One of the highlights of the 2015 Direct to Consumer Wine Symposium agenda was the user group focused on Millennial marketing. Over 100 industry professionals attended the discussion and learned how shifting demographics in the “Direct to Consumer” wine sales channel will have a major impact on current and future marketing activities.

In short, retiring Baby Boomers are shifting their spending habits and will be taking over $400B in eCommerce spending with them. Generation X and Millennials are the present and future of “Direct to Consumer” eCommerce, with an expectation that this group will spend over $600B annually. Building brand loyalty to Millennials is more challenging than doing so with their parents/boomers. The traditional approach to marketing is no longer captivating to a generation that is used to everything happening at the speed of wifi. Social media, mobile applications, value added services, and most importantly, telling the brand story are all front runners to engaging this group.

THE PANEL

The Socially, Mobile, Millennials: Farming for the Future session, hosted by Copper Peak Logistics, brought together four wine-industry and marketing experts who gave a look into the next generation of wine consumers. Their knowledge and expertise in this field oered insight and actionable takeaways to help the attendees build brand loyalty with Millennials, suggestions on how to capture the growth of the DTC market among Millennials using social mobility, and tips on how to create added value without turning to discounts.

THE FREE ADVICE

Their expert advice and responses to questions posed by both audience members and moderator, Dave Dobrow, are chronicled here.