LONDONERS have been given a sample of Australian wine innovation in the form of a vineyard in the city’s business centre. The urban oasis of the McGuigan City Vineyard is the result of an integrated marketing communications campaign by leading Australian wine producer, Australian Vintage Limited.
At the vineyard, outside busy Liverpool Street Station, visitors walked among the vines, sampled wines from the cellar door and met the people behind the wines - McGuigan founder Brian McGuigan, Australian Vintage head of production Neil McGuigan and McGuigan senior winemaker James Evers.
The concept is an experiential marketing and sampling platform that Australian Vintage created to launch a new range of wines for McGuigan, its leading brand, in Sydney last November. So successful was the campaign that the company decided to take the concept to London. At its unveiling in July, Australian Vintage CEO Dane Hudson described it as “a dynamic initiative that will provide UK consumers and customers with an amazing environment to try the McGuigan portfolio of wines”.
“The event was a phenomenal success in Sydney last November and we are thrilled to replicate it in London,” he said. “In the wine industry you’ve got to create some sizzle and get out and engage with consumers face to face.”
The McGuigan City Vineyard concept was devised by public relations agency, One Green Bean, to support the Australian launch of the McGuigan Discover range, which retails at a recommended $15.99, and plans are under way to showcase the concept in Melbourne in October.
In addition to Discover, the McGuigan brand has also recently launched The Shortlist (rrp $26) and Hand Made (rrp $45) to enhance its premium wine offering. Dane Hudson described the new wines as “contemporary and of the highest quality; the packaging truly stands out and the marketing campaign to support these ranges is unique”.
He added that the company would continue to grow its branded portfolio of McGuigan, Tempus Two and Nepenthe in the UK, using strong marketing investment and exclusive strategic distribution partnerships.