The Challenge of Cohesive Brand Positioning: Convergence of Innovative, Modern, Traditional, and/or Classic

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe how managers in the wine industry perceive their strategic brand positioning choice options and integrate them into a cohesive brand story. Design/methodology: A qualitative study of 166 individuals, including 99 in-depth interviews, from 153 wine industry firms from nine regions around the world was conducted over the course of four years to determine marketing and supply chain strategies. Data consisted of depth interviews, organization documentation, website information, operation observations and photographs. The data were analyzed using accepted practices from grounded theory and ethnography. Findings: Data interpretation revealed four overarching strategic brand positioning options (innovative, modern, traditional, and classical), each of which could be communicated via one or more of 16 controllable variables or characteristics (5 marketing processes, 2 supply chain management processes, winery operations processes, 5 product characteristics and 3 organizational characteristics). Beyond this, managers experience tension as they attempt to make choices related to these four options, some of which may seem diametrically opposed to each other. Practical implications: This study offers a means for wine brands to diagnose their positioning efforts and better determine the cohesiveness of their brand positioning efforts and stories