An April Fool’s Joke That Showcased New Tech

Böen Wines used an April Fools’ Day joke to launch new tech aimed at connecting with its customers.

Joe Wagner, owner of Böen Wines in St. Helena, California launched the fictional Böen Terroir Gum on April 1, sending out a press release and posting the “news” to its social media accounts. 

Wagner worked with Camp + King to launch a campaign that began with a film to launch the gum, which the owner said tasted like dirt, giving customers the full flavor of the terroir.

But a second film was later shared that introduced the Ask Joe Virtual Wine Assistant, an interactive platform accessed by scanning a QR code on the side of all Böen 2020 Vintage Bottles.

The user can then have a two-way conversation with an AI-powered virtual Joe Wagner who can answer questions or lead them on a one-on-one wine tasting.

The virtual assistant can also be accessed without a wine bottle by visiting askjoewagner.com.

Boen representatives said the new feature was in line with consumers becoming more comfortable with interacting with artificial intelligence, citing a study by Voicebot.ai in 2020 tha said 61.2% of smartphone owners use the voice assistant feature.

“Today’s modern wine enthusiast is interested in learning about more than just what’s printed on the bottle label. We created the Ask Joe Virtual Assistant to provide consumers with an easy opportunity to dive into the behind the scenes of the wine in front of them as well as to share quick tips and facts,” Wagner said. “I can’t wait for our Böen aficionados, both new and existing, to go through the Ask Joe experience and learn something new.”

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*