Joe’s Wines & Liquor:
Passport Wine Expo Series 2008-2019
With up to thirty wineries participating, coordinating the large-scale wine expo series—Passport to Oregon, France, Washington, and Italy—was both a challenging and immensely rewarding endeavor. I orchestrated every aspect of these events: contacting wineries, curating wine selections, crafting comprehensive advertising materials (posters, t-shirts, social media ads, brochures, order sheets, merchandise, email campaigns, newspaper and magazine ads), designing floor plans, implementing ticket sales systems, overseeing event sales and post-event orders, and coordinating wine dinners to elevate awareness and value for the attending wineries.
Leveraging sales data and analytics, I identified key demographics—including age, gender, and preferred social media platforms—to effectively reach our largest audience. By analyzing previous event performances and in-store sales, I strategically selected wines based on optimal price points tailored to the preferences of our target attendees. These data-driven strategies significantly boosted revenue, increasing sales from $30,000 to over $90,000—an increase of over 200%—through strategic marketing and cost reduction. Balancing these responsibilities while simultaneously managing a liquor store required exceptional organization and adaptability.
Great Wines & Spirits:
Deep Dive Wine Expo Series 2022-2024
The "Deep Dive" events were a proving ground for me, as the smaller shop I represented had no history of hosting large-scale events. Attracting 250 customers twice a year, Deep Dive France and Deep Dive Italy required balancing numerous responsibilities: managing and creating all branding, launching social media campaigns, and coordinating communication between wholesale houses, wineries, and importers. Given our shop's lack of history, creating compelling event packets for prospective attendees was essential to establish credibility.
I handled all marketing efforts alongside coordinating the venue, arranging a live band, organizing photography, securing insurance, managing catering, overseeing ticket sales, and more. The face we showed consumers was entirely different from that presented to the wineries in our marketing efforts. Customers sought a guarantee of fun, abundant entertainment, and value for their money. Importers needed assurance of legitimacy, integrity, and organization, backed by data from previous events and profits from trusted, commercially adjacent importers. By successfully appealing to both sides, we delivered events that impressed customers and businesses alike.
