St. Francis Winery & Vineyard has always marketed its red wine to men as a “bold-flavored companion to red meat.” In an effort to appeal to a broader audience and generate discussion about the brand for long-term brand building, the company decided to position it in the female-dominated home entertainment category.
“A lot of the wine choices... are made by women,” says Christopher Silva, president and CEO of St. Francis. “We're trying to... get our quality, wines, and story in front of as broad an audience as possible.”
Strategy
The PR team, including AOR Sharp Communications, tapped renowned event stylists to provide tips at a series of seminars on seasonal home entertaining trends. Events took place at Bloomingdale's home departments in six key markets. “[We] want to target a successful female who likes to entertain... [Bloomingdale's] demographic fit in well with our target audience,” Silva says.
Silva personally provided wine tips at each event and discussed the company's “story.” “Farming is big part of the story,” he says. “[Stylist] Wendy Creed did a good job talking about how that ties into entertaining.”
Tactics
“[The campaign] was a way to... reach home editors... we wouldn't be able to reach with just a wine pitch,” says Emilia Vincent, event planner and publicist at Sharp.
Tactics included in-store events, a national sweepstakes, and a promotional microsite. Aside from inviting lifestyle editors to the events, the team targeted local broadcast, newspapers, and calendar listings, and national media surrounding the sweepstakes.
Results
All events sold out, and the team decided to add an extra event in San Francisco. Vincent explains a vast age range and “surprising amount of men” exceeded an expectation that attendance would be limited to 22- to 55-year-old women.
Future
The company is talking with Bloomingdale's about a similar partnership next year.
PR team: St. Francis Winery & Vineyard (Santa Rosa, CA) and Sharp Communications (New York)
Campaign: Savvy Style… Entertaining with Wine
Duration: May-September 2008
Budget: $50,000
“A lot of the wine choices... are made by women,” says Christopher Silva, president and CEO of St. Francis. “We're trying to... get our quality, wines, and story in front of as broad an audience as possible.”
Strategy
The PR team, including AOR Sharp Communications, tapped renowned event stylists to provide tips at a series of seminars on seasonal home entertaining trends. Events took place at Bloomingdale's home departments in six key markets. “[We] want to target a successful female who likes to entertain... [Bloomingdale's] demographic fit in well with our target audience,” Silva says.
Silva personally provided wine tips at each event and discussed the company's “story.” “Farming is big part of the story,” he says. “[Stylist] Wendy Creed did a good job talking about how that ties into entertaining.”
Tactics
“[The campaign] was a way to... reach home editors... we wouldn't be able to reach with just a wine pitch,” says Emilia Vincent, event planner and publicist at Sharp.
Tactics included in-store events, a national sweepstakes, and a promotional microsite. Aside from inviting lifestyle editors to the events, the team targeted local broadcast, newspapers, and calendar listings, and national media surrounding the sweepstakes.
Results
All events sold out, and the team decided to add an extra event in San Francisco. Vincent explains a vast age range and “surprising amount of men” exceeded an expectation that attendance would be limited to 22- to 55-year-old women.
Future
The company is talking with Bloomingdale's about a similar partnership next year.
PR team: St. Francis Winery & Vineyard (Santa Rosa, CA) and Sharp Communications (New York)
Campaign: Savvy Style… Entertaining with Wine
Duration: May-September 2008
Budget: $50,000
