The Role of Packaging in Marketing Communication: an Explorative Study of the Italian Wine Business

The objective of this paper is to examine the role of wine packaging in the context of marketing communication. Current Marketing literature already addresses the different functions of packaging, and highlights the fact that every business presents its own specific characteristics. These, in turn, influence both the producer\u2019s strategy and consumer behavior. In the wine sector, new Marketing knowledge is imperative. Structural and competitive factors such as a high level of fragmentation, the growing role of modern distribution systems, new tendencies in purchasing and consumer behavior, growing international competition, and packaging innovation make it ideal for analyzing the role of packaging as a communication tool. In order to achieve this goal, work was divided into two steps: - desk research was used as an opportunity to analyze the wine business in general, and literature on packaging and its role in communication in particular in order to develop a theoretical model to apply to empirical research. - field research was conducted with explorative aim, to study important aspects of the role of wine packaging in the communication process