You Have the Product. Now What?

How Wineries, Distilleries & Breweries Get Seen (and Sold) Online

You’ve perfected the liquid. The label is sharp. The story is authentic – but the market is noisy and quality alone doesn’t create visibility.

Craft quality is now the baseline. Shelf space is shrinking. Online attention is fragmented. And customers don’t “discover” brands by accident anymore.

If you’re a winery, distillery, or brewery selling direct-to-consumer, the real challenge isn’t production.

IT’S VISIBILITY!

 

1. The Hard Truth: Great Product Is Not a Marketing Strategy

In today’s drinks industry, being good isn’t enough. Consumers are overwhelmed with choice. Online stores are crowded. Social feeds move fast. Search results are competitive.

The brands that grow aren’t always the ones with the best product. They’re the ones with the best visibility system and visibility isn’t random – It’s engineered.

 

2. Understand How Your Customers Actually Buy Alcohol

Before choosing ad platforms, you need to understand behaviour.

Ask yourself:

• Is your product impulse-driven or considered?
  
• Are customers actively searching for it — or discovering it?
  
• Are they buying for themselves, for gifting, or for events?
  
• Is your purchase cycle short (beer) or long (aged wine or premium spirits)?
  
  

A craft brewery launching a seasonal IPA operates differently from a winery releasing a cellar-aged Shiraz. A distillery pushing a limited gin gift pack will market differently than one building a long-term whisky brand – Marketing only works when it reflects buying behaviour.

 

3. Google Ads vs Meta Ads — Not Either/Or, But Purpose-Driven

Advertising isn’t about choosing a platform. It’s about assigning each platform a job.

Google Ads – Capturing Intent

Platforms like Google are powerful because they capture existing demand.

When someone searches:

• “buy gin online Australia”
  
• “best pinot noir delivery”
  
• “craft beer subscription”
  

They already intend to buy.

 

Google Ads are strong for:

• High purchase intent
  
• Specific product searches
  
• Brand defence (owning your brand name)
  
• Converting ready-to-buy customers
  
  

Best suited to:

• Established products
  
• Proven SKUs
  
• Limited releases with urgency
  
• E-commerce stores optimised for conversion
  
  

Google captures buyers. But it rarely creates them.

 

Meta Ads (Facebook & Instagram) – Creating Demand

Platforms under Meta — including Facebook and Instagram — work differently. People aren’t searching for your wine while scrolling – They’re discovering it.

Meta is about:

• Brand storytelling
  
• Visual impact
  
• Education
  
• Lifestyle positioning
  
• New release awareness
  
  

It’s ideal for:

• Product launches
  
• Seasonal campaigns
  
• Building audience awareness
  
• Warming up cold audiences before they search
  
  

Meta builds desire. Google converts it – The strongest producers design both to work together.

4. The Smart Strategy: Full-Funnel Marketing for Producers

Think in systems, not campaigns.

Top of Funnel – Awareness

• Meta ads
  
• Founder stories
  
• Vineyard and distillery visuals
  
• Education about your craft
  
• Lifestyle content
  
  

This is where attention and emotional connection are built.

 

Middle of Funnel – Consideration

• Retarget website visitors
  
• Email capture campaigns
  
• Reviews and testimonials
  
• Limited offers
  
• Product comparisons
  
  

Now you move from interest to intent.

 

Bottom of Funnel – Conversion

• Google Search ads
  
• Shopping ads
  
• Cart abandonment retargeting
  
• Brand search protection
  
  

This is where revenue happens. The mistake many producers make?

They jump straight to “Buy Now” without building desire first.

 

5. What Data Smart Producers Use to Target Better

This is where marketing becomes strategic — not reactive. The producers who win online don’t guess. They use real consumer sales data to guide decisions.

That data often sits inside the consumer platforms you already use — whether that’s WithWine, WooCommerce, Commerce7, VinCreative, or Shopify. But sales data alone isn’t enough. The real advantage comes when your operational system connects directly to those platforms.

When platforms like these integrate with systems such as Vinsight, something powerful happens:

• Consumer sales data connects to inventory
• Marketing aligns with production
• Campaign timing reflects real stock levels
• Margin visibility informs ad spend decisions
• Cash flow planning supports promotional strategy

YOU STOP MARKETING BLINDLY. YOU START MARKETING PROFITABLY. 

 

1. Purchase History

Your consumer platforms reveal:

• Best-selling SKUs
  
• Repeat purchase cycles
  
• Average order value
  
• Cross-category buying behaviour
  
  

If gin buyers return every 90 days, your campaigns should reflect that rhythm.

If customers who purchase your flagship Shiraz tend to upgrade to reserve releases later, your retargeting strategy should anticipate it.

Marketing should mirror real buying patterns — not assumptions.

 

2. Seasonal Demand Data

Your sales systems show:

• When sales spike
  
• Which SKUs perform during gifting periods
  
• How tourism seasons impact online orders
  
• How new release timing affects revenue
  
  

Instead of running generic seasonal ads, smart producers plan:

• Awareness campaigns before peak demand
  
• Conversion pushes during buying windows
  
• Inventory management aligned with marketing timing
  
  

Timing drives profitability.

 

3. Customer Segmentation Data

Not all customers are equal.

You likely have:

• First-time buyers
  
• High-value repeat customers
  
• Subscription or wine club members
  
• Lapsed customers
  
• Event-driven purchasers
  
  

Each segment deserves:

• Different messaging
  
• Different creative
  
• Different offers
  
• Different frequency
  
  

Your VIPs shouldn’t see the same ads as cold audiences.

Your lapsed customers shouldn’t be treated like strangers.

 

4. Geographic Intelligence

Sales data also reveals:

• Strongest postcodes
  
• States with highest conversion
  
• Regions with best average order value
  
• Areas with lowest shipping friction
  
  

This allows you to:

• Scale Google ads in high-converting regions
  
• Build lookalike audiences from profitable areas on Meta
  
• Reduce wasted spend in low-performing markets
  
  

Instead of advertising everywhere, you advertise strategically.

 

6. Common Mistakes Producers Make

Despite great product, many producers:

• Boost posts instead of building structured campaigns
  
• Advertise all SKUs equally
  
• Skip retargeting
  
• Ignore repeat customers
  
• Promote products without checking margin
  
• Run ads for SKUs that are nearly out of stock
  
• Separate marketing from inventory reality
  
  

If you don’t know your true margins or stock position, you’re advertising blind.

 

7. The Core Principle: Marketing Must Connect to Operations

The highest-performing wineries, distilleries, and breweries don’t treat marketing as a separate department.

They align:

• Production planning
  
• Inventory levels
  
• Release schedules
  
• Cash flow requirements
  
• Marketing timing
  
  

They don’t promote products they can’t fulfil. They don’t scale ads on low-margin SKUs. They don’t chase new customers while neglecting repeat buyers – Visibility becomes part of the operational system, not an afterthought.

 

You Made Something Worth Buying. Now Build Demand.

You already did the hard part by making something worth buying.

Now the real questions are:

• Who sees it?
  
• Who wants it?
  
• Who comes back for more?

Producers who treat marketing as a structured, data-driven system don’t just run ads, they build predictable demand. And in today’s drinks market, demand — not just product — is what drives growth.