The role of digital platforms in the promotion of Italian wine in China

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to deeply analyse the increasingly important role that social media platforms play in wine promotion in China and how Italian wine businesses can leverage this phenomenon to enter the Chinese market and strengthen their presence there. Firstly, the present research offers an overview of the Chinese wine market, with a focus on post-Covid-19 developments in terms of wine production, consumer behaviour and wine imports to China. Secondly, it delves into the evolution of digital platforms in China, highlighting the increasingly central role they play in retail and promotion in the Chinese market nowadays. Thirdly, it assesses the main Chinese social media platforms, namely WeChat (微信), Xiaohongshu (小红书) and Douyin (抖音), and how wine businesses can harness such tools to enhance customisation, elevate service standards and create innovative marketing and sales campaigns aimed at converting consumers into customers in the Chinese market. Finally, the case of the Italian winery La Collina dei Ciliegi - a wine business that has chosen the Chinese market as its primary export destination - will be presented. In this case study, the main strategic plans executed by the winery in the Chinese market will be analysed, with a specific focus on digital strategies.