This article is a gently edited version of the latest episode of The Wine Marketer’s Radar—our weekly series connecting wine brands with the business and marketing trends that matter most.
This week, we’re talking leadership, memory, marketing, and momentum. From boardrooms to your browser, we’ll explore the culture shifts that are shaping how consumers think, how businesses adapt, and what wine brands need to do now to stay relevant.
Let’s get into it.
Intergenerational leadership isn’t just good PR. It’s good business.
This week’s first story comes from the World Economic Forum, and it’s about a big shift in how smart organizations are thinking about leadership, innovation, and resilience.
According to new research highlighted at Davos, companies with Intergenerational leadership saw up to 1.8% higher company value compared to those with older, more traditional leadership. Why? Because younger leaders bring something companies urgently need right now: digital fluency, early trend detection, and a deep understanding of social and environmental expectations.
This is especially relevant as technology and AI evolve quickly, consumer trust becomes harder to earn, and sustainability becomes central to brand reputation.
The report pulls together data from PwC, MIT Sloan, and McKinsey to show that younger leaders:
- Adopt emerging tech faster, especially generative AI
- Drive more socially responsible decisions
- Help boost innovation, adaptability, and long-term resilience
But here’s the catch: most corporate boards aren’t there yet. In the U.S., the average board member is 63 — and that number is still rising.
Why it matters for wine marketers
The wine industry loves to talk about legacy. And with good reason — history, heritage, and craftsmanship are a big part of what makes wine compelling. But let’s be honest: most wineries aren’t bringing younger voices into strategic roles. And that creates a risk.
Whether you’re building a DTC strategy, rethinking your packaging, launching new wines, or trying to reach Gen Z drinkers, the people in the room making those decisions often aren’t the people experiencing the culture shifts firsthand. That disconnect can lead to:
- Flat messaging
- Outdated assumptions
- Missed opportunities in tech and marketing
- And internal resistance to change
Younger leadership doesn’t have to mean putting a 25-year-old on your board tomorrow. But it does mean building real feedback loops — not just internships or marketing input, but strategic consultation and advisory involvement. And if you’re a founder-led winery or family business? You’re in a unique position to do this well.
Takeaway:
If you want to build a future-focused wine business, start treating generational diversity as a strategic advantage.
That might mean:
- Creating a young advisory group to give input on marketing, tech, or sustainability
- Co-creating content or experiences with emerging voices inside your own team
- Or even carving out formal board seats or project leads for next-gen talent
Speaking of younger voices reshaping the future…
What Gen Z is doing with ChatGPT… and why older brands need to catch up
This week, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman gave one of his more revealing interviews, and buried in the product updates and roadmap talk was a fascinating observation about how different generations are using ChatGPT.
Here’s the gist, in Sam’s words:
“Older people use ChatGPT like a Google replacement.
People in their 20s and 30s use it like a life advisor.
But college students? They’re using it like an operating system.
They don’t make big life decisions without asking ChatGPT what to do.”
That’s not hyperbole. Altman says young users are setting up their own complex systems, tying in files, using long prompts they’ve memorized, and essentially running their lives with this tool.
This goes well beyond tech adoption — it’s about behavior. Altman compares it to the generational divide we saw with smartphones. When the iPhone launched, older adults took years to fully adapt. Kids, meanwhile, picked it up intuitively. The same thing is happening now with AI. And that gap shows up not just in how people use tools, but how businesses are preparing for the future.
So what’s the takeaway for wineries and wine marketers?
If you don’t have Gen Z voices actively shaping your strategy, it’s unlikely you’ll even see this behavior shift coming. Right now, a large swath of future customers are building new routines powered by AI. They’re not just searching “best wines for summer.” They’re asking ChatGPT to plan a weekend itinerary. To recommend gifts. To summarize wine labels. To write tasting notes. To help them understand the category.
And from a business operations standpoint? There’s a huge opportunity here for smarter workflows, smarter content, and more relevant engagement, powered by tools your younger employees probably already know how to use better than you do.
Now, let’s shift from how people are making decisions… to why they’re making the ones they do. Because this next story challenges a myth that’s especially persistent in wine.
This week, Professor John Dawes of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute published a powerful reminder in Marketing Week—one that every wine marketer should internalize:
People don’t buy the best product. They buy the one they’ve heard of.
Dawes calls this the “product superiority myth.” It’s the idea—especially common among technically minded founders—that if your product is truly better, people will somehow figure that out. Or worse, that if your product isn’t the best, you shouldn’t advertise at all.
But here’s the reality: most buyers don’t compare every option. They don’t read every label. They don’t dive deep into winemaking specs or awards lists. They rely on what they already know. And that knowledge comes from mental availability—a fancy way of saying: Do they think of you when it’s time to buy?
And for most wine brands? The answer is often no.
According to Dawes, the average consideration set in a B2B category is just three brands. Even fewer in DTC. That means if you’re not in someone’s head before they start browsing, you’re not in the running at all.
What gets you there? Consistent visibility. Regular advertising. Building familiarity over time, before a customer is ready to buy.
This is a critical reminder for wineries stuck in the trap of “Our wine speaks for itself.” Maybe it does. But if no one hears it, no one buys it. Visibility beats quality every time.
Takeaway:
Advertising isn’t about tricking people into buying something mediocre. It’s about making sure the right people know you exist—so when they’re ready to buy, you’re on the list.
Before we close: a small but powerful reminder that learning belongs to everyone.
Did you know that Harvard offers over 100 free online courses across business, leadership, art, culture, and more, with even more on the way.
At a time when political efforts have aimed to restrict access — especially for international students — Harvard is choosing to open its digital doors wider. And we think that’s worth celebrating.
So whether you’re a winery owner rethinking strategy, a marketer brushing up on the psychology of persuasion, or just a wine lover with a curious mind, you don’t have to be on campus to keep learning.
