One of our four optional pre-conference intensive workshops is titled “Creating Engaging Activities and Events”. We have a fantastic panel of five event creators ready to provide information on the successes and challenges they have experienced in creating wine country events.
Stacie Jacob, CEO Visit San Luis Obispo County – Moderator
- Stacie is extremely familiar with wine country events on both a winery and regional level through her work leading Visit San Luis Obispo County and previously Paso Wine.
Rey Ledda, Executive Director of Integrated Marketing, Sunset Publishing
- Rey will discuss why Sunset is interested in events and highlight the magazine’s event strategy for Sunset including SAVOR the Central Coast, Celebration Weekend, and other partner events.
Holly Holiday, Owner of Create Promotions
- Holly has been active in creating engaging wine and food events that offer a unique twist. Learn more about Bacon and Barrels and its multi-city tour and a new event, Bubblyfest. Hear how Holly combines food and wine assets in unique destinations to create audience engagement
Luke Udsen, California Sales & Marketing and Director of Social Media at Castoro Cellars
- Castoro Cellars culminated 30 years in business by creating a truly unique winery music event, Beaverstock. Capitalizing on their brand mascot, the beaver, celebrating a 30-year milestone in business and bringing together their Sunday concert series, this annual event creates a compelling brand position and engages Castoro’s expansive customer base.
Kendall Carson, Wine Club Manager at Halter Ranch Vineyard
- Halter Ranch has a series of winemaker dinners, vineyard hikes, jeep tours and other unique events that rarely make it to their website calendar before filing up with wine club members. Building brand loyalty through their wine club by offering exclusive wine-club-only events have proven successful for this growing Paso Robles brand. Through a series of renovations on the property, Halter Ranch continues to create unique events that keep their customers coming back for more.
This session will discuss how events are a key part of the marketing mix. Events have a variety of purposes with a common goal to create an experience and a brand impression. This workshop is for everyone: Wineries create events with a key focus to sell wine, organizations create events for fundraising purposes, destination marketing organizations create events to generate traffic that helps fill heads in beds, and publications are part of events to look for further engagement for their advertisers and to connect with readers.