Changing with the times

Though it remains one of the most popular brand name wines in the world, Blue Nun has suffered from declining U.S. sales in recent years. Many of the American consumers who embraced the popular German liebfraumilch and other brand name wines during the 70s and early 80s have turned their attention to the rapidly expanding California varietal category.

"We lost a lot of business, not because people dislike the taste of our wine, but because there are more fashionable wine products to drink," says Ben Stone, vice president, product group director for Schieffelin & Somerset Co., the U.S. importer/distributor of Blue Nun.

One of the main problems, Stone says, is that as the California varietals (i.e., white zinfandel, chardonnay) have come into vogue, image-conscious Blue Nun drinkers no longer feel that ordering the German wine is a sure indication that they are knowledgeable about wine.

"I think a wine consumer's big fear is sounding uninformed when choosing a wine. Brands like Blue Nun have historically done well because a person can buy a bottle and know that he or she is getting a quality, well-crafted wine. But I think the branded wine business has changed, and now people will go into a liquor store or a restaurant and feel the same way about ordering a California chardonnay that 'chardonnay' has a magic ring to it, and that by ordering a Glen Ellen chardonnay they can sound like they have this wine thing pretty buttoned up," he says.

Label outdated

Preliminary research showed that the wine's image problem carried over into other areas. For example, some Blue Nun drinkers said that though they still enjoyed the wine themselves, they no longer felt comfortable serving it to dinner guests or giving it as a gift because they felt the label was garish and outdated. "They would rather bring some other wine that made more of a statement about them as a fashionable, knowledgeable person," Stone says.

Blue Nun's status as an affordable, high-quality wine was further undermined by the new level of sophistication that the California varietals brought to wine packaging, which meant that a host of inexpensive, well-packaged wines began vying for shelf space and market share.

"These are inexpensive, almost entry-level wines that, on your table or when you give them as a gift, look as good as those that are much more expensive. The California wines offer very contemporary packaging that makes it difficult to tell the difference between a $3.99 bottle and a $13.99 bottle of California chardonnay," Stone says.

After numerous blind taste tests (in which Blue Nun consistently outperformed varietals such as chardonnays and zinfandels) confirmed that the problem lay with the Blue Nun package and not its contents, a re-design was deemed in order.

"It was a major decision, and a lot of heart searching went on before we did it. We decided to first do some extensive research to make sure that it wasn't a vocal minority (of Blue Nun drinkers) that felt this way. We wanted to make sure that a packaging change would ultimately help us out," Stone says.

Thus began an international effort which drew together Schieffelin & Somerset, Peter Sichel of H. Sichel Sohne (whose family-run firm makes Blue Nun), designers in Germany and the UK, and Mittleman/Robinson Design Associates of New York.

Sold in casks

Initially, the wine which came to be known as Blue Nun was sold in casks as a house wine under the name of H. Sichel Sohne, to hotels, restaurants and wine merchants, who then bottled it using their own labels. Customers who asked for labels from the winemaker were given an old-fashioned design created some 60 years earlier.

In the late 1920's, after customers requested a more modern label, H. Sichel Sohne commissioned a printer in Mainz who came up with a new design depicting nuns dressed in brown habits against a grey background. Though the only blue in the label was in the sky, the wine began to be known—and sold—as Blue Nun Label wine. It wasn't until after trade resumed following World War II that the nuns were finally clad in the blue habits that would remain their trademark for the next 40 years.

Goal was clear

Stone says that to avoid stifling their creativity, the firms chosen to work on the re-design weren't given a great deal of explicit direction. But the goal of the project was clear: to come up with packaging that would capture the attention of the buyers of California varietals without alienating the loyal Blue Nun consumers.

"This is that tightrope that we always have to walk," says Frederick Mittleman, creative director, Mittleman/Robinson Design. "You don't want to lose your present customers, but at the same time you want to attract new people who have never tried the brand. Advertising can help, and sales promotion can help, but it's what people see on the shelf that really decides. Packaging is the final silent salesman."

Mittleman says that a wide array of labels was created, ranging from those done in a heavily illustrated style similar to previous labels to those with a more contemporary look and feel.

Focus groups

Armed with eight package variations, Schieffelin & Somerset held extensive focus groups with current and past Blue Nun users and competitive brand purchasers to pare down the number of possible choices. Initially, the participants were brought in to discuss their perceptions of wine and to talk about the wines they currently drank. They gave opinions on the old Blue Nun packaging and on that of several competitors, then they were shown the new Blue Nun package prototypes.

Participants were asked to place the different packages on a grid with horizontal and vertical   axes, one indicating a price range from inexpensive to expensive, the other a taste from sweet to dry, to show what they felt each package did to their perception of the brand.

Shelf tests

With the number of choices reduced to three, the research moved on to a series of simulated store shelf tests with over 1200 current, past, and non-Blue Nun users, who were asked make shelf selections in order of preference from a choice of Blue Nun and nine competitors. The competitive packages remained the same while the various Blue Nun packages were alternated in and out. After each individual made their selection, they were asked a battery of image questions on a one-on-one basis to find out more about their feelings on the package and what it conveyed to them.

As a safeguard against alienating current users with the re-design, Stone says that roughly half of the respondents were current Blue Nun drinkers. "Our biggest fear was making a package change that would appeal only to past users or nonusers and that the current Blue Nun user would say 'Hey, they've changed my wine. I'm not going to drink it anymore.'"

Results

During probing in the focus groups and shelf tests, it was discovered that current Blue Nun drinkers felt more warmly towards the nun motif than past or nonusers, who had less patience with the old style. Although when offered a choice, even current users conceded that a packaging change was a good idea and that the brand would benefit from an updating of its image.

"That was the part of the research that made everyone feel very comfortable with the decision to change the package; even our current users felt good about the prospect of a packaging change. We all had personal feelings on the ones that we liked, but the research showed us that we could go very far away from the current package," Stone says.

Indeed, the design which was the most popular with participants is quite a departure from the pastoral scenes of old. Set on a taller, more slender bottle than before, the new label, done in a cream color and framed by a gold band, favors copy over illustration, emphasizing the brand name while placing a single nun in graphic form under its arched top.

"It was truly the way research, to me, as a package designer, should be used," says Frederick Mittleman. "It was extensive, they tested a lot of variations, and overwhelmingly the new design drew a very positive response, which was surprising because it was the furthest away from what had been done previously.

"Without research, I think they more than likely would have gone to a design that was closer to the original. That is probably the most valuable thing that any research can do for a consumer product; it can reassure a company that they can make a substantial change and still retain their present consumers and open up a whole new market."

More contemporary

Some interesting and unexpected observations came from the research. People felt that the new label and bottle gave the wine a much more contemporary feel, and they felt that Blue Nun was now much more appropriate to give or receive as a gift. It was perceived to be more expensive, and although no taste tests were involved, respondents felt that, based on the new packaging, the wine was drier—which was quite a surprise.

"German wines are perceived as sweet," Stone says. "It's a perception that we've tried to overcome and it's interesting that this package really conveyed something and helped us address an issue that wasn't on the agenda going in."

The US rollout of the new packaging should be completed this month, while the rest of the world will be introduced to it more gradually. For example, in the UK market, where Blue Nun has experienced less trouble, the packaging will be changed over time, an option which wasn't viable here in the U.S.

"We felt that we didn't have the luxury to quietly and slowly evolve this package. We needed to make a change quickly and the research was strong enough that we could make a more drastic change and hopefully try to rescue our business."

While it wil1probably be the middle of next year before it's clear how successful the re-design is with American wine drinkers, Stone says the reaction so far from distributors and retailers has been very positive. "They're all signs that this is going to be successfu1. We've got our fingers crossed. We think it bodes well for the brand."