Page 25 - July Hawaii Beverage Guide

promotions. This is an ideal oppor- tunity to offer discounts in the ap- propriate product category—perhaps on slow-moving items that could use some help.
¡ catch them at check-out.
Impulse buying, by de nition, is hard to predict and in uence, but a “By the Way: It’s National _______ Day” sign at the register might be just the thing to prompt a smile and a sale. And don’t be afraid to go tongue-in-cheek.
¡ tie-in with national brands.
G.H. Mumm Champagne sponsored this year’s Kentucky Derby in May, and had its PR agency promote a Derby week trade event in New York that featured sprinter Ursain Bolt as the brand’s “CEO”—Chief Enter- tainment Of cer. According to Ar- ticulate Productions, which promot- ed the event, it resulted in “over 943 million media impressions ranging from broadcast, print and online life- style, sports and news mediums.” To help the effort to reach the beyond the actual Derby Day event, signage and other materials were distributed to retail out-
lets. Liquor Barn stores
in Kentucky did an on-
line promotion of “Top
Picks for Your Derby
Party,” featuring a Mumm Frontrun- ner cocktail (Champagne with ve dashes of Peychaud’s bitters and a cube of sugar).
¡ Beware overkill.
Lisa Mattson, who handles social media at Jordan Vineyard & Winery, advises moderation and awareness. “This year, National Wine Day and #ChardonnayDay fell on the same day, which added to the dilution and reinforced that # wine days may have jumped the shark,” she notes. “Just pay attention to how many #wine days you do focused promotions for, and don’t do too many or fans may tune out because you’re sending out content that is very one-trick-pony and not very interesting or exciting.”
¡ Make yourself useful.
As merchants, you are
authorities. A national #Anything Day can be no more or less than a fresh way to present a suggest- ed food pairing—maybe something with goat cheese on International Sauvi- gnon Blanc Day (May 5th), for example. And spirits can call for cocktail reci- pes; will anyone complain if you feature a recipe ev- ery week for National Rye Month this August?
And in case you are wondering where this is all going, perhaps in the future, some organization will launch #LocalWineShopDay. ■
THINK BIG(-ISH)
This Fall, October 7th-8th
is set as national
tailgating Weekend (the
second ever and, alas,
not to be confused with
National Tailgating Day,
which is the first Satur-
day every September). The weekend was created by Learfield Licensing Partners and focuses on college football, with upwards of 120 schools confirmed to par ticipate.
The scope of this event is appealingly deep and broad. Not only does it stretch over two full days, and a slew of cities, the concept of tailgating cuts across multiple product categories. Perhaps most impor- tant of all, National Tailgating Weekend targets an especially active population—as opposed to an #ObscureGrape promotion that has a lot of groundwork to lay before a sale can be made.
Special in-store promotions can ride the coattails of social media. Lesser-known but widely grown varietals, such as Chenin Blanc, Garnacha and Tempranillo, are especially ripe for special #Day promotions.
If you are already active on
on Twitter, Instagram and/or Facebook, a dedicated drink day is a natural opportunity to post, with relevant hashtag(s). These words or phrases preceded by the # symbol enhance the searching/sharing of social media posts on a specific topic.