Drink and dress: Fun with Chinese wine and Ming Dynasty costumes in Beijing

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By Jim Boyce

A recent 1421 Wines event in Beijing speakeasy-style venue Fubar showed how to provide more fun and marketing pop at a low cost.

The plan was to give away entry-level 1421 Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay for an hour, with the price then rising to rmb14 and rmb21 per glass for the ensuing two hours. Given the brand is named for China’s most famous seaman, Admiral Zheng He, and he lived during the Ming Dynasty, the staff wore costumes of that era.

Those costumes turned out to be a hit as a dozen or so of the 50-plus attendees tried them on during the night. The result is 1421 not only promoted and got feedback on its wine but also saw people enjoy themselves by dressing up, taking photos — sometimes while showing the company’s logo — and sharing them with friends. Yes, it’s a small marketing matter, but it shows how a little effort and money  — costume rental totaled rmb210 (USD35 / EUR25) — can add some fun.

Also, the wine came in martini glasses. The inspiration was a session a month earlier when wine glasses ran out and, rather than cork the bottle, we switched. True, a wine glass bulb captures aromas and allows for greater appreciation of the liquid inside. But this was a fun change of pace and the option still remained of using “proper” glasses.

Note: 1421 was founded by Hong Kong’s Johnny Chan and Chile’s Andrónico Luksic. Spokesman Randy Svendsen — at right, top photo — handles distribution for hotels, bars and restaurants and the wines are now in more than two dozen venues in Beijing as well as in Metro stores throughout China.

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