CASE STUDY: Creation of the Wine Symposium of the Finger Lakes brand
Client: Geneva Growth, Inc.
Project: Branding the Wine Symposium of the Finger Lakes
Duration: Eight months, ongoing
Situation:
Geneva Growth wanted to create an event that would draw national and international attention to the Finger Lakes Wine Region as well as to the City of Geneva as a central location for wine education and exploration of the Finger Lakes Wine Country.
This was an inaugural event. The criteria and format for this event came from a group of leaders in the Finger Lakes wine industry along with the support of local government and businesses leaders. This event was modeled after similar events of this kind in the industry.
The goal was to create a brand that appealed to a wide audience: the wine enthusiast, the local wineries, potential sponsors, promoters and presenters. It had to project the sophistication that people associate with the making of fine wine.
Solution:
InHouse created a brand that reflected the essence of the event: a high-quality, educational, and entertaining experience about local food and cool-climate wines from the Finger Lakes Wine Region.
We helped to organize a wine competition, the Finger Lakes AVA Riesling Challenge, to bring local, national, and international attention to the quality of Finger Lakes wines and to create some excitement in the industry about the event. The winners were announced at a grand tasting during the event.
The marketing plan included both traditional and social media marketing media (locally and nationally), newspaper advertising, press releases, and promotional collateral that reached out to local and national markets.
Results:
Sold out! The combined efforts of everyone involved added up to a very successful event. The participants’ and presenters’ reaction to this successful event was very positive and it definitely generated excitement and media attention for next year’s event.
Plans are near completion for the second year with a sponsorship buy-in increase of 34%. We expect to double attendance numbers this year.