El Dorado Winery Association Blazes New Trails in Wine Enthusiast

It’s not every day that you have a chance to transform how an entire industry views itself and its audience. When that industry is steeped in decades of tradition and operating by the status quo, it’s even more difficult to turn the tide. That’s why it’s crucial to move confidently and decisively when the right opportunity comes along. More importantly, it’s imperative that you have the right mix of people working to make it happen.

As an agency, Merlot Marketing is fortunate to work with the El Dorado Winery Association, a team of positive, passionate risk-takers whose focus is on drawing attention and foot traffic to the most diverse wine region in the world. And, when it comes to wine, there are few outlets positioned better than Wine Enthusiast when it comes to reaching an engaged audience of wine lovers both nationally and internationally.

The Process

Working in close collaboration with El Dorado Winery Association and the El Dorado County Visitors Authority, Merlot Marketing secured a full-page advertisement in the 2017 California Bookazine, an annual special publication from Wine Enthusiast that focuses on a specific geographic area each year. Knowing that California will be out of the spotlight for the next four years, we prepared to blaze new trails for the curious wine adventurers who deserve to hear about El Dorado County’s world class wines and recreational possibilities.

[ctt template=”1″ link=”suU77″ via=”no” ].@MerlotMarketing blazes new trails with @ElDoradoWines in the 2017 @WineEnthusiast California Bookazine #winederlust #wineadventure [/ctt]

The end result of our collaboration is an engaging testament to the region’s ruggedly sophisticated entrepreneurs. Developed on an accelerated time frame to meet the publisher’s deadline, the final full-page ad is included below and features “Theo,” our take on today’s resourceful wine adventurer:

EDWA "Theo" advertisement for Wine Enthusiast 2017 California Bookazine

To help you take in the full experience, we’ve also included the ad headline and body copy below:

Maybe it’s time to leave the Silverado Trail behind.

Curious wine adventurers know when it’s time to blaze new trails. Like Theo. Intoxicated by the rhythms of sunshine and moonlight, of wind and rain, Theo followed the open road across continents until the day he discovered El Dorado County and quenched his thirst with the world’s largest, most diverse selection of more than 70 varietals.

Let the road lead you in a new direction. We’ll raise a glass when you get here.

Editorial Feedback

To our great surprise and delight, the Wine Enthusiast editorial team in New York deemed the ad so compelling and on-message with regard to the editorial content within the Bookazine that they elected to use it as the back cover of the special publication. As one member of the West Coast team from Wine Enthusiast shared in an email, “I wanted to say congratulations as well as thank you for creating what we at Wine Enthusiast think is one of the best executions of creative we’ve seen in the wine industry so far.”

This incredible feedback is a true reflection on the value of teamwork, open communication and strategic risk taking. We look forward to pushing the envelope even further and inspiring change within an industry that faces an unparalleled opportunity to reach an entirely new audience that will remain loyal for many decades to come.

 

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