Connecting with a new generation of wine enthusiasts.

The challenge

Wine is no longer reserved for fancy dinner parties and black-tie events. From happy hours to game night, it’s quickly become the drink of choice for a new generation. With this evolution in Des Moines’s growing wine community, Winefest — most known for its annual, week-long celebration of wine, culture and community — wanted to find a way to connect and build interest with emerging wine drinkers.

Our approach

To create new connections and grow the Des Moines wine community, Winefest partnered up with Anthologic and Shift to refresh its brand and create content that would generate impact year-round.

The solution

The first step Anthologic took was to breathe new life into the Winefest brand. This included updating typefaces and colors to spark more appeal among the broader community. Next, we needed to generate year-round interest leading up to the big, week-long event. Relevant and inclusive social content was created and shared to increase follower counts and spread the word of Winefest to new audiences. The Patron packages were also rebranded — Cava (good), Prosecco (better) and Champagne (best) — to reflect more on the value of the wine instead of an individual’s status or wine experience. To ramp up excitement as the event approached, paid ads were placed in local publications. An animated video version of the event poster, Facebook filters and a Vino & Vinyasa t-shirt contest were also created to promote engagement with the younger wine community. Finally, a sponsor-provided SUV was wrapped with custom graphics to bring additional awareness of Winefest to the streets of Des Moines.

The outcome

Since the brand refresh and inclusion of more diverse social media content, Winefest has seen an ongoing rise in followers and event attendance year after year. This continued growth and success has aided in their support of the Des Moines community, which includes an annual donation to Bravo Greater Des Moines and scholarships for students attending the Iowa Culinary Institute at DMACC.