Everyone’s heard the clichés before.
‘We’re living today in a world without borders.’ ‘There is no such thing as a Canadian company anymore.’ ‘The whole world is our marketplace now.’
But what, exactly, does all of this mean in terms of concrete, day-to-day reality? What do Canadian firms go through in the effort to market their products and services internationally? How do they build brands on a global basis? What are the challenges – and the rewards?
For this special report, Strategy’s writers profile the global marketing activities of several noteworthy Canadian companies.
Bill Redelmeier wanted to sell his wine to Canadians. So naturally, he launched it in the U.K.
Canadians need to see a homegrown product receive validation abroad before they’ll give it serious consideration, says Redelmeier, co-owner and export director of Maple, Ont.-based Southbrook Farms and Winery. So the best way to get Canadians to drink Canadian wine is to export it – particularly to a wine-savvy market like Great Britain.
‘One of the [most convincing ways to prove] that Canadian wine is good is to show an English magazine to the Canadian public and say, ‘They love us in England.’ By selling Canadian wines in Britain, we get the halo effect.’
Founded in 1992, the Southbrook winery today is Ontario’s leading exporter of wines to Britain, selling approximately one-third of its dessert fruit wines to U.K. consumers. What’s more, its products – which include raspberry, golden raspberry, blackcurrant and blueberry wines – have claimed a number of international awards. And in 1996, Southbrook’s raspberry wine became the first Ontario wine ever to be carried by the prestigious English department store, Harrods.
Not bad for a bunch of folks who more or less fell into the wine-making business. Initially a dairy farm with a sideline in fruit and produce, Southbrook decided to branch into fruit wines when the unseasonably damp summer of 1992 left them with an oversupply of raspberries.
While Britain remains Southbrook’s primary international market, Redelmeier says it’s now mature enough for the winery to begin focusing on other territories. In addition to the U.K., Southbrook exports to the U.S., Bermuda and Taiwan, and has recently begun expansion into other Far East markets.
Southbrook will establish its brand in these new markets the same way it did in Britain – by taking part in key trade and consumer shows (Redelmeier already has three trips to Asia booked between now and June), and by launching aggressive public relations efforts. While the company maintains a Web site (www.southbrook.com), it has traditionally done very little advertising, aside from the occasional piece in food and wine magazines. As a marketing vehicle, Redelmeier says, sampling at retail stores and shows is far more effective for Southbrook’s purposes.
‘It’s key to establish that first trial,’ he says. ‘We find advertising [brings the brand] to the front of mind, but it doesn’t establish trial.’
Southbrook does not operate offices outside of Canada, preferring instead to sign on local ‘agents’ to handle sales in each of the markets to which it exports.
The current push into the Far East promises to be an interesting, if challenging one. Redelmeier expects Southbrook’s products to do well in Japan, where fruit wines have been consumed for hundreds of years. He is less certain, however, about the Chinese market, which has had much less exposure to the product category. There is also the concern that, in markets such as Mainland China, Singapore and Indonesia, counterfeit Canadian products will begin to appear and steal share – a problem that Redelmeier says has plagued Canadian exporters of ice wines in the past.
New markets also bring striking differences in product preference. In Canada, for example, Southbrook’s blackcurrant wine accounts for just 15% of sales, but in the U.K. its share is closer to 40%. Redelmeier, for one, is betting that the blueberry wine will do well in Japan, since Japanese folklore holds that blueberries improve the eyesight.
Also in this report:
– Tim Hortons issues wakeup call: Builds underdeveloped breakfast category p.25
– Faces adapts to local market: Cosmetics retailer leverages awareness of cultural differences p.25
– Honeydew pegs future on U.S. sales p.26
– Buckley’s takes bad taste message abroad: Cough syrup marketer making steady inroads in U.S. and overseas p.27
– Great Canadian Bagel makes slow but sure gains in Moscow p.27
– Seagull Pewter sells at shows: Family-run giftware operation does business in over 20 territories p.28
– Clearly Canadian launches in U.S. first p.28
