PR agencies are increasingly appearing as event organizers. With concepts like trade shows, they invigorate the competition. They are not tied to just one location. Additionally, agencies see themselves as communication professionals. This also creates new opportunities in times of crisis.
The organizers of wine fairs and wine seminars are facing new competition: PR agencies that offer events and even create new formats. They bring know-how and resources that can provide them with advantages in a highly competitive market. The prerequisite for this is viable, targeted concepts.
That agencies also organize events is not fundamentally new. Tastings, culinary wine tastings, wine menus, and trade fair or festival appearances have long been part of the portfolio of communication experts. However, usually only one agency client gets the stage: Such events are about only one wine country, a wine region, or a wine producer.
An agency in-house trade fair, on the other hand, offers a forum for multiple clients at the same location, similar to the in-house trade fair of an importer or specialist dealer. While the clients do not get an exclusive appearance, they do have a sufficiently limited framework that ensures them high attention. Additionally, the agency can present its communication, organizational, and specialist competence and maintain contacts.
Meike Frers is the managing director at ff.k Public Relations
ff.k Public RelationsThe Hamburg agency ff.k Public Relations has developed an agency in-house trade fair along with a seminar program called “wine.campus.” The format has taken place in three locations in Germany over three years. “In 2022, we launched our first wine.campus because we recognized that the market needed a more efficient, more focused format than the classic masterclass on a single topic with free tasting,” explains Meike Frers, one of the managing directors of ff.k.
This was immediately after the Covid pandemic. Wine events with guests in one room had not been able to take place for two years, and the industry was eager to meet in person again. In both B2B and B2C business, wine fairs that had been paused were resumed – and new ones emerged. They are organized by trade fair companies, specialized event and marketing service providers, as well as large and small retailers. Most of these events have a regional catchment area.
Trade fair companies are location-bound: they rent space on their own premises. Dealer in-house trade fairs also take place at the company's headquarters, whether in their own or specially rented rooms. Agencies, on the other hand, can choose the venue freely and can adapt to where the most attractive audience can be found. This makes the concept flexible but also means that venue, location, and equipment must be specifically selected and organized for each occasion.
First, it is essential to determine the time and location framework as well as the target audience – classic marketing work. Where, when, and how often should the in-house trade fair take place? A roadshow in several locations over a few weeks or an annual event in one city? Who exactly should come together at the fair? How many exhibitors and visitors are expected? Ultimately, the premises will also depend on this.
“As a PR agency, we have the advantage over trade fair or event organizers that we don’t have to conduct elaborate exhibitor acquisition because the participants already exist – thanks to our current budgets,” emphasizes Meike Frers. It is the task of a communication agency to make its clients publicly noticeable and bring them into conversation. “This works with media reports and advertising just as well as with events,” she notes.
PR agencies are also well-positioned for visitor acquisition. They have a database of media representatives, who not only get invited themselves but can also draw their readership's attention to the event. The question of the target audience is essential here. “The wine.campus is a pure B2B event,” emphasizes Frers. “It is aimed at wine professionals from trade, gastronomy, and media, who can be multipliers, buyers, or both at the same time.”
In June 2023, the “ff.k wine.campus” took place at Maindock in Frankfurt
ff.k Public RelationsThis target audience is demanding and has little time. Therefore, a format that is meant to appeal to them must be relevant in content and compact in time. A classic trade fair weekend like at B2C events is out of the question. “We were aware that we couldn’t go beyond one day and that this day had to be carefully chosen,” reports Frers. The choice fell on Monday, which is a rest day in many gastronomy businesses and when, based on experience, specialist dealers often take time for events.
Thus, the “wine.campus” begins on Monday morning and ends on Monday late afternoon. In between, participants are flexible in their time management. “The program is designed so that visitors can freely decide whether to stay for just one or two hours or the whole day,” explains Frers. There are two elements: the “marketplace” with tasting and information stands and the “masterclasses,” where individual topics are presented concisely by experts.
The topics arise from the participating agency clients. Between three and five have participated so far. Each client receives both a marketplace stand and a masterclass. The spectrum ranges from a complete wine country like Georgia to individual wine regions like Loire, Pays d’Oc or Ribera del Duero, as well as non-alcoholic wines and wine alternatives. It is important that visitors can experience all topics within a few hours.
The agency's networking in the wine industry is crucial for success. “We must engage with our professional visitors at eye level,” says Frers. “Through our established contacts, we not only manage to attract the right audience but also to consistently secure renowned Masters of Wine for moderating the masterclasses.”
So far, the “wine.campus” has taken place in Cologne, Hamburg, and Frankfurt, each in prominent locations. Positioning the event only once a year in a different metropolitan region seems sensible, as the limitation increases value. Around 70 industry visitors have attended each event. Frers is satisfied: “The idea of creating temporal and content synergies by bundling our clients’ appearances on one day has worked perfectly.” In 2025, the “ff.k wine.campus” is also planned to take place in Switzerland, besides Germany.
For PR agencies, a compact and varied professional event, where they can present their clients, can therefore be interesting. In times of crisis, budgets for marketing, communication, and events are quickly questioned, reduced, or completely cut. Anyone who has a partner that offers a successful in-house trade fair may prefer to save elsewhere. At least that is what the agencies hope.