Failure of a Wine Closure Innovation:
The Failure of a Wine Closure Innovation: A Strategic Marketing Analysis
Wayne J. Mortensen, Faculty of Business and Law, Victoria University of Technology, PO Box14428, Melbourne City MC, Victoria, 8001, Australia, +61 3 9688 4526, Wayne.Mortensen@vu.edu.au Brian K. Marks, Faculty of Business and Law, Victoria University of Technology, PO Box14428, Melbourne City MC, Victoria, 8001, Australia, +61 3 9688 4101, Brian.Marks@vu.edu.au
Abstract
In the wine closure industry cork remains the dominant bottle sealing technology with a market share of around 90 per cent. Our research analyses the screw cap wine seal’s development and original introduction within Australia in the 1970s. It identifies some fundamental reasons for failings in the initial commercial launch. The Australian wine industry played a leading role in developing a French prototype screw cap wine seal. Local piloting and testing occurred followed by a market launch. Unfortunately for screw cap change agents, the new closure was largely seen as a failure in its initial introduction. The screw cap was withdrawn from many of the target market segments that it was launched within. Rogers' (1995) innovation diffusion model assists in identifying several underlying factors responsible for the customer’s rejection of the new screw cap seal. In particular, these were the failure to effectively demonstrate the relative advantage of the screw cap seal to consumers and to address the complexity and incompatibility of the seal with established user traditions. The industry was therefore unable to achieve a ‘critical mass’ of adoption other than in the budget wine or food service segments. The additional application of Moore's (2001) adaptation of the technology adoption life cycle model reveals that the failure of the screw cap was also attributable to a lack of an effective industry marketing strategy that would overcome this identifiable consumer resistance. In particular, it lacked a strategy to manage
Wayne J. Mortensen, Faculty of Business and Law, Victoria University of Technology, PO Box14428, Melbourne City MC, Victoria, 8001, Australia, +61 3 9688 4526, Wayne.Mortensen@vu.edu.au Brian K. Marks, Faculty of Business and Law, Victoria University of Technology, PO Box14428, Melbourne City MC, Victoria, 8001, Australia, +61 3 9688 4101, Brian.Marks@vu.edu.au
Abstract
In the wine closure industry cork remains the dominant bottle sealing technology with a market share of around 90 per cent. Our research analyses the screw cap wine seal’s development and original introduction within Australia in the 1970s. It identifies some fundamental reasons for failings in the initial commercial launch. The Australian wine industry played a leading role in developing a French prototype screw cap wine seal. Local piloting and testing occurred followed by a market launch. Unfortunately for screw cap change agents, the new closure was largely seen as a failure in its initial introduction. The screw cap was withdrawn from many of the target market segments that it was launched within. Rogers' (1995) innovation diffusion model assists in identifying several underlying factors responsible for the customer’s rejection of the new screw cap seal. In particular, these were the failure to effectively demonstrate the relative advantage of the screw cap seal to consumers and to address the complexity and incompatibility of the seal with established user traditions. The industry was therefore unable to achieve a ‘critical mass’ of adoption other than in the budget wine or food service segments. The additional application of Moore's (2001) adaptation of the technology adoption life cycle model reveals that the failure of the screw cap was also attributable to a lack of an effective industry marketing strategy that would overcome this identifiable consumer resistance. In particular, it lacked a strategy to manage