Undiscovered to discovered: Bringing your wine region in to focus

Thea Dwelle, Luscious Lushes Wine Blog

Liza Swift, BrixChicks, a wine blog

Thea Dwelle, Luscious Lushes, A wine Blog

Is this wine tourism?

Behind the curtain: more than meets the eye

• There is so much more to wine tourism than the well known grape producing regions, such as Napa and Sonoma. There is an entire culture of wine and food that is a large economic part of the region.

• Outside of those primary tourism destinations, and perhaps some of the regions made famous by Hollywood, what do you know of the international wine tourism destinations of Okanagan Valley or Baja California?

• There is more to wine tourism than Napa, Bordeaux, and Australia!

Exposing your region

• One of the primary challenges in attracting wine tourists is making sure that your destination is known as a wine destination beyond your local tourism audience.

• Creating a brand identity for an international tourism audience is paramount to success. This is true for any wine region that wishes to enhance their wine tourism audience.

• How do you reach them? • Partner with your government, leverage social media, be

smart with PR and make it easy for tourists to find you • We will explore how both Canada and Mexico are bringing

visitors to their regions

Learning how to use social media to engage a global audience

• Social media has been evolving, particularly over the

last 5 years. The top social media platforms are powerful tools to help you engage with wine tourists.

• Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and You Tube are great ways to structure your message and hone the art of the soft sell.

• Engage people one on one, or in large groups to create brand awareness for wines, regions, or a countries virtually.

• Allows a consumer to Search, Connect, Engage and spurs sales conversion

Twitter is one of the fastest growing channels in the social media domain. Businesses from mom and pop shops to world wide brands like Nike utilize twitter to embrace and enhance their brand image. Twitter is about building relationships. If you embark on a twitter adventure, be sure that you are able to engage with your followers in a meaningful way. What does this mean? This means you will need to spend a dedicated amount of time reacting and interacting with your followers. Companies and personalities that are successful on twitter actively engage the consumer and begin conversations. Host a Q&A with a winemaker. Host a discussion about the region you offer tours in. Whether you’re a business or an individual, Twitter offers a wealth of ways to expose your region to an international audience. Below are some examples of how we engaged with Baja and Okanagan through social media!

Build Community on Social Media: Search

Build Community on Social Media: Connect

Build Community on Social Media: Engage

Notice that engagement moved from Twitter to Facebook

Build Community on Social Media: The Hashtag • A hashtag (#hashtag) is a searchable conversation string on

twitter. The use of hashtags in the wine industry has exploded in the past 5 years. – Some great examples of hashtags are: – #bcwinechat – #varietaldays

• Varietal days are also useful for associations that wish to promote their region, such as #chardonnayday, which focused on a specific varietal. You can opt to provide media samples, group tastings, and other sponsored events but you can also encourage the wider wine drinking public to just grab a bottle of wine and tweet along.

• Events are planned to coincide with the varietal themes, and wine drinkers around the world can meet each other (virtually) and discuss the wine they are drinking.

Build Community on Social Media: The Hashtag

Varietal Days Inform people who are interested in the varietal but not familiar with your region

• #Champagneday • #cabernetday • #pinotsmackdown • #grenacheday • #tempranilloday

(#tempranilo) • #chardonnayday • #malbecday

.

Pin, Pinboard, Pinning Pin it! Button

Pinner (Joy Cho has over

11 million followers)

Build Community on Pinterest

.

Pin, Pinboard, Pinning Pin it! Button

Pinner (Joy Cho has over

11 million followers)

Build Community on Pinterest

.

Pin, Pinboard, Pinning Pin it! Button

Pinner (Joy Cho has over

11 million followers)

Build Community on Pinterest

http://unbounce.com/social-media/pinteresting-20-stats/

.

What does Pinterest mean for Wine Tourism?

• How can you use Pinterest for wine tourism?

• How can wine tourists use Pinterest?

• Using shared boards

Consistent branding is essential. Your message should be clear, across all social media platforms as well as your traditional marketing materials. Think of international brands such as Nike and Coke. Even though they have progressed through the years, the brand images and core messages are still the same. Coke is it. Just do it. These messages have been consistent through the years giving these brands a core identity that is internationally recognizable today. By building your brand, selling more tours or wine, you will increase your customer base long term. As wine is a long tail business, building a loyal customer today will be a long term relationship tomorrow.

Be Consistent

Engaging the press corps • Before 2012, few people from the US had heard of

the Okanagan. But, waging a 2 year campaign to bring 300 bloggers, media reps and wine industry professionals to the region for the Annual Wine Bloggers Conference has paid off! This year, the annual conference will take place in the region’s heart of Penticton.

• It’s important to expose your region to international travelers. Just because tourist are not yet in your area, doesn’t mean they will not venture to the area in the future. By developing this message early and often, you can place your region and your winery at the forefront of their travel minds.

• While BC wine is rare outside of the immediate location, the clever use of marking has made it a clear and logical destination in my travel mind. Why not pop over from Vancouver for the weekend?

• Kelowna is featured in issue of United Airlines magazine, which is great placement to capture impressions of known travelers, as Sunset, a major lifestyle magazine on the West Coast.

The Power of PR in Print

• Sunset Magazine, the magazine of western living has over 1 million subscribers.

• Covering BC, and 13 western states in the US, they recently covered the Okanagan Wine Trail, exposing Canada’s Grape Lakes.

• By building on the successful west coast tourism to BC and Seattle, Sunset highlighted the area’s proximity to Kelowna, highlighting local winery attractions.

The Power of PR • Sec. Juan Tintos Funcke, Secretary of Tourism of Baja California, worked

with Allison + Partners to drive change from dangerous locale to attractive destination: – Started with press and news – Also on wine and food to attract culinary tourists, who on the average when

travelling internationally spend 4 times the regular tourist – Brought Anthony Bourdain to film an episode of “No Reservations” – Articles in Saveur, Food + Wine, Wine Enthusiast followed and built on efforts

expanding the campaign’s reach • Created Tourist Promotion Trust to get movies like “Titanic” • He says, “"But we think the perception and the image with major events

like having famous people come to Baja and letting them talk about Baja has really helped us.“

• Focused Mainstream media home runs engage many tourists and despite decrease in Mexico’s tourism, Baja’s actually increased and 2012 was “best season in five years”

• He also co-founded Mexico Tourism Promotion Council

Mexico Tourism Promotion Council • Single site • Research • Get Promotion

information • Book travel • Connect with Social

Media

Bringing it all together for Baja

Consistent Brand

Online Print Outdoor/Signage Press releases

Bringing the People to you

• Capitalize on your local tourism and local attractions • Most wine tourism is incidental to other business in

the local region. For example, here in the US. Approximately 90% of wine tourism is directly related to visiting family & friends. Additional wine tourism is an adjunct to business travel.

• By tying wine tourism in to local attractions, you can capitalize on a large user base already in your area.

• In the Okanagan, the lake is a popular destination for summer water sports. Lakeside wineries are an easy and obvious add on destination to these visitors.

Celebrating your uniqueness

• What makes you different? Why should a tourist visit your establishment, and not the one down the street?

What makes you special, Okanagan? • 5 hours from Vancouver • 6 hours from Seattle • 1 hour flight from both

gateways • Multiple micro climates • Regional focus on varietals

• Lake Okanagan is the largest body of water in the Okanagan Valley. A year round destination for summer sports, and winter skiing, the region was first make famous by the local orchards.

• Today, the Okanagan Valley is British Columbia's oldest grape-growing region. Distinct microclimates occur throughout the Valley, from the hot, sandy, desert soils in the southern valley to the cooler vineyard sites in the north, with their deep topsoil and clay.

• Wine vary broadly throughout the valleys. In the north, aromatic whites are the stars. In the south and on the Naramata Bench, Bordeaux style reds are in fashion.

• The BC Wine Institute attracts wine professionals from all over the world, creating a multi-national and diverse culture.

What makes you special, Baja? •Baja’s wine country produces 90 percent of Mexico’s wine •Winery Counts (2011) 48 Wineries Guadalupe Valley 5 Ensenada City 8 Old Wine Route (South of Ensenada) 2 Ojos Negros Valley (East of Ensenada) 4 Tecate, so 67 Total •Wine was outlawed in Mexico from the 1500’s to 1888 • The Valle de Guadalupe is a semi-arid region embraced by a dramatic mountain range and soft marine breezes. This unique microclimate serves to protect the organic grapes and cool the vines at nightfall •Blends are very popular in Baja wineries •Beyond wines, the region also produces fantastic cheeses and olive

What makes you special: Baja? • Rich culinary history

• Culture of hospitality • Delicious wine • Mexico made significant investments over the last

10 years and particularly in 2010 – 2012 to spur tourism

• Among them was to develop 10 Gastronomy Trails • Baja earned the top spot (above tequila)

• Baja California’s wine history stretches

back to the 1700s with the planting of the first vineyards, and today the region produces about two million cases annually and has won international awards. In 2000, Secture, Baja California government’s tourism department, created Baja’s now famous wine route, which connects Tecate to Ensenada through the seven wine-producing valleys, Guadalupe, Santo Tomás, Ojos Negros, Las Palmas, San Antonio de las Minas, San Vicente and La Grulla.

Case Study: Okanagan Valley, BC - Canada

• Over 25 wineries are located in Kelowna with well over 200 wineries in the

whole Okanagan Valley region. • The Okanagan Valley is British Columbia’s largest and oldest wine

region. The commercial wine industry died out during prohibition, but was revived in the 1930s. – It was not until the 1970s that wine in the Okanagan became center stage.

• It is second only in size to the Niagara region in Ontario. • Variety is the spice of life! Merlot, Syrah, Cab Franc, Riesling,

Gewürztraminer! • The southern end of the region is the northern top of the Sonoran

Desert, giving it a common soil type to Eastern Washington • The first commercial vineyard was established by the Osoyoos

Indian Band, making it the only winery owned by First Nation peoples!

Case Study – Baja California, Mexico • Investments and innovations have boosted Baja as a destination and specifically as a wine destination • Have captured celebrities business like: Larry King, Al Gore, Sylvester Stallone, Rick Bayless and Anthony

Bourdain, Robert Redford • Drug cartel activity and news stories are shocking, but Mexico has invested in:

– a:078 (like 800 #) access for tourists seeking assistance – bilingual police – tourist office assistance – green angels protection on the highway – partner with US consulate

• Among Mexico’s Tourism Routes, Baja is #1 • 90% of MX wine is produced in Baja and Food Mexi-med “grows with /goes with” • Wine is attractive adjunct to:

– Culinary tourist – Sport fishing Tourists – Medical Procedure Tourists

• Landscape is beautiful • Cruise ships have Baja as 2nd most popular destination in Mexico. As challenges in other Mexican states

caused cruise ships to close ports, Ensenada has stayed open and built more traffic to Baja’s wine scene • Easy reach of populous Southern California region makes it convenient for local tourists from US actually

reactivated interest in Baja • Opened Wine museum in Valle del Guadalupe

Case Study – Okanagan: Have a festival every season

The Okanagan celebrates every seasonal as a special period in the lifecycle of wine. With four seasonal wine festivals, each focusing on a different milestone in the grape’s lifecycle.

• Spring – the vines are waking up and local winemakers are celebrating a new year!

• Summer – brings warm weather and outdoor dining; crisp whites and summer water sports on the lake.

• Fall – the warm desert days and cool nights are prime for ripe grapes and harvest dinners.

• Winter – the vines are sleeping and the winemakers are hard at work making magic happen. In the few quiet weeks between harvest and the winemaking, enjoy wines on the nearby ski slopes and big red wines on cold winter nights.

Vamos a celebrar la Vendimia! • Held every year in August to draw visitors to the region,

Vendimia attracted more than 729,000 visitors in 2011, hosts both small-family wine producers and large-scale manufacturers and small restaurants to the finest dining options. Wine country also offers boutique hotels, spas, craft centers, community museums, a missionary site, bed & breakfast hotels, art galleries, indigenous culture and natural sites.

• The Vendimia events feature wine tastings, music, contests, art exhibitions and more. Highlights include concerts at Santo Tomás.; Music and Wine in the Clouds with noted ;food and wine pairings and other events throughout the region as well as the closing Paella Fest where more than 80 teams typically compete

Questions & Answers

Thea Dwelle

@luscious_lushes thea@lusciouslushes.com

Liza Swift @brixchick_liza

liza@brixchicks.com

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