Marketing Case Studies

How many times have you opted for a beer or a G&T instead of wine at an airport bar? All too often, the wine available at airport bars and restaurants is uninspiring, served in less than perfect condition and frankly does nothing to ease the pain that is modern day air travel.

Select Service Partners however, have recognised this and have developed one of the most interesting wine ranges in London at their new bar and restaurant at London City Airport called City Bar & Grill.

30 wines available by the glass

With a range of over 40 wines and around 30 of those available by the glass, there’s a wine for all palates. In addition to weekly wine tastings, City Bar & Grill have launched six wine flights featuring three 50ml samples. Bibendum worked with the team to ensure that the range of wines was correct and targeted for the demographic frequenting London City Airport. Bespoke training sessions were also undertaken so that staff were fully prepared and confident to sell and serve wine flights.

Customers are thrilled with the chance to try some seriously good wines. The 'King of Grapes' and 'Tour de France' are the most premium wine flights, which offer the passenger the opportunity to taste 50ml samples of fantastic wines such as Meursault Villages Domaine Michelot 2008 and Chateauneuf du Pape Paul Autard 2006.

Individual 50ml samples can also be purchased, affording customers the chance to sample wines they may wish to taste, before committing to buy a full glass or bottle or indeed creating their very own wine flight. The 50ml samples also let passengers who are pushed for time, enjoy a quick but delicious drink before boarding their flight.

The Results

Since the launch of wine flights, the mix of wines sold has improved dramatically. Tasting the wines side by side means that customers immediately understand the appeal of quality, resulting in subsequent trading up with additional purchases. Equally customers enjoy the theatre of ordering a wine flight so it enhances their overall experience.

Richard Gooding, Chief Executive, London City Airport, says: “The provision of such an extensive wine programme, involving weekly tasting sessions and ‘Wine Flights’ is an interesting initiative for London City Airport, and indeed a first for any UK airport. We always look for ways to further enhance the customer journey and we think our passengers will embrace this experience.”

We have been working with the group for many years, with the ultimate aim of selling better quality wine in a fun and quirky way to enhance the wine offer in their business.

Here’s an example of some of the work we’ve done with them:

Four of our favourites

‘Four of Our Favourites’ was the name chosen for the promotion which highlighted four mid-priced wines featured across all of their sites.

To increase the visibility of the wines for the consumer, funky menu clips were created by our in-house design team which drew attention to this offer and paired the wines with food suggestions – in line with the strategic objectives of the group.

Eye-catching posters incentivised staff and communicated the chance to win two tickets to a Cirque du Soleil performance for the person who sold proportionally the most wine compared to the same period last year.

Employees received additional training on the featured wines from our Account Manager. Simple wine guides were also created to be kept behind the bar as a quick information point. In addition the staff were all briefed on how the promotion would run and the function of the menu clips and posters.

With nearly 20% growth in sales of the wines compared with the same period the year before, this was a great example of the effective combination of increased wine visibility and focussed staff motivation.

If you'd like to find out more about how our Marketing Team can help your business and ultimately sell more wine, please contact your Account Manager or get in touch with the Marketing Team.