I want to know if anybody uses weird shelftalkers. Like not from WA or WS. I’ve seen some people use more esoteric critics. And a lot of stores write their own.
The reason I’m curious is that I eventually want to convince wine vendors to use my video blog to help sell wine and I just want to collect a lot of information about what’s being done before I launch into some irrational campaign.
Thanks.
We get PRESS for our signage:
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We write 99% of our own…
POS is important in a store with no sales staff, and I’ve noticed the more creative and fun shelf talkers do better with women shoppers, and the more serious, neat, and rated (scores) one’s do better with men.
I would imagine alot of you guys here don’t have shelf talkers and hand sell most of your selections, which is my desired approach to selling wine.
So I would look at who you are targeting first, then write the shelf talker accordingly.
T-Bone, we don’t need POS to tell people how good things are…we need them to explain WHAT THE F%$# all this crazy stuff that no one else sells IS anyway. We keep it light and funny as there is a LOT of info and most of it is new info for first timers.
We do our own also. The rule of thumb is keep them light and balance information with simple straightforward language. A little humor works also such as:
Mark’s Moist and Tasty Selections…
as a consumer, I have preference for the talkers with the professional reviews; I’m skeptical of the ones written by the retailers unless those retailers have earned my trust over time; I would be more inclined to believe a talker that says “Beto’s Pick” than one that uses the proverbial “we” or “us” (referrnig to “the store”) — including a picture of Beto on the talker is even better - I can look around the store and see if Beto is working, then talk to him about the wine if I choose. I realize I’m probably not your average consumer; I talk-up the staff nearly every time I go in a wine store.
Brian, EVERY wine in our store is a 'Beto Selezzione…literally.
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accountability is a good thing.
… but, would i know that only from looking at your talkers?
One of my favorites, from Ansley wine here in Atlanta…
‘Good shit in a blue bottle’ - hanging around the neck of a bottle of cheap riesling.
Shelf talker - berserker style.
Pretty much. There are pics of me and our import manager walking the vineyards and / or eating an drinking with the producers plus the style of writing is pretty personal. If you’ve ever seen one of our newsletters you would know all of it comes from one person.
Examples:
“Romeo, Romeo, where fore art thou Romeo?”
“I’m right here, on the couch, Jules, watching the game already. Is dinner ready yet?”
Need to put a little romance back in your love life? Try this:
Lento Lamezia Rosso Romeo 2008, Calabria
Greco Nero, Magliocco or Nerello Mascalese join forces in a bright, spicy, molto animale (that’s Italian winemaker slang for ‘sexy”) blend that is silky smooth and delicious and will be perfect with that romantic candlelight dinner for two that you and your NEW boyfriend are planning for the night after you dump Romeo’s sorry behind back at his mother’s house. You GO girl!
A heartwarming tribute to Papa Palamà:
100% Malvasia Nera finished just barely off dry as a tribute to Cosimo’s father who liked a richer wine at the end of the day’s work. VERY rich, smooth and just a smidge sweet, this will shine with duck, lamb or game dishes or maybe some really ripe cheeses, roasted nuts, a fire and the whole family sipping and reminiscing about YOUR Grandpa. Fantastic packaging too.
Palamà Salento Rosso Il Vino D’Arcangelo 2008, Puglia
Got Butter? Wood? Length AND thickness?
A truly Porno-licious Chardonnay from beautiful Sonoma County. Tan, rested and ready, it’s just now in its prime…
Optima 2004Unfiltered Chardonnay
then those are the kind of talkers that would appeal to me, if I’m in the mood to buy something based on a talker.
Brian, check the examples above…
Ahhhh! My buddy Jim Mead and the gang! I love Jim’s TN’s at Trade Shows. Either a happy face, or nothing at all.
That store is really one of a kind! Love it.
Jim got remarried and moved to California last year. He sold the store.
(Full disclosure: these guys are right down the street and therefore competition)
Those signs are recycled and have been placed on different bottles for fifteen years.
I worked in a store where the staff was pressed to write shelf talkers for every wine. When there was nothing good to be said for a wine, the fallback was “Made from grapes!!!” It’s really all about the exclamation points.
If we have nothing good to say about a wine, we don’t say anything about it! Besides, who needs a shelf-talker for white zinfandel?
We write our own notes and also have space on the tag for a score from the WS, Parker, Tanzer, etc. My favorite new tag is for Lini 1910 Labrusca. I found out some NYC celebrity restaurateur opened one on The Today Show, so the tag headline reads: “As Seen On TV!”
Always wanted to do that.
It is worth pointing out that shelf-talkers are as useful to us on the sales floor as they are to customers. This may seem hard to believe, but I actually am not able to instantly recall every detail about every one of the thousands of bottles in our store. The shelf-talker can be a useful memory-jogger.
They are also invaluable in getting new employees oriented to the inventory.
One of my favorites was about a Sangue di Giuda (sparkling Bonarda from the Oltrepò whose name means “the blood of Judas”): This week only, 30 pieces of silver!
Thanks for all that feedback, even from the CRAZY dude with the comic sans shelf talkers that are like six paragraphs long. 
I don’t know why I’ve wasted my life away in stores with normal shelftalkers. 
So one think I’m keying in on after hearing a lot of people out on this issue is that a picture of the winemaker drinking his own wine with a big goofy grin… that’s not a bad idea, right?