April 15, 2009
“Dream Big”
[Alpine, Texas. Some of my Stormhoek “Dream Big” posters in the men’s room at Harry’s, complete with 1980’s beer porn. Hurrah!]
It’s been a while since we first put up the Stormhoek sign up in the Far West Texas desert.
“Made in South Africa. Drunk in West Texas”.
I liked that tagline, but I much prefer “Dream Big, Alpine, Texas”. It speaks more to people. It’s not about “Here’s why you should buy our wine”. Whether we’re selling wine, or working in a local garage, it’s more about something larger that we can all relate to, all of us who are lucky enough to live out here.
In small town like Alpine, where I live, word spreads. Real people talking about y’all etc.
When it works, Word-Of-Mouth Marketing works REALLY well. A story about a crazy cartoonist dude with this South African wine gives people something to talk about.
The one thing they do say about the actual product, though, that makes all the difference: “The wine tastes good”.
Granted, that’s not the most sophisticated sound byte there is, but it works well.
People like it. It’s a quality product. My secret, evil plan would die overnight if it wasn’t.
The good news is, in the United States, Stormhoek sold more bottles before April 1st this year, than it sold in the entire 2008. So something out here in Far West Texas is working. Exciting times, Indeed.
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hugh,
if i am in abilene next weekend to see my folks can i swing by alpine and pick some some stormhoek to take back with me to tulsa?
Hugh, when are you going to move beyond the great state of Texas and take a crack at the Oklahoma market? I know it’s not a state that garners the attention of the national news media on a regular basis (other than when something is getting blown away or burnt up), but this is a textbook example of a place where word of mouth can go a long way.
I’ve done had the wine, too! And he’s right. It DOES taste good.
Everytime you write about Alpine I want to move there until I remember that I still have to work & make a living.