A Playful, Multidisciplinary Creative
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Creative Quarantine
Marketing a hospitality brand when no one is allowed to leave home? That's nothing to wine about when you've got an innovative team! Pouring playfulness into a season of uncertainty to keep Messina Hof flowing smooth and strong
The Challenge:
Messina Hof Winery & Resort has four locations, two bed and breakfasts, two restaurants, and is a wedding vendor, so when the hospitality industry was told to stay inside due to COVID-19 lockdowns, they were heavily affected. On a small marketing team of four, I was in charge of social media, email marketing, and coming up with creative solutions to maintain our fun and playful brand voice while staying sensitive to the uncertain times.
The Solution:
We had two main solutions carried out through multiple campaigns. One: With everyone separated, we encouraged our audience to come together in a spirit of gratitude to celebrate loved ones and healthcare workers. Two: We made wine a necessary part of at-home fun and promoted creativity.
I planned each post, wrote the captions, posted and managed the social media, and either provided inspiration for the shots or captured the photos myself. The posts were shared on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and content was incorporated into emails and our blog.
Skills Used:
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Adobe Acrobat
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Adobe Illustrator
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Adobe Lightroom
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Adobe Photoshop
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Brand Strategy
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Copywriting
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Digital Photography
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Image Editing
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Lightbox Photography
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Print Design
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Search Engine Optimization
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Social Media Strategy
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WordPress
Solution One: Celebrating Love and Thankfulness
Click the image below to explore the gallery!
Bottle of Thanks Campaign:
During the hardships of COVID-19, we faced the challenge of communicating sensitivity and respect while still staying true to our fun-loving brand. Our solution was the Bottle of Thanks program, where we partnered with local hospitals such as Baylor Scott & White to offer customers an opportunity to thank healthcare heroes with a bottle of wine and a card. Customers could purchase a Bottle of Thanks for a healthcare worker they knew or simply request that one be delivered to a local hospital worker, and Messina Hof offered to cover all shipping costs.
Messina Hofs & Kisses
Another way that we promoted the unity of families during tumultuous times was through our campaign, Messina Hofs & Kisses. We created a deal where a customer could purchase wine for their mom to celebrate Mother's Day, and we threw in a free personalized card. We also created meal deals, where a person could buy Mother's Day dishes and get wine and the card. To advertise this, we featured moms on staff and their favorite wines. We got great feedback and emphasized our brand value of family!
Messina Hof Table
During the 2020 holiday season, we had a goal to increase brand exposure and continue to express sincere care for guests. To aid in this objective, we created the Messina Hof Table Contest, centering around the brand’s main cornerstones: family, tradition, and romance. The idea was simple—invite guests to show us how their family and friends use their table to enjoy wine, gather together, celebrate, and share, in the hopes of winning an ultimate weekend getaway. To enter, customers used a Google Form to send us meaningful images from their tables. Our campaign was featured in grocery stores across Texas, on social media, on the company website, and in weekly emails. We had tremendous success with hundreds of entries and increased engagement on social media (and new photos from guests!)
Solution Two: Want a Fun Quarantine?
Key ingredient: Messina Hof Wine
Click the image below to explore the gallery!
At-home Recipes:
With everyone stuck indoors during the pandemic, our customers were eager to break up the monotony of every day to play, and so was I. After I saw an advertisement for a local supplement store’s Protein Powder Cake recipe on social media, I thought, “Why do I suddenly want to buy this random protein and try this recipe? Wait—would people buy Messina Hof wines simply to try out recipes?” The answer was an astounding yes! We set to work coming up with cocktails and recipes and shared the tutorials on social media and through email blasts. We also posted suggested pairings with snacks. We were sent many photos from people trying out our recipes throughout the spring and summer and had a spike in social impressions and engagement!
Creative Moments:
Another way that we positioned Messina Hof wine as a necessary part of a memorable quarantine was by demonstrating ways that wine could be included in at-home fun. We photographed holiday DIYs, cozy date-nights, and self-care mornings with Messina Hof wine as the main-character of each moment. As customers shared ideas with their friends, our reach expanded and we increased our following!