The "M Word" that almost destroyed an entire wine industry
Published: Wed, 03/11/20
A few years ago, when I lived in The Burgle (Roseburg, OR) I was hanging out at a local wine tasting room there, when I got to talking to the guy doing the pours about the movie "Sideways". It's a pretty nifty movie (even if you hate wine) about a couple middle aged guys who take a week long trip through California's wine country.
Anyway, they are about to meet some chicks at a restaurant.
But, before they go in, one of the guys says:
“…if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any f___ing Merlot!"
And guess what?
This one line in an indie movie with a $12 million budget...
Killed Merlot wine sales!
And I mean, just killed them. It gave Merlot a terrible stigma. Made people think it sucks. And, sales dropped everywhere.
Yes, even in other states.
Example:
The guy at the winery I was hanging at said even in Oregon at their winery, Merlot sales plummeted. But, when they changed the name to something else (didn't call it Merlot), sales went back up.
The point?
There are several.
Like, the psychology of wine snobs.
Testing changing your product's name if sales die off.
But, most importantly...
The power of stories.
Humans are "hard wired" to be persuaded by stories.
And they can work either for or against you.
So tread carefully...
In the meantime:
Some of the best storytellers on the planet are copywriters. And, if you want to see the ones whose ads are so good I suggest writing them out by hand to get that proverbial “neurological imprint” for writing great stories that the late, great Gary Halbert used to teach, simply do this:
1. Go inside the Ben Settle mobile app
2. Look for video #23 about the best sales letters to copy by hand
3. If you do not yet have my mobile app, go to:
http://www.elBenbo.com
And follow the instructions for getting a username & password.
Then, follow steps 1 & 2 above.
Ben Settle