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TheBuzz Erika Engle |
Local drinks spirited
into your mailboxNormal people don't go to their mailbox to get drinks. The most loyal customers of Makiki's Vintage Wine Cellar Inc., do, however.
"Vintage Wine Cellar Drinks -- the magazine of fine wine, spirits and living," is mailed free to holders of the store's also-free Connoisseur Card, through which they receive discounts and special offers.
The magazine also is available at no charge in the store at 1249 Wilder Ave., open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily except for Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
Of its nearly 70 pages, nine pages toward the front are Vintage Wine Cellar's and it's up to President Jay Kam to fill them however he sees fit.
Kam did not disclose how much his participation in the co-branded magazine costs, but he is free to sell advertising to offset that expense.
That's not his cup of Tia Maria, however.
"My whole thing is ... to personalize it to the people of Hawaii ... so it will have some pertinence to the people who live here," he said.
Kam's spring 2004 pages include a greeting letter with a photo of himself and his father Allen, the company chairman who founded the store more than 35 years ago; stories on different wines and restaurants where diners can bring their own bottles; the benefits of a Connoisseur Card; a wine-tasting announcement; and a two-sided, tear-out guide listing wines and spirits featured in the store.
"My wife (Lillian) and I do all the content. She really helps with the photos," he said.
The rest of the magazine's stories, recommendations and columns are from people well-known in wine, spirits and cuisine circles.
Kam's distribution is between 5,000 and 10,000 copies, but he guarded the exact number. The quarterly magazine will replace some of the six to eight newsletters he publishes each year.
Vintage Wine Cellar is among 26 retailers in 19 states with 166 storefronts offering the "your-content-here" magazine, published in Minnesota by MMP Custom Media, a division of MMP Inc.
The localized content is all about the relationship between the retailer and the customer, said Jonathan Hoffmann, MMP national sales manager. It is focused on "personalizing and intimizing the relationship with a letter from the principal ... the recommendation from their wine buyer, spirit buyer, deli manager and so on," he said. "It is the ultimate in direct marketing for the retailers."
Hoffmann knows of no other customizable publication in any other industry. "Many before us have probably thought of the concept ... but logistically the (task) is gargantuan at the end of the day."
The circulation of Drinks is 412,000 including co-branded copies, paid subscriptions and newsstand sales, surpassing Wine Spectator magazine, according to Hoffmann.
"It sounds like a win-win for everybody," said Dana Alden, chairman of the University of Hawaii Department of Marketing in the College of Business.
"Assuming that the cost is reasonable on a per-exposure basis, that elevates (Vintage Wine Cellar's) brand to a certain level," he said. "It seems very innovative to me.
"Any vehicle you can get information to the consumer through that's framed as newsy and part of a special source of information that just a few people are getting, is extremely valuable in terms of making brand impressions and actually impacting behavior," he said.
The store's loyalty members are not likely the type to casually purchase wine at a supermarket, he said. "You're someone who ... talks to other people about (wine) ... you're an influencer."
To reach that level of consumer is not easy, he said.
Many lifestyle magazines about food and wine are well-read and Drinks has the potential for a long shelf-life. "It's a lot better than just advertising here and there," Alden said.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at: eengle@starbulletin.com
