The
Boston Wine Expo is going to get more social. With social
media that is. This was clear from the presentation at a recent blogger event
where some of the changes for the 2013 Boston Wine Expo (BWE2013) were shared.
So what are some aspects of the event that are new or will
be changing?
- A new Blogger's Lounge will be available as a dedicated
space for interviews and blogging activities.
- An improved mobile app will provide attendees with the
capability to rate the wines they taste, manage lists of favorites as well as
interact with the expo via survey questions.
- In a new Social Media lounge located in the center of the
Grand Tasting all participants will be able to see what wines are trending from
feedback via the mobile app as well as see what people are "saying"
about BWE2013 on Twitter.
- Wine sales will now be permitted at the event. Attendees
will be able to place orders for wines they like before leaving the expo!
As always attendees will be able to taste wines from many wineries
(over 200), showcasing products from more than 15 countries, experience dozens
of food and lifestyle exhibits and enjoy food from more than two dozen
restaurants. Special seminars and celebrity chef demonstrations will also be
part of the schedule again next year.
The blogger event was a mini food and wine showcase hosted
at
Action Kitchen located in the Seaport Hotel. The best food item I sampled
was a crab cake (several actually) and I neither got a picture or any
information on it. Bad food blogger!
The wine was flowing with bottlings available from France,
Italy, California and New York State. The most interesting wine I tasted was
the Bressan Verduzzo Friulano. This wine is a contradiction in my wine world.
The nose zigs and zags back and forth between typical red and white attributes
and then when you get a taste letting the tannins settle in it really feels
like you are drinking a red wine. But it is a white! White fleshed fruits do dominate
the nose and mouth, and the finish is dry with a subtle nutty quality to it. The
tannic structure is unusual for a white, but it really works. It is always nice
to come across something new, but when it is also so different it makes a tasting
that much more interesting!
Also announced was the Boston Wine Expo Blogger Ambassador
program that will partner bloggers with the Boston Wine Expo. Participating
bloggers will be media personalities for the expo, will be provided with
several tickets to give away on their blog and a discount code for readers to
use for ticket purchases. More on this program will be announced as we get
closer to the event.
As I was standing in a room of food & beverage bloggers
listening to the details on the social media commitment being made for BWE2013
I got to thinking, "what have the folks behind the expo learned about
their audience that prompted these changes?" Moving to integrate social
media into such an event isn't even remotely radical as an idea in 2012, and
some people might suggest the expo planners are arriving late to that party. I
tend to be pragmatic by nature and when also giving benefit of the doubt I
suspected the efforts to do this now were sincere and reasoned. So I asked.
The following is a transcript of the follow-up questions I
used to interview Ed Hurley of
Resource Plus, the company that provides the
event management for the Boston Wine Expo.
Me: What were the motivations to incorporate the social
aspects and the new app into the event?
Hurley: We were
motivated to incorporate social media more heavily into the Boston Wine Expo
for the following reasons:
- We recognize that
social media has become the main method in which to communicate to a wide
audience with similar interests.
- We also realize the
influence that blogger’s like yourself have on fans in the wine and food
community and we are excited about the changes that we have been making to the
Expo that we wanted to share them with you in the hopes that you will find them
to be positive and share them with your followers.
- Our wineries and
sponsors have regularly been asking us what our social media campaign looks
like and how they be a part of it. We quickly learned that social media is
important to these groups as well.
- We want to be
recognized as key portal of information regarding the food, wine and
hospitality industry in New England.
Me: What expectations do you have for how more social media
awareness and the mobile app will impact the event?
Hurley: Our motivations for the mobile app came from
the realization that in the age of smart phones, our audience prefers to have
their information presented in this manner.
Through a mobile app, we are able to present consumers with all the
information they need to know about the Expo as well as guide them from wine
tasting table to wine tasting table while in the show. We hope to be able to
help attendees create a list of favorite wines that they taste at the Expo and
offer solutions as to where they can purchase the wines locally.
Me: Were there specific findings about the demographics of
the BWE attendees that made this appropriate to do now?
With regard to
demographics, our research shows that 51% of our audience is between the ages
of 30 – 49, 65% have household incomes above $100,000 and 64% of our audience
is female. This helped lead us to the conclusion that our audience is one that
utilizes social media on a daily basis and mobile apps are a big part of their
daily lives.
Me: Involving the press in BWE is nothing new, but crafting
a program specifically for bloggers is new as far as I know. What are the goals
of having a closer relationships with local bloggers? What can we do for you
now, then and later?
Hurley: Our
expectations for social media are this…if we continue to present top wineries,
compelling seminars and popular chefs then the food and wine community will get
excited about what we have to offer and will spread the word to their friends
that the Boston Wine Expo is the place to be on February 16 and 17 of next
year.
The goals that we have
regarding the development of a closer relationship with you and other bloggers
are:
- To keep up to date
through your help – You know a lot about what the public likes in regard to
food and wine and can help recommend to us certain restaurants, chefs, etc.
that we should invite to participate in the show. You have the pulse on the wine
and food community.
- To get your opinions –
You are a good sounding board for the continuous changes that we are looking to
make in the show as it evolved over the years.
- To entice you to help
spread the word about the Wine Expo – As a prime influencer over many
followers, you can help us spread the word of the exciting things happening
with the event. In return, we have a strong platform as well and can offer you
free tickets, discount admission codes, etc. to provide to your followers to
spread goodwill. We can also support your blogs through our social media
efforts.
Me: Are the vendors and presenters aware of the new social
and blogger changes? If not, does it make sense to involve them early on? Would
their own outreach efforts compound the work you are already doing? If so, how
do you expect they will be involved in additional promotion of the event before
and during? Are there any vendors or brands that would like to connect with
bloggers ahead of the event?
Hurley: The vendors
and presenters are becoming aware of our new emphasis on social media and the
blogger community. We have begun to
reach out to them for newsworthy stories regarding their organizations that we
can pass along to your community. Also, as I mentioned above, several of our
exhibitors and sponsors are already heavily invested in social media and have
been asking what we are doing in this arena.
This illustrates that their own outreach efforts compound the work that
we are doing as we are both trying to pass along relevant information to the
community. We have already begun
engaging our exhibitors in our social media campaign. When an exhibitor signs
on, we look for important news about them that we can share with our followers.
We also ask them to provide us with news that we can share with our audience.
Another example is the
recent Bloggers Event. When we put the word out that we were holding the event,
we immediately got the participation of the nine wineries that were present
along with our food sponsors. They recognized the importance of the blogger
community and wanted to be a part of it. I believe that as we move closer to
the event, we will see more vendors want to get involved as well.
The motivations and expectations shared above seem well reasoned
and legitimate to me. Having participated in several Second Glass wine events
that are heavily social I fully expect a return on these commitments. I am personally
excited for the 2013 Boston Wine Expo and can't wait to share more about the
event as February creeps closer.
So will you be friends with and like the Boston Wine Expo in
2013? I certainly hope so. I attended last year and enjoyed sampling new-to-me
wines from many producers representing quite a few different places. Add more
social interaction to that mix and I fully expect that attendees will be able
to get more and better hints on wines to try before the show is over. And even
better, attendees will be able to order wines that they really enjoy before they
go home. Closing that loop ensures that producers who have wines that really
shine will know that consumers won't have to spend lots of time searching
around for a shop that carries their favorites!
Cheers!
Jason
