Vin De France boldly embodies the French Touch

There is surely no better way of embodying the French Touch in wine than with the national Vin De France designation. “In its 12-year history, the Vin De France designation has successfully reached the equivalent of 315 million bottles”, explains Valérie Pajotin, director of Anivin de France, the national trade marketing board for Vin De France. Mirroring the music trend stemming from a desire for creative freedom to reinvent house music, the new wave of wine designers is establishing a reputation for VDF globally. The freedom instilled by the designation has spawned a raft of bold wine creators. To illustrate its values and build on this achievement, the board chose to go down the digital communications route in March 2021, focusing on creativity and education. It is drawing on an unprecedented collaboration with nine young, recognised artists from the French arts scene (eg: Mathilde Bel, Franckie Alarcon, Popy Matigot, Beax, etc) who offer their interpretation of the VDF world every month through nine original, limited-edition illustrations and exclusive interviews by VDF.

Instagram, a fun account flying the French flag

With newbies as its primary target, VDF is ramping up its presence on social media, particularly Instagram, with Facebook as a relay medium. VDF stands out for its 100% arty, typically French feed, original content and stories in unique, unconventional and engaging formats. The aim is to get a ‘cool’ educational message across about Vin de France and French grape varieties, and to offer a fun way of delivering VDF wine news. The social media strategy is supported by coverage and recruitment campaigns, simultaneously underpinned by an influencer campaign via a partnership with four Instagrammers from the world of food, wine and lifestyle: Cyril Montegu, Emmy Alexandre, Karin Shibata and Valentin Bourboulou. @vindefrancewines

A VDF-dedicated store locator  

The BtoC and BtoB websites going live in June were designed and developed in the same vein using contemporary responsive design graphics, incorporating flat tints and visuals. They cement relations between VDF members and establish a connection with the public through elaborate, SEO-optimised content. The content in French and English revolves around a primary, impactful theme – education about French grape varieties, which is one of the many attributes of VDF and the cornerstone of the marketing board’s digital strategy. On top of a News-titled blog, the website incorporates a Social Wall promoting interactions with internet users and capitalising on its varietal encyclopaedia that establishes cues for navigating the complex world of wine. Another highly significant new function is the introduction of a Store Locator enabling internet users in France and overseas to locate the nearest store to them retailing VDF. This is a first for a wine marketing board.

The BtoB and BtoC platforms now come under a single, shared domain address – vindefrance.com. This strategic name strengthens the designation’s French image and asserts its international scope.