Agave Blue Marketing
Consumers Love Bristol Cocktail Week 2014
Well it’s a few weeks now since the glasses were washed, the bars wiped down and the empties recycled after this year’s Bristol Cocktail Week which, for the first time ever, welcomed consumers to a varied selection of drinks brand sponsored events throughout the week.
This also marked the first year that Agave Blue Marketing has been involved in the project, working alongside the crack Bristol bartending team of BCW founder Annie Mason of The Milk Thistle, Richard Tring of Red Light, Oliver Hiller of Hausbar and Dee Davies, formally of Hyde & Co (and currently promoting the launch of her own “Jinzu” gin in collaboration with Diageo) to bring the whole week to life.
The week began on Monday, 20th October with an 11 hour bartending “safari supper” style extravaganza when, through a series of 6 knock out heats, 14 of Bristols most talented bartenders spent the day competing for the coveted Bristol Bartender Cup, the winner of which would be crowned Bristol’s Best Bartender 2014. Each round was kindly sponsored by a different drinks brand and held in one of 5 different cocktail bars across the city.
The consumer events kicked off on the Tuesday evening when Distiller Tim Edwards of Somerset Cider Brandy Company gave a lively presentation at Bristol Cocktail Week’s at Hyde & Co. This was followed the next day by a convivial tasting and food pairing session with Harveys sherry held at Red Light. The Jinzu gin launch event at The Milk Thistle on Thursday evening proved very popular, not least because Jinzu is the creation of Bristol Cocktail Week’s very own Dee Davies. Bacardi came to Bristol with their 1930s Cuba night held in the Grade II listed cocktail bar in The Mauretania and the consumer events culminated in the proudly unusual presentation of “Gin Through The Ages” by Hendrick’s held at the astoundingly beautiful Averys’ Bristol Cellars.
Bristol Cocktail Week came to a fitting and very celebratory conclusion with the trade award ceremony on the Sunday evening where Bristol’s Best Bartender, Emilio di Salvo of Red Light was fittingly presented with his award. Another first was the announcement of Bristol’s best bars as voted for by the public across 4 categories: Best Service, Best Menu, Best Atmosphere and Best All Round Bar. Hausbar won for Best Service. Red Light took 3 of these awards and was named Bristol’s Best Bar 2014.
Judging by the feedback which continues to come in from the trade and consumers alike through our post event surveys, the consensus is that Bristol Cocktail Week 2014 has been a roaring success. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for news about Bristol Cocktail Week 2015. It’s going to be a …..corker!
London Wine Fair 2014
The 34th London Wine Fair (formerly known as the London International Wine Fair) takes place at Olympia between the 2nd and 4th June 2014.
This year mark’s a significant change in approach in several ways.
Change in Venue:
Firstly, there’s a very welcome change in venue. The London Wine Fair will now be held in Olympia making the event so much more accessible to the visitors they want to attract. Now, busy wine trade people can nip out of work and get a look at the Fair .
Before, when the previous guise of the event was held at Excel exhibition centre in Docklands, the prospect of “nipping in” was a pipe dream for many. Excel is always SUCH a pain to travel to, especially if you are coming from outside of London. You could get to from Bristol to Paris or even Madrid faster..and even when you’ve arrived, it takes an absolute age to walk from the train station and into the exhibition itself.
World’s Leading Wine Import Market:
Secondly, the show goes back to its original roots and is now renamed the “London Wine Fair” to get across that this event is THE national wine trade event for what continues to be the World’s leading import market – the UK .
Important Date in Wine Trade’s Diary:
Thirdly, this has never been a consumer event but, this year, the organisers are taking great pains to ensure that exhibitors and attendees alike achieve maximum value from their participation in what continues to be an incredibly important date in the wine trade’s diary. Long may it continue!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
What does Valentine’s Day mean to you? Is it all romance, hearts and flowers or is it a day when you just want to get away on your own with a good book or a weepy film and a soft and fluffy cat to keep you company? Or perhaps vehemently none of the above!
Whatever your opinion of Valentine’s Day, do you know what your customers think of it and how they plan to celebrate, if at all?
Enormous generalisation, I know, but something I have noticed is that, in the UK, Valentine’s Day is still about couples (married or otherwise), whereas, in the USA, it seems to be more of a generic “spread the love” event which can be celebrated by all – in a relationship or not and young or old. This certainly seems to be borne out in social media.
Wherever your business is, it’s important to think about the kind of messages YOUR customers are likely to be motivated by and tailor your message accordingly, whether it’s for Valentine’s Day or other seasonal events throughout the year.
Here’s the top 10 most shared romantic ads (according to Marketing Magazine)
Happy Valentine’s Day to one and all!
Christmas Greetings from Agave Blue Marketing
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We’d like to wish all our customers, friends and website visitors a very merry Christmas and may 2014 be a great year for us all!
Win a Mexican Hammock with Agave Blue Marketing at Imbibe Live 2013 – Stand J98
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Agave Blue Marketing, the new on-trade focussed food, drink and hospitality marketing company, is offering Imbibe 2013 delegates the chance to win a genuine Mexican hammock by visiting their stand J98 in the « innovation zone » on 2nd and 3rd July.
Says Barbara Hollyhead, founder and managing director of Agave Blue Marketing “Agave Blue Marketing was launched in late 2012, so this year is our first time exhibiting at Imbibe Live. Now the sun is out, we were looking for something fun, summery and a little different to give away in our free prize draw promotion. Of all our ideas, this was our favourite because it fits in well with our Mexican-influenced company name – Agave Blue Marketing.”
There will also be on offer several further prizes of “taster” consultancy sessions too.
To enter the prize draw, visit Agave Blue Marketing at stand J98 and sign up to their on-line mailing list. Full terms and conditions will be available at the stand, as well as on Agave Blue Marketing’s website during the show.
Agave Blue Marketing provides tailored marketing and business support to wine, spirits and food producers and retailers all over the World. From strategic and promotional planning to performance analysis, developing your digital marketing strategy to website creation, as well as handling that notoriously time-consuming website and social media, we can help. We can also create your operations manuals and staff training programs, and design and produce your branding, signage and marketing collateral, whether your need it in print or on line. We’re also experienced event managers in the UK and internationally and, for language-specific marketing campaigns, we can even provide translation and copywriting services. Consider Agave Blue Marketing as your “bolt-on” marketing department, for all your marketing needs, for as long or short as you need us.
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