Leeann Froese
For this inaugural article on marketing which will encompass all kinds of subjects that fall under marketing, including event planning, publicity, packaging, branding, social media, storytelling and more, I thought maybe I should do a little bit of an introductory post & set the tone.
To briefly introduce myself, I own a small agency located in Vancouver called Town Hall Brands. My husband Andrew von Rosen, a graphic designer, and I own the company together. We are a full-service marketing agency with a focus on marketing and branding for personalities, their places of business, and their products. We have a deep specialization in wine, food, and hospitality and, (surprising to many) sports. We are called Town Hall Brands because before anything of societal importance happens there is a “town hall” meeting to hear from and bring parties together, and the core value of our agency is to gather and collaborate.
For the past two decades I’ve been on teams that have branded and launched many well-known wineries here in British Columbia, and we serve clients internationally as well. A fun fact for the ‘orchard’ readership of this publication is that I was the publicist that initially launched the Ambrosia apple.
In the 22 years that I have been at it, I have realized that no matter the size or type of organization, we all seem to have the same needs. The questions seem to be archetypal: we are approached by companies on how they can get their name out there, develop their brand, and what marketing ideas they can employ that are going to help both attract and stand out from the crowd.
What are you stuck on? What do you want to see? If you are an ‘orchard’ reader, what marketing issues do you have that you need tips on? Please contact Lisa Olson and let us know.
This column will primality focus on businesses that have a brick and mortar location and value-added products and experiences to sell. Getting right to it, let’s look at some tips for this time of year.
Focus on the Season to Come
Here in BC, tasting room sales can make up to 40% or more of a winery’s direct sales. And cellar door sales are the most profitable channel, so linking to tourism and attracting visitors to wineries, hotels, and restaurants will lead to increased profitability.
Before the visitor season and the demands on your time get really pressured, here are suggestions for you now:
Evaluate Your Curb Appeal
While you are not servicing customers, step to the other side of the tasting bar, and take a look. What do you see? Can you improve the appearance? Is it tidy, attractive and easy-to-access? What is the first thing that people see when they pull into your driveway? Does your sign need a paint job? How clean and appealing does your winery look compared to your neighbours? You might not have flowers in bloom yet, but you can definitely plan your landscaping. Does your picnic area need to be cleaned up? All things to think about when it is quiet.
Consider: what's going to make your customer experience an amazing one in your space? What extras in your environment will allow them to have a really great time and want to linger and have a glass of wine?
There Is Strength in Numbers
Go and meet with your neighbour, and see how you can collaborate.
Work with nearby restaurants, farms, breweries, distilleries or other companies that offer related activities to what you do. Bundle your offerings.
These ‘bundles’ should be comprised of complementary but non-competing activities that will enhance the visitor experience, and give them more reasons to stay in your area. You can work together to create a package that could include visits with each other, or you can simply refer visitors to and from one another's properties.
Consider the shoulder season.
You need to bring traffic into your tasting room during the quiet, less-travelled time of year (over the winter to about the end of April), so what kind of unique things can you do to encourage people to visit you during those winter months?
For example, there have been successful collaborative initiatives around holidays such as Valentine's Day, where wineries from a region have joined in, all on the same day, to partner with a bakery or chocolatier and customize wine and chocolate pairings. Look way ahead: perhaps there are end-of-harvest celebrations that can take place as winter approaches. Some wineries hold winter wine activities as well. Think about what you can do to collaborate with local restaurants or your neighbors to make something unique happen that will bring traffic to the area and populate hotel rooms.
Join Your Regional Wine Association
Be willing to cooperate and share. In order to have successful tourism you need to be proud of what your entire area offers; not just your own farm, vineyard, business, and people, but also those across the road. Band together and pool resources to co-market yourselves, host events together, and so much more. And when the visitor is offered not just a single encounter, but an entire region with diverse offerings, there is so much more potential for a diverse and memorable experience.
Leeann Froese owns Vancouver-based Town Hall Brands – a full service marketing agency that specializes in wine, food, and hospitality. See Leeann’s work at townhallbrands.com or follow online at @townhallbrands