~Industry-leading wine producer partners with Hello Vino to connect with shoppers through their mobile app~
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 12, 2012 - Constellation Brands, Inc. (CBI), (NYSE: STZ and STZ.B), the world's leading premium wine company whose brands include Robert Mondavi Private Selection, Simply Naked, Estancia, Thorny Rose and Ruffino, has launched a new mobile marketing program in the northeastern U.S. featuring new products and popular wine brands within the Hello Vino mobile app during the industry's busiest season.
Constellation Brands will utilize push notification and sponsorship features through the Hello Vino mobile platform to deliver rich contextual messages and assist shoppers with wine purchase decisions at the point-of-sale. Hello Vino provides the only channel through which wineries can reach pre-qualified wine consumers on their smartphones based on the location, time of day and specific occasions for buying wine. Preliminary results for November indicate 18 percent conversion rate (intent to purchase) and 13.9 percent engagement rate (clicks/taps on recommendations), outperforming digital marketing benchmarks in social media advertising, banner advertising and paid search campaigns.
The free Hello Vino mobile app, available to both iPhone and Android users, serves wine recommendations to consumers based on personal taste preferences, special occasions and meal selections. Featured by Apple, FOX News, and The Wall Street Journal, Hello Vino serves an installed base of 950,000 wine consumers - the most among more than two-thousand wine-related mobile apps.
"Our mission is to assist shoppers with personalized wine recommendations while delivering helpful educational content at the point of purchase," remarks Jim Kopp, vice president of Strategic Development for Hello Vino. "The Hello Vino app is a valuable supplement to retail wine programs, acting as a digital/mobile shelf-talker."
The program builds on CBI's foray into the mobile space which was launched last year in California. Today's current program is targeting consumers in the Northeast covering Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Constellation Brands plans to reach millennial consumers currently utilizing their smartphones while shopping to make more informed purchases. In the U.S., 74 percent of adults aged 25 to 34 own a smartphone (Nielsen, 2012). A recent survey by SymphonyIRI Group reported that smartphone apps are the top digital influence on brand selection for U.S. millennial shoppers (July, 2012).
"We are thrilled to enable wine shoppers with the information necessary to make better-informed wine purchase decisions," said Chris Fehrnstrom, chief marketing officer, CBI. "The Hello Vino mobile app serves as the ideal vehicle to foster a personalized shopping experience and deliver educational content."
About Constellation Brands
Constellation Brands is the world's leading premium wine company that achieves success through an unmatched knowledge of wine consumers, storied brands that suit varied lives and tastes, and more than 4,400 talented employees worldwide. With a broad portfolio of widely admired premium products across the wine, beer and spirits categories, Constellation's brand portfolio includes Robert Mondavi, Clos du Bois, Kim Crawford, Inniskillin, Franciscan Estate, Mark West, Ruffino, Simi, Estancia, Corona Extra, Black Velvet Canadian Whisky and SVEDKA Vodka.
Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ and STZ.B) is a S&P 500 Index and Fortune 1000® company with more than 100 brands in our portfolio, sales in about 100 countries and operations in approximately 40 facilities. The company believes that industry leadership involves a commitment to our brands, to the trade, to the land, to investors and to different people around the world who turn to our products when celebrating big moments or enjoying quiet ones. We express this commitment through our vision: to elevate life with every glass raised. To learn more about Constellation, visit the company's website at www.cbrands.com.
About Hello Vino, Inc.
Hello Vino delivers wine recommendations to mobile phones, assisting consumers with the perfect bottle of wine for a meal, occasion, or according to taste preferences. The service is available on any smartphone through free iPhone and Android apps, as well as mobile web sites for BlackBerry and Windows Phones. More information, including video demonstrations and features, are available at HelloVino.com
CONTACTS
Media
Marc Berger: 415-912-3707
Angela Howland Blackwell: 585-678-7141
Hello Vino: Jim Kopp: 800-599-8478, ext. 702
Investor Relations
Patty Yahn-Urlaub: 585-678-7483
Bob Czudak: 585-678-7170