Cornerstone Communications, New York

CASE STUDIES

The Client

Montes, one of Chile’s leading wine producers and a driving force behind Chile’s quality revolution.

The Challenge

In 1999, Cornerstone successfully launched Montes Alpha “M”— Chile’s first ultra-premium wine. What do you do for an encore? Within the seen-it-all world of New York’s wine media, our challenge was to launch a second ultra-premium wine, Montes Folly. This was part of a long-range strategy to build the image of Chilean wine from a country better known for “supermarket values” to a credible platform for top quality wines.

The Strategy

Cornerstone advised using the winery’s ultra-premium marques as the locomotive for the brand’s image, beginning with Montes Alpha “M”, an award-winning Bordeaux-style red blend. Four years of carefully orchestrated targeted events, VIP mailings, and editorial placements gained momentum for the brand, thus setting the stage for the Montes Folly introduction.
Angel designed by Ralph Steadman for the Folly label
Cornerstone took the winery to the next level with the 2002 launch of Montes Folly, the first ultra-premium Syrah from Chile. To differentiate the two top wines, we selected a novel approach of humor. Given that the label for Folly was designed by prominent illustrator Ralph Steadman, we invited him to participate in the press launch held at a leading New York restaurant. Following a serious technical tasting given by the esteemed winemaker Aurelio Montes, Steadman jumped up and surprised the audience with a slide show of his work— a hilarious, irrepressible exhibition that the media and top sommeliers who attended found unforgettable.

Playing up humor as the elixir of the event, we incorporated Steadman’s wacky angel from the Folly label in all our graphics (including a “Save the Date” card, invitation and program) as well as used theatrical angel wings to decorate the venue. Autographed copies of Steadman’s latest book, The Grapes of Ralph, were distributed to each guest along with a complete Montes Folly press kit with all the technical information.

Ralph Steadman's interpretation of "bleeding grapes"
Two weeks later, we sent a follow-up letter explaining a term used in Aurelio’s technical presentation—bleeding grapes—along with a print of Steadman’s comical depiction of the term (a red-nosed man hooked up by IV to a bunch of grapes).

Our concept of contrasting the talents of the two key presenters—the elegant, stately Aurelio Montes and the eccentric, unpredictably amusing Ralph Steadman—worked to produce a magically unforgettable wine press event.
The Folly launch was followed by a national press release and a VIP mailing to key wine writers not in attendance, and extensive personal follow-up to attendees.

The Result

Journalistic response to Montes Folly was consistently positive and high-quality placements were gained, not just for Folly but the entire Montes line as well, validating the strategy that the ultra premium brands would serve as the brand engine.

Full feature articles and significant placements on Montes and Folly appeared in:

Food & Wine
Wine Spectator
The Wine News
American Way
The New York Times
The Washington Times
Ladies’ Home Journal
Wine & Spirits
Bloomberg Markets
Greatest-Quality Producer from Chile in Tom Stevenson’s Wine Report 2004

In addition to several editorial mentions, Wine Enthusiast named Montes “New World Winery of the Year” for 2002.

Montes continues to gain momentum and exposure, with US case sales increasing a dramatic 33% from 2002 to 2003. The idea of high-end, high-priced wines from Chile no longer meets with disbelief as collectors and restaurateurs scramble to get their share of gems like Montes Folly and Montes Alpha “M” as well as the other range of wines in the Montes portfolio.