The courses will be presented by Dr Johan Bruwer from the University of Adelaide in Australia, a senior academic in Wine Business Management and an internationally awarded market researcher and author in the wine industry.
The first course on offer, Wine Marketing and Global Competitiveness (Introductory), runs from 18 - 19 September and focuses on practical issues for boutique, small and medium-sized wineries who want some directives to help them in the areas of wine marketing, brand building, exporting and wine tourism.
"The overall aim is to allow these wineries to be able to make their marketing decisions based on more solid facts. These are practical, hands-on, best practice sessions specifically aimed at their unique circumstances with a presenter skilled at dealing with the key issues," said Rumboll, Director of the Executive Education unit at the UCT GSB which is delivering the courses.
The second of the courses, Advanced Wine Marketing is a brand new offering for the South African wine industry and runs from 21 - 22 September. It is an advanced level course that focuses on an exposition and hands-on interpretation of wine consumer behaviour, dynamics and trends from an international perspective, for wineries and other stakeholders who want real facts to help them in their marketing efforts.
The Advanced course offers a deeper understanding of the inter-relationships between consumer demographics and wine consumption, as well as insights into wine consumer decision making and buying. It also investigates the drivers of wine consumption in terms of different consumption occasions and settings, and offers new knowledge and skills to understand the effectiveness of the different approaches to wine market segmentation.
Rumboll added that both courses contain a balanced mixture of practical interpretation of wine consumer behaviour research findings and market structure dynamics from an international perspective and discussion of industry examples.
"Both courses will help the local wine community to enhance their wine marketing skills and build on the success that South African wines have had, both on the international scene and at home with wine tourism," she said.
Dr Johan Bruwer, presenter of the two courses, is head of the renowned Wine Business Group of The University of Adelaide in Australia, home of the world-famous Roseworthy wine degrees.
According to Dr Bruwer, there are a number of positives in South Africa's wine industry at present that bode well for the future.
"Overseas markets, particularly markets other than the traditional ones like the UK, are now seriously taking notice of South African wines and the wine styles from the country have become a talking point among distributors and even retailers. A strong point is the very good value proposition of SA wines which really enhances their competitiveness. In addition, SA is now a recognised wine tourism destination - a fact that will drive direct wine sales upwards. There are also indications that a concerted effort to increase wine consumption in the SA domestic market will succeed," he said.
He added that the courses would be of great value to those involved in SA's growing wine tourism as they stress the importance of building strong product and regional brand images, and, there's a specific focus on how important the cellar door is, specifically for smaller wineries.
Dr Bruwer is an internationally awarded market researcher and author with an extensive consulting record in the international wine industry, and has presented customised intensive wine marketing and wine business short training courses on numerous occasions in Australia, South Africa, USA, Chile and Canada.
The courses will run at the UCT GSB Breakwater Campus in Greenpoint, Cape Town. Contact (021) 406 1346 or for details.
