Wisconsin Wineries Tour Receives Marketing Support
The Wisconsin Department of Tourism Secretary Stephanie Klett recently announced the third installment of a three-year destination marketing grant for a state winery tour.
The Wisconsin Winery Tour will receive a $12,865 grant through the Joint Effort Marketing projgram to continue marketing of Wisconsin winery tours. Altogether, the Wisconsin Winery Association estimates that the campaign, once complete, will have made more than $300,000 in economic impacts.
Iron River's White Winter Winery is a destination marked on a map of one of the recommended state tours of wineries in the northwestern region of Wisconsin, along with the Bayfield Winery, Ltd. of Bayfield; and the Hook Stone Winery in Hayward.
“Wisconsin is home to truly fantastic wines and vineyards,” said Klett. “Many of Wisconsin’s wineries and vineyards are family owned and locally operated, creating a significant and direct economic impact on local communities. Winery tours are a great way to experience a wide variety of wine, as well as beautiful Wisconsin scenery and excellent products.”
The Wisconsin Winery Tour offers travelers a variety of resources to tour Wisconsin’s wineries and vineyards, including wine events, suggested tour itineraries, and a tour guide booklet. The organization is comprised of 45 wineries from all around the state, split into five regions. The tours serve dual purposes: to encourage travelers to taste delicious varieties of wine all over the state and to connect travelers with the beautiful Wisconsin landscape via the wineries and vineyards, the state's tourism department explains.
The marketing strategy for the campaign supported by the grant includes three elements: awareness of the quality and diversity of Wisconsin wines, understanding Wisconsin’s wine regions, and encouraging
travelers to tour numerous wineries. The campaign focuses on in-state travelers. Grant funds help to pay for online marketing efforts, such as the use of Facebook, and traditional media, such as TV advertising. Funds will be used to reprint The Wisconsin Winery Tour Guide and incorporating video onto the tour program's website.
Last year was the second year of the grant cycle, with evaluations of the winery tour marketing program reporting successful grant efforts, in that 20 of 24 participating wineries reported an increase in visitors and sales during the campaign period. The goal of marketing efforts this year is to increase website traffic, number of visitors and sales of participating wineries, and social media attention.
In fiscal 2011, the Wisconsin Department of Tourism funded 53 Joint Effort Marketing projects, awarding a total of nearly $1.2 million dollars. Visitor expenditures driven by the marketing from these projects will exceed $20 million.
The department's Destination Marketing funds are available to non-profit organizations for the promotion of at least three municipalities or communities. For information on all of the Department of Tourism grant programs, visit http://industry.travelwisconsin.com.