INNOVATIVE MARKETING SOLUTIONS AND VALUE CREATION IN AGRIBUSINESS: THE CASE OF SLOVAK WINERY

Abstract

The creation of added value in the agro-sector is an essential part of the strategy of any business entity interested in a competitive position in the food market in a local, national, and international context. In the framework of the European Green Deal, the European food system known as the „Farm to Fork“ strategy, must bring the benefits to the climate, biodiversity, and health of population. One way how to achieve is the way of innovations in terms of technological or marketing progress or value added. The value created in the product creation process can be supported by appropriate innovative practices, with the effective involvement of modern marketing tools and the application of market segmentation. Each market segment and each level of the food system need different added value and innovations are perceived differently. Consumer perception we consider as an important aspect in successful implementation of the „Farm to Fork“ strategy at the level of consumer. Using the example of a Slovak wine producer, we point out the possibilities of using innovative marketing approaches to increase the value of a locally produced product (segmentation, marketing communication, event marketing and using social media). We used Google analytics to evaluate the quality of marketing communication. We chose the period from 01/04/2022 to 31/10/2022 as the monitored period because it is the period when the winery is most active from marketing point of view due to many wine tours and wine tasting that take place in observed period Moreover, the observed winery, Frtus Winery, is trying to reach a very specific target group (searching for luxury products) within in market segmentation process, so marketing communication and social media must consider this aspect. To increase the value of using social media for marketing communication, we recommend to create a content plan, use of storytelling and story selling, and to create video content. Using video as a marketing tool can be significant to the marketing strategy. Email marketing is not very new, but still interesting tool of digital marketing. The goal of email marketing is to increase customer loyalty to the brand and encourage repeated purchases. The key is keeping emails relevant and interesting. Last, but not least, we mention the marketing position of ambassador as a person who represents company/brand and cooperates with brand continuously. Ambassador can be an expert in certain field or influential figure. They have significant impact on brand reputation and sales. Keywords: innovative practices, food market, market segmentation, marketing communication, social media JEL: O13, M31, Q01