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MULTIVENUE EVENT |
Company: Robert Mondavi Winery, owned by Constellation Brands Inc.
Event: Robert Mondavi Discover Wine, 2008
Objectives: Generate awareness of the Robert Mondavi brand, increase consumers' knowledge of wine in general, and increase sales and market share.
Strategy: Create a multiyear, multicity, wine-tasting tour that piggybacks on existing fairs and festivals, and use tastings, education, and a historical and authentic exhibit to differentiate the company, grow awareness, and cultivate sales.
Tactics: Take the Robert Mondavi Winery on the road via a 50-by-50-foot exhibit situated within an average of nine fairs/festivals per year. Leverage each existing event's promotions
to drive traffic to the tour and enlist celebrity Ted Allen to offer samples and 30-minute educational sessions featuring free food and wine.
Results: During the seven-stop
2008 tour, the company poured
86,640 samples of wine, and
the tour's educational sessions
attracted 4,200 attendees - exceeding expectations by 23,640 and 700, respectively. Based on projected estimates, the 2007, 2008, and 2009 tour collectively generated sales of approximately $3.1 million.
Creative Agency: Grand
Central Marketing Inc.,
www.grandcentralmarketing.com
Budget: $1 million
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 f you can't tell a Casa
Lapostolle Merlot from a Dierberg Pinot Noir, you're not alone. When it comes to this ancient social lubricant, the bulk of U.S. wine consumers, which account for roughly $8 billion in annual wine-sales revenue in the United States, are more greenhorns than gourmets. And unless these appellation amateurs procure their own wine education, there's little chance they'll uncork anything but novice knowledge at their local grocery or liquor stores.
After all, picking a good bottle of wine is like trying to find the perfect melon, minus the aid of the thump
and smell tests. Almost all wine comes in basically the same size and shape of bottle, and labels offer only grape-related gibberish that requires the translation services of a multilingual sommelier. Even if you hit the aisles knowing that you want a nice Italian sauvignon blanc, you're still likely to find hundreds of options to baffle your brain.
So how's a consumer supposed to choose? All but true connoisseurs either pick a pretty label and hope for the best, or they go with what they know - which is almost always something they've already tried. For winemakers, then, getting their bottles off the shelves and into consumers' shopping carts means first getting their vino to cross consumers' lips.
Few winemakers understand this purchasing tenet better than the Robert Mondavi Winery, owned by New York-based Constellation Brands Inc., a producer and marketer of various alcohol brands. Founded in 1966, the Robert Mondavi Winery was the first major winery built in Napa Valley after prohibition. In fact, founder Robert Mondavi, whose marketing prowess and technical advancements have helped develop worldwide recognition for Napa Valley wines, built the Oakville, CA, company on a simple premise: Good wine paired with ample tastings can move wine from the realm of special occasions into the everyday consumer experience.
To that effect, then, the Robert Mondavi Winery has been hosting tastings - both at its winery and via existing events and festivals throughout the United States and Canada - for more than 40 years. Aside from generating mountains of dirty glassware, this taste-before-you-buy philosophy helped transform the winery from a '60s startup to one of Napa Valley's most successful wineries with more than 10 varietals today.
However, shortly after Constellation Brands purchased the winery in 2004, management decided to pop the cork on a new marketing strategy. Despite the winery's early rise to the top, by the late '80s, numerous Napa Valley wineries had taken root on nearly every slope. Plus, financial setbacks from the economic declines of post 9/11 and an industry-wide phylloxera infestation in the '90s (an aphid-like insect that attacks grapevine roots) had begun eating away at the company's market share. So by 2006, management began urging marketers to press out even more effectiveness from the company's tactics, all in an effort to increase brand awareness and reestablish itself as a market leader.
"Up until roughly 2006, we had been doing myriad one-off tasting events at fairs and festivals throughout the United States with some success," says Angus Lilley, brand manager for the Robert Mondavi Private Selection line. "But starting with our 2007 marketing calendar, we decided to change course, limiting the number of events we attended, but significantly increasing our investment and our presence at each one. We hoped that a bigger, more prominent presence would help elevate our brand awareness over that of our competitors, and draw more attendees to our mobile tasting experiences. Plus, given the limitless options currently available to consumers, we also felt it critical to provide people with basic information about wine and the wine-making process to aid in their purchasing decisions."
 Along with this quality-over-quantity approach, Lilley wanted to create an authentic mobile environment reminiscent of the winery. He felt a rugged, realistic aesthetic would emphasize the brand's contributions to the industry and its history of groundbreaking wines - setting the winery apart from other "new to the hill" brands.
Mixing education and tastings with the authenticity of the 44-year-old brand, Robert Mondavi ultimately hoped to drive increased awareness, publicity, and sales though a mobile tour. "We hoped the tour would generate familiarity among participants so that the next time they hit the wine aisles, our brands would end up in their shopping carts while other anonymous, unfamiliar brands would continue to collect dust on the shelves," Lilley says.
Que Syrah
Challenged to transform a series of low-key tasting events into a prominent mobile tour, Lilley and his internal marketing team turned to a fine blend of marketing experts at New York-based Grand Central Marketing Inc. The newly formed team quickly identified key areas for improvement, but retained a critical tactic from the previous program: piggybacking on existing fairs and festivals.
"Food and wine-related fairs and festivals are the perfect place to host educational and tasting events," says Matthew Glass, CEO at Grand Central Marketing (GCM). "They come with a built-in target audience of foodies and wine enthusiasts, and participating in these events means simply scheduling a tour stop into your calendar, negotiating space, and showing up with a sizeable presence. You don't have to find a venue, rent the space, identify an audience, promote your presence, etc. More importantly, attendees are happy to spend time with you. They've already devoted a day or an afternoon to the festival, so spending an hour with you is perfectly fine with them."
As the GCM team continued planning the tour, they soon realized that these fairs and festivals offered another benefit - cross-promotional opportunities for everyone involved. "If we select the right events, negotiate effectively, and bring a value-added experience to the table, it's a win-win for the tour and the event," Glass says. "If our educational sessions and tasting events draw people to the event, organizers use our presence to promote their event, thereby offering us added publicity. And of course, we promote our presence via press releases and pre-event activities, which feature the name, location, and dates of the event, so we also promote the event for the organizers. Leveraging the value we bring to events helps our negotiations, allowing us to score discounted event space or special mention in the event's promotional tactics - and sometimes, our full schedule of educational sessions are printed as part of the calendar for the entire festival."
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Attendees explored the various scents, or essences, involved in the wine-making process at the essence station.
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So GCM and Robert Mondavi quickly hammered out a list of eight food and/or wine festivals for the 2007 tour calendar - including everything from the Taste Addison food festival in Texas to New York's Harvest in the Square festival. Meanwhile, GCM designed the first iteration of the tour's mobile exhibit.
Admittedly, GCM and Robert Mondavi took the conservative route for the 2007 launch, coined the Crush in the City tour. The mobile exhibit featured a 3-foot-tall cedar fence surrounding a 35-by-50-foot space. Within the fence, a 9-foot-tall entryway arch featuring the Robert Mondavi name welcomed visitors to the experience. Filled with rental tables and chairs, a roughly 400-square-foot area hosted an average of four educational sessions per day, including wine primers and food/wine pairing presentations.
The rest of the space was devoted to tasting stations, where staff offered attendees their choice of two samples from Robert Mondavi's Napa Valley line. Nearby, 20-foot-tall graphics featured images from the vineyard, and a backdrop of five wine barrels stacked roughly 5 feet tall added a nod of authenticity. While the tour was a clear improvement over the multiple mini events Robert Mondavi had created in the past, the exhibit was rather blasé, and soon the team began making plans to up the ante for 2008.
But at least one 2007 tour element was spot on straight from the start: the use of Ted Allen - TV personality and host of "Chopped" and "Food Detectives" on the Food Network - as a brand ambassador. "As part of his contract to act as the Private Selection brand ambassador for the company, he promotes all of our mobile-tour events," Lilley says. "He goes to the host city a day or two before the event to make TV appearances and do radio interviews to talk about the world of food and wine - and to promote the event and our presence within it. At roughly half of our events, he also hosts cooking demonstrations in our mobile exhibit, drawing even more consumers to our experience."
Despite Allen's star power and the initial success of the 2007 tour - which distributed more than 50,000 wine samples over eight events and set the tone for the next two years of the tour - GCM and Robert Mondavi soon realized they needed to ratchet up the authenticity factor and create a more prominent presence.
Not Too Chablis
For the tour's second year, the team drew up a list of seven events, including four repeats from the 2007 calendar (held in Chicago, New York, Atlanta, and Addison, TX), and three additions in Palo Alto, CA; Charlotte, NC; and San Diego. But this year, the team expanded the mobile exhibit to a roughly 50-by-50-foot space that better encapsulated the essence of the Robert Mondavi Winery. While Ted Allen appearances and event-related promotions continued unchanged, the team cranked up its public-relations machine one cog more, issuing press releases to local and national media outlets and driving attendance via promotions on its Web site.
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Food Network star Ted Allen served as brand ambassador and hosted cooking demos at many of the mobile tour's stops.
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The resulting mobile exhibit, which was designed by GCM and constructed by Rainier Industries Ltd., a Tukwila, WA, manufacturer of various tent, shelter, and display products, featured reconfigurable components that could be adapted to various event footprints. Most often, the exhibit comprised two adjacent but functionally separate spaces - a wine-tasting area measuring roughly 30-by-30 feet and a 20-by-50-foot presentation theater (a portion of the 2,500-square-foot space was left open for mingling). It also featured the same welcome archway used in the 2007 set, while eight banners positioned on the corners of the two spaces offered black-and-white images of founder Robert Mondavi along with his quotes about the nature of fine wine and its everyday pleasures.
Beyond the archway, attendees found an open, airy space comprising tensioned-fabric sailcloth overhead and mahogany-stained, 6-by-6-inch wooden beams reminiscent of the post-and-beam construction used at the Napa Valley winery. Off to their right, attendees encountered two wine-tasting bars. Here, at least two of the 12 to 15 staffers on hand to provide education and answer questions (several of which were sommeliers well versed in wine in general and Robert Mondavi's offerings in particular) poured samples from six wines, four from the Private Selection and two from the Napa Valley line. But even the bar tops carried the sense of authenticity and authority found in the winery, as they featured hand-cut Italian glass in sumptuous shades ranging from dark chocolate to maple syrup.
Glasses in hand, attendees then perused the various educational offerings within the tasting area. "Wineries are about the soil, the grapes, and the wine - not high-tech gizmos and distractions," says Ted Skala, vice president of design and production at GCM. "So we tried to stay as natural and low tech as possible with everything from the signage to the educational offerings."
A single monitor mounted to an overhead beam showed looping video of the vineyard, including images of the cellars, grape harvesting, etc., along with a soundtrack describing the winery and the harvesting process. Nearby, an essence station, meant to recreate a mobile version of the Essence Tour offered at the winery, allowed attendees to explore the various scents, or essences, involved in the wine-making process. Each of 10 stainless-steel canisters attached to the station featured a different essence for attendees to sniff, including everything from lemon grass to chocolate. Graphics above the canisters provided information about the different grapes used to create the essences and where each type of grape is grown in California.
Next, attendees moved to the presentation area, where graphics positioned near the entrance provided a presentation timeline for the event.
Attendees had their choice of viewing options, as they could take a seat at one of the table-and-chair groupings surrounding the main theater - each of which featured authentic wine barrels as table bases - or within the 50-seat theater. Here, attendees found 13-foot rough-pine communal tables and equally long teak benches. Covered by a semi-open roof comprising dark-stained wood slats, the theater area recreated the rustic, natural feel of the winery.
The presentation stage served as the theater's focal point, which comprised a half-circle bar/counter made of teak, and an overhead mirror to allow attendees to view the presenter's food or wine preparations even from the last seat in the theater. The same five-barrel display used in the 2007 exhibit made a curtain call, acting as the stage backdrop for the 2008 exhibit.
 Combined, the exhibit structures communicated a sense of history and permanence, like the Mondavi brand itself. "The exhibit has an extremely large physical presence, especially compared to the type of pole-and-tent structures you find at most fairs," Skala says. "But the material and color choices offer it a sense of permanence befitting the brand. It looks like a permanent structure that's been there for decades, as opposed to a temporary installment that's only going to be up for a matter of days."
While the structure communicated the authenticity of the brand and the tastings helped attendees associate the distinctive flavors to the Robert Mondavi name, the educational sessions further cemented this connection. Attendees could choose from three different 30-minute educational sessions, with an average of four sessions scattered throughout each day: a basic wine 101 course that used Private Selection wines to introduce attendees to varietals, a similar back-to-basics session offering specific information about Robert Mondavi wines and its wine-making processes, and a food demonstration and food/wine pairing hybrid.
"The first two sessions were typically run by one of our company's wine specialists, many of whom were master sommeliers," Lilley says. "The third session was usually offered by a chef from a local restaurant or by Ted Allen. The presenter typically picked two of our wines and paired them with two signature dishes. He or she then prepared the food during the presentation, allowing attendees to sample both the wine and the food."
With roughly 50 people in attendance, each presentation was intimate enough for attendees to ask questions and interact with the presenter and each other. Including
the time spent sampling wine, perusing informational offerings, and attending educational sessions, attendees spent roughly 45 minutes immersed in the Robert Mondavi brand - all the while tipping back its product offerings.
According to Corporate Event Awards judges, pairing wine with education transformed what could have been merely a spendy soiree into an award-winning event. "This kind of experiential learning, with the scent stations and educational sessions, elevate this program from a bland wine tasting to a brand- and product-focused corporate event," judges said. "You've got cooking demonstrations, food-and-wine pairing information, a beautiful setting, and wine all around. It sounds like a great party. But underneath, it's also a strategic event that drives sales."
Aged to Perfection
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The exhibit evoked the Robert Mondavi brand, from black-and-white photos of Mondavi to the structure's wooden beams.
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To the delight of GCM and Robert Mondavi all of this tipping and sipping not only exceeded the winery's event objectives, it also helped increase market share. The 2008 tour poured 86,640 samples of wine over seven events, exceeding the company's goal by 23,640 samples. Plus, while the company hoped to lure 3,500 people to participate in its presentations, the educational sessions actually attracted 4,250 attendees. What's more, Robert Mondavi estimates that with pre-event publicity, Ted Allen's promotional spots, and at-event exposure, the award-winning 2008 tour generated more than 170 million media impressions and 121 news stories (including TV, print, online, and radio mediums), compared to its goals of 150 million and 100, respectively.
"During 2007 and 2008, the Robert Mondavi Winery enlisted other marketing and promotional activities to drive sales," Lilley says. "But the mobile tour was a significant part of a combined strategy that grew market share of our Private Selection wines to an 11.5-percent share of its category nationally (the No. 1 position within the Super-Premium category)."
But as you might expect, come 2009, GCM and Robert Mondavi didn't simply reboot the same tour and start again. While they maintained the same exhibit structure from the 2008 tour and kept their list of events to a manageable 10 fairs and festivals, they implemented several new tactics to ramp up the tour's effectiveness for 2009 and beyond into 2010.
To cut transportation costs - and take a small, eco-conscious step toward fewer emissions - they condensed and carefully repacked the exhibit so it fit inside one tractor-trailer instead of the two used in 2008. GCM estimates that this consolidation cut the tour's yearly transportation costs by 38 percent compared to 2008 figures. Of course, the team created a graphic wrap for the trailer's exterior to provide on-the-road exposure as well.
What's more, to allow even more people to sample the wine at each experience, Robert Mondavi incorporated additional staff to offer pre-poured samples to people within the exhibit or standing in line. This tactic, paired with a streamlined sample-distribution process, almost doubled the number of samples distributed, jumping from 86,640 in 2008 to 161,550 in 2009. And while the 2010 tour is still in full swing, as of June, it has already distributed 104,700 wine samples.
Starting in late 2009, Robert Mondavi also implemented a PDA-based exit survey to capture attendees' e-mail addresses, which it will use for future promotions, and to gauge attendees' perceptions of the tour, their thoughts about the brand, and their purchasing intent. This tactic alone added 7,853 names to the Robert Mondavi database in 2009, and polling data showed that a whopping 76 percent of consumers who visited the tour planned to purchase Robert Mondavi wine within the next month.
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Experienced sommeliers guided visitors through wine tastings and explained the nuances of Robert Mondavi varietals.
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In addition to the on-site changes, Robert Mondavi developed a microsite that allows consumers to follow the tour, retrieve cooking-demo recipes, and download wine-tasting information. And to further leverage Ted Allen's participation, the 2009 tour included 10 contests, each corresponding with a specific event that urged people to submit questions about food and wine pairing to Allen prior to the event. Allen then answered most questions online and selected five winners to participate in a personal wine and food experience with him.
Based on consumer participation, the team uncorked the same strategy for 2010, planning 10 more contests into the tour season. The team also made two final adjustments to further improve brand awareness. First, to emphasize the brand, they tweaked the tour name to Robert Mondavi Discover Wine. Second, they switched from plain rental glassware (which often arrived or ended up broken and did nothing to promote the brand) to logo-adorned, recyclable, and unbreakable plastic glasses.
All of these tweaks and changes added up to monumental results for the 2009 tour - and 2010 figures appear on par with the previous year's metrics. The 2009 tour poured 161,550 samples and attracted 4,250 attendees to its educational sessions, up from 86,640 and 4,200, respectively. Plus, 2009 sales jumped dramatically in many tour-city locales. For example, "In Arizona, home to the 2009 tour's first stop, sales trends for the four-week period around the event were up 43 percent compared to the same period a year earlier, and up 17 percent for the month following the event," Lilley says.
Granted, it's unlikely that every sampler will walk away from the tour as a lifetime Robert Mondavi convert. But based on a product-sampling study by Arbitron Inc. - which indicated that 58 percent of consumers who sample products will buy those products in the future - Robert Mondavi likely has sampled its way to 173,011 purchasing customers between 2007 and 2009 alone. And even if those customers only purchase one of Robert Mondavi's low-end bottles of wine - say a 2007 Napa Valley Fume Blanc at $18 - that's almost $3.1 million worth of projected sales for 2007 through 2009. And Robert Mondavi, those results are definitely worth raising a glass.E
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