South Africa scoops wine industry award for marketing

Wines of South Africa picked up the trophy for Best Consumer Campaign at the Drinks Business 2010 Awards, held during the London International Wine Fair, last week.  The award was given for the work carried out by Wines of South Africa to promote its wines as sustainably produced, in particular through The Great South African Wine Trail campaign, a PR initiative that ran during the summer of 2009.  The campaign centered on an eye-catching, carbon-neutral, green bus, which visited eight major UK cities, sampling wines and bringing the Cape winelands to life for British consumers, with a display of vines and flora, recreating the Cape Floral Kingdom.

Continuing the sustainability theme, Wines of South Africa was headline sponsor for Summer Swing at Kew Gardens, a series of five nights of concerts featuring artists such as Jools Holland and Gypsy Kings. The event and ongoing associations with Kew Gardens provides a credible platform for Wines of South Africa to communicate about environmental issues, including protecting biodiversity, to a receptive audience.

The initiative targeted consumers, trade and local media and resulted in wide-spread press coverage, including interviews on Sky News and CBNC, with Wines of South Africa's CEO, Su Birch. Commenting on the award, Birch said: "This is a fantastic result for South Africa and is recognition of all the hard work our producers put into creating wines in harmony with the natural environment, while communicating in a creative and dynamic way."

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Date: 27th May 2010

For further information contact:

Jo Wehring

Wines of South Africa

T 020 8947 7171

E jo@winesofsa.com