THE CHALLENGE: Washington State is the second largest wine-producing region in the U.S. (behind California), and the U.S. is now the world’s #1 wine-consuming nation. We needed to find a way to elevate the voice of Washington State wine, who had fairly low awareness nationally, to reinforce the unique story of Washington State wines and increase sales. We recognized through research that LGBTQ audiences were 42% more likely to drink wine than the general population (49% LGBTQ wine consumption vs. 34.5% for the general population).

RESULTS: We crafted the character named “The Recommendeuer” played by Greg Proops. He communicated all things Washington State Wine in a fun, approachable yet informative manner in a full-scale consumer campaign in select target markets. Elements included digital video, audio, display, print, point-of-purchase and tasting events. We used our media technologies and targeted buying skills to increase consumption of Washington State wines in the valuable LGBTQ audience segment. Washington State Wine achieved statistically significant gains among sommeliers, retailers, and consumers. Share of recommendations among critical national wine retailers and restaurants rose from 12.8% to 18.1%, a 41% increase. We drove a goal-busting 152% increase in total consumer table wine sales while we garnered 67% added value on top of the paid media budget. We even won eleven advertising awards for our work.