), as if it were a meta-claim, as well as to use rhymes since they are appealing and make the message more pleasant (Filkukova and Klempe, 2013). Regarding formal aspects, it has been shown that a message is more persuasive if it uses light and easy-to-read fonts (e.g., Verdana, Times, or Tahoma) and if it uses alliteration, that is, the same initial letter or the same sound.