How to Communicate Prosecco Online: A Contrastive Multimodal Analysis of the Consorzio del Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG and the Consorzio del Prosecco DOC Websites and Instagram Pages

Abstract

In the world of wine production and consumption, Prosecco is nowadays one of the preferred products at a global level. The increasing growth this market has experienced in recent years went together with the digital revolution begun in the late 1990s with the World Wide Web, and continuing today with the introduction of the virtual space. This event has brought significant changes to the sphere of product promotion and business communication, which have been moved from the tangibility of paper to the virtuality of Internet and social media. In such context, this research aims to investigate how the two most influential Consorzi di Tutela of Prosecco – namely the Consorzio di Tutela del Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG and the Consorzio di Tutela del Prosecco DOC – employ the digital resources at their disposal to promote their product and their philosophy. Moreover, it is examined the way in which the expected characteristics of the potential consumer affect the communication style embraced by said Consorzi. The analysis has been performed in two steps, beginning with a keyword and content-visual analysis of the two websites in their Italian and English versions. In the second phase, a content-visual analysis has been performed on a sample of posts extracted from the official Instagram accounts of the Consorzi. It has been employed a mixed approach, both quantitative and qualitative. The investigation has underlined substantial differences in the online communication strategies adopted by the two Consorzi di Tutela. The Consorzio del Conegliano-Valdobbiadene seems to opt for a didactic and information-driven style, which focuses on promoting the territory of production and the close relationship between locals, history, nature, and the product. The Consorzio del Prosecco DOC is aimed at the casual drinker instead; therefore, the relationship is informal, and the focus is on creating a sense of global community around the product with a brand-like communication approach.