Maximising Awards, Accolades and Good News

Maximising-awards-blog-image-.jpg

So someone has written some nice words about your wine, your product or service. Or maybe you have received an award…great! For smart businesses this is not job done, it’s the beginning of leveraging the accolade to build brand and create sales. Smart marketers AMPLIFY these successes so staff, distributors, sales people and wine lovers know about it.Firstly, if it’s a review ensure you have the correct details of the publication, author and date and ensure the author has given you permission to use it. If it’s a show trophy make sure the name, show, class are correct.

  • Inform your distributors, sales people and Cellar Door teams
  • Communicate the win to your trade customers
  • Update your website – a splash congratulating the winemaking team on the home page is a great way to share
  • Add the accolade to the tasting notes for this wine
  • Share with the online world via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest or other online tools
  • Add to your next customer/consumer/trade e-news
  • Apply medal and trophy stickers on your bottles
  • Update your company email footer to include the information
  • Send a media release to your local media (Note national and regional wine shows send the results to the Australian & NZ wine media so there is no need to send a release announcing your win. However, if you have not sent samples of the trophy winning wine to media it now may be timely to do so)
  • Put up a note in Cellar Door or display for certificate from the Show
  • Put a blackboard outside Cellar Door telling passers-by of the win
  • Cellar Doors and office receptions should have a “Brag Book”, a book with all your positive media clippings. this is updated with each review.
  • Create a special offer for your Cellar Door or Direct Marketing list. If you have limited stocks of the trophy-winning vintage only allow people to purchase one bottle when they buy a six pack or dozen of another wine
  • Create a special Wine By The Glass offer for On Premise customers

Remember – receiving an award or an accolade isn’t enough. It is just the beginning of the AMPLIFICATION process. The most powerful words about your brand come from independent recognition but you must broadcast them to those groups you know are interested and engaged with your goods and experiences.

NewsNicola McConnell