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Michelle McCue McCue Marketing Communications, LLC [email protected] 213.985.1011
Kimberly Charles Charles Communications Associates, LLC
[email protected] 415.701.9463
Public Relations + Wine Tourism A User’s Guide 2013 Wine Tourism Conference
What the heck is PR?
Public Relations: The Nuts & Bolts
It’s about telling stories
• What’s your story?
• Why do you exist? • What values or attributes distinguish you from
competitors? • More than wine: What do you offer, besides great wine?
What PR Pros Do
• Learn and understand your story • Develop your story
• Understand to whom you’re communicating • Find creative ways to communicate • Keep your story fresh
Who Are You Talking To? Consumers:
• Locals • Drive Market • Long Haul
Writers: • Travel • Wine • Lifestyle
Trade: • Travel • Wine • Lifestyle
Use different tools and approaches to communicate with each group, depending on their needs
Why Tourism Matters
Why Wine Tourism Matters
Today, the income of wine tourism services represents around 20% of global wineries’ income in the world’s major wine regions.
The benefits of wine tourism for wineries is improvement of their image and increase in revenues, as well as social responsibility. What’s your story?
Nationally & In California • There are 70000+ wineries in the entire U.S. • National studies indicate that for every $1
invested in targeted destination tourism marketing, visitor expenditures are increased by $8 to $10
• 20.7 million tourists visit wine regions in California each year and spend $2.1 billion each year
• After Disneyland, wineries are the second most popular destination in California
• Tourism in Napa County generates over $1.3 billion in economic impact annually.
Tasting Rooms & the Bottom Line
• 71% of wineries in the Central region that includes Michigan and Illinois are the most likely to sell the largest portion of their wine (3/4 of direct sales-dollar volume) in their tasting rooms
• Eastern region wineries ranked second in emphasizing tasting rooms, Northwestern vintners ranked third, and Californians last
• All three non-California regions have more wineries selling 76% or more of their direct sales through their tasting rooms.
Tourism = Tasting Room Sales
• Higher margins from tasting room sales than through distribution
• Relationship development through face-
to-face marketing & sales
Getting the Upsell: The Power of Education in the Tasting Room
Tips on getting the upsell Wine clubs with special offerings & incentives
– Columbia Crest: Includes detailed pairing suggestions with their Summit Reserve club shipments
– Raymond Cellars & Alexandria Nicole Cellars: Private rooms available to members only
– Michael David Winery: Discounts applied not only to additional wine purchases but also to local Lodi events via the Sinners & Saints club
Tips for Wineries
Use Secret Shopper Services to improve sales: • WISE Academy & Mystery Shopping: Wineries using this service include Hanzell, Crocker & Starr, Gloria Ferrer, and Clos Pegasse
Develop a proprietary app, for the tasting room & beyond:
Tips for Wineries
Be flexible & responsive, especially when it comes to media visits. Customize!
Tips for Wineries
• Learn about interest areas of reporter • Pitch the round up story • Find a cultural trend to capitalize on • Building in freedom with schedule
• Examples National Geo Traveler • Natural Home magazine
Don’t discount millennials! • Millennials spend more on wine
per bottle and tend to use wine as part of celebrations more than people over 45
• Sonoma State University, Cal Poly
& CSU Fresno carried out a study, which showed:
• Millennials were asked to
purchase just 35% of the time • Millennials were asked to sign up
for email 16% of time • Discounts were offered just 35%
of the time
Tips for Wineries
Tips for AVAs Your AVA is a “destination.” Think like a traveler and anticipate their questions: • How do I get there? • Why should I visit? • Why should I come back? • What unique experiences can I have?
� Events � Tours � Unique tastings � Wineries - intimate vs. grand � Overnight stays � Dining � Regional themes
Think Beyond Wine • Wine is just the hook. What else you got?
• Dining • Hotels • Spas • Shopping • Events • Recreation • Off-season / mid-week programs
Partnerships
Work with hotels, airlines, CVBs, restaurants, shuttles and other tourism partners to create reasons to visit:
• Stay and taste packages • Unique events • Itinerary suggestions
Example: Temecula Valley “SIP” Sept.
Get the word out…through media Media – Wine, travel, lifestyle, news, business, in-flight, bloggers
• Create reasons for journalists (and, by extension, consumers) to visit
• Take your story on the road – desk sides, events, trade
tastings, media dinners • Advertise – use strategic ad buys to drive action or raise
awareness in key markets
Get the word out…online Website: How they find you. Essential storytelling & info resource.
• Itineraries • Maps • Where to stay, eat, play • Getting there/away • Blog/News page • Videos/Photos • Mobilized navigation
Emails: Opt-in, B2C communications. (Remember: boring or too frequent emailing = SPAM) Newsletters: Longer format. Expensive to distribute. Partner websites: Local, regional and state visitors bureaus and other tourism organizations Review sites Social Media
Get the word out…direct marketing
Advertising:
� Pros: You control the story & placement.
� Cons: Expensive & lacks credibility.
Events: Experiences that make them part of your story.
Tasting rooms: Tell your story face-to-face.
Shelf Talkers: Bring your story to the point of purchase.
Examples • San Luis Obispo • Virginia Wine • Finger Lakes
Tips for AVAs: Summary • Think beyond wine • Develop regional themes • Work with area attractions to supplement your story (hotels,
restaurants, recreation) • Provide resources for new visitors:
• Maps • Themed itineraries • Passports • Dining, overnight, transportation recommendations
• Stay current & communicate often • Use the right tools: website, apps/mobile site, pocket-sized
maps • One size doesn’t fit all – for your members or potential
travelers. Create programs that work for different segments.
Tools for Marketing to Potential Visitors
Social Media • Platforms like Facebook,
Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Google +
• Communities like Snooth,
Bottlenotes, Second Glass
Tools for Marketing to Potential Visitors
Social Media • Live tastings
via channels like Brandlive, Ustream and TasteLive
Tools for Marketing to Potential Visitors
Events • Holiday parties, themed tastings, harvest time
events at the winery
• Offsite events including winemaker dinners and tastings in popular markets
Tools for Marketing to Potential Visitors
Tools for Marketing to Potential Visitors Creative offerings • Food & wine pairings
• Arista Winery offers a 5 course food and wine experience, featuring many fresh, seasonal ingredients from the winery’s garden
• Horseback riding
• Kunde Estates, Roche Winery offer this option through their vineyards
• Personalized walks through the vineyards
• Murrieta’s Well offers tours with winemaker Sergio Traverso
Partnerships • Regional organizations & businesses, i.e. food purveyors • Tourism associations, i.e. Visit Napa Valley, Calistoga
Visitor’s Bureau • Other wineries: Passport weekends • Wine communities like Second Glass & Bottlenotes • Wine focused publications like Tasting Panel, Mutineer
Magazine
Packaged Offerings • GiltCity, TravelZoo
Tools for Marketing to Potential Visitors
Resources include:
• Yelp
• TripAdvisor
• California Winery Advisor
Tools for Marketing to Potential Visitors
• AmericanWinery.com: Take virtual winery tours & find out more about various
wineries around the country
• Second Glass.com: Wine Community with online storefront & content focused on Millennials
• Bottlenotes: Wine Community with online storefront & content focused on Millennials
• MobileRoadie.com: Winery app provider
• Yelp.com & Trip Advisor: Winery review sites
• JuiceBoxDirect.com, Ensemble Marketing or Trellis Growth Partners: DTC & Strategic Marketing for the wine industry
Resources & Questions
Questions ?