1. 2017 Plans Book
Emily Greene, Account Director
Jessica Gregorio, Account Executive
Maggie Eichler, Account Coordinator
Katelyn Guerin, Creative Director
Andrea Kostovick, Copywriter
Emily Kirk, Art Director
Alyssa Weinberg, Media Director
Elise Van Heuven, Production Director
Submitted November 19, 2016
3. Summary
This plans book was created to help of strengthen Wine Riot’s awareness in the
South End neighborhood as well as the greater Boston area. This plans book was
completed four months after Wine Riot’s first retail space, Wine Riot South End, opened
in July 2016. Wine Riot now operates as both a retailer and an event producer. Wine
Riot’s central business problem is, how does a young company dominate in both arenas?
This plan book focuses on Wine Riot’s retail location. The following addresses any issues
surrounding Wine Riot’s brand and the solutions to these problems.
This plans book was created by the Emerson College EmComm Wine Riot team.
Only the Wine Riot team is responsible for the contents of this marketing plan. Wine
Riot team members include Emily Greene, Jessica Gregorio, Maggie Eichler, Katelyn
Guerin, Andrea Kostovick, Emily Kirk, Alyssa Weinberg, and Elise Van Heuven.
2
4. Client Analysis
Description
Wine Riot was founded in 2008 by Tyler Balliet and Morgan First. Tyler had a
“desire to create a fun, entertaining space while learning about wine.” Since its
founding, Wine Riot has expanded to a two-day wine tasting event twice a year in three
cities, Boston, Chicago and New York City. As of July 2016, Wine Riot opened its first
retail store at 519 Tremont Street in Boston’s South End neighborhood.
The main goal of Wine Riot’s tasting events is to help customers explore and
learn about wines from all over the globe. Participants travel from Old World to New
World wines and everything in between. There are over 250 wines to taste at Wine Riot’s
events. Wine Riot also teaches participants how to attend a wine tasting, including how
to swirl, sip, and spit. All of this takes place in a fun youthful atmosphere, complete with
live DJ, temporary tattoos, and an Instagram station.
Wine Riot’s retail space follows a similar approach. Customers explore wines
based on the type or region. Maps are painted on the walls to help guide the customer
journey through the store, and each map is accompanied by information about that
region’s wine. These maps are colorful and the store is brightly lit, which differentiates
Wine Riot from most other wine and liquor stores, typically dark and full of wood panels
to resemble a wine cellar. Wine Riot appeals to its target market by keeping the space
open, inviting, and fun. Daily wine tastings and weekly lessons contribute to the
learning environment.
Product Profile
Wine Riot has two business lines. The first is their twice-yearly events, which take
place in New York City, Chicago, and Boston in the spring and fall. The second is a retail
space in Boston’s South End neighborhood. The retail space offers a wide variety of
wine, which switches every few weeks, as well as beer and hard alcohol sections. When
patrons step into Wine Riot, they feel comfortable and safe to ask questions about wine,
while still having a blast exploring and learning about wine.
3
5. Market Analysis
Competitors
Wine Riot is unique in its brand image and its emphasis on learning the history
and geography of wine. Wine Riot South End’s direct competitors are other wine and
liquor stores in the area, particularly those that offer wine tastings and wines at a lower
price point. Wine Riot’s competitors also include those whose offerings match Wine
Riot’s tasting events. Wine Riot also has to consider other ‘experience’ retail spaces that
serve wine and other times of alcohol. Lastly, Wine Riot must remember its target
market. Today, getting goods and services are as easy as a click of a button. Food
delivery services cannot be overlooked, and that includes wine and liquor delivery.
Therefore, we’ve identified the following as Wine Riot’s competitors:
● Pinot Palette/Paint Nite
● Drizly
● Wines for Humanity
● Boston Wine Tour
● Social Wines
● Wine Emporium
● Boston Wine Expo
● Urban Grape (South End)
● Trader Joe’s
Market Shifts
USA Today reports that millennials consume 50% of all wine in the US. This
market has shifted in favor towards Wine Riot. Wine has become increasingly popular in
the last decade, in part because of millennials, who drink it more than any other age
group.
4
6. SWOT Analysis
Strengths
● Cool, consistent, clear brand
● Youthful store
● Active Instagram
● Daily in-store tastings and weekly wine
classes
● ‘Wine of the Weekend’ every Thursday
● Videos on their social platforms
Weaknesses
● The app is difficult to find and use
● The main Facebook page makes no
mention of the physical store
● The Twitter button on the Wine Riot
website goes to the Second Glass Twitter
● The line between Second Glass and Wine
Riot is confusing
● The website is outdated
● The store’s social presence is lacking
● When you look at ‘store’ on the website, it
looks like an online ecommerce store
versus being about the physical location.
● Wine Riot is on the 3rd page of Google
when searching for ‘Boston wine shops.’
● There are no Yelp reviews thus far for the
store versus the event
Opportunities
● Sell the store as an experience
○ You want them to go into the
store and spend time there, more
time that you would normally
spend to buy a bottle of wine
● “If you like this wine, try this” — on social
● Bachelorette women and middle-aged
women, wine moms, would have a blast
○ Can attract them without losing
the youth appeal
● Student discount for the event
● Live music
● “Instagram station” at the store
● Merch at the store
● Partnership with Paint Nite and Drizly
● Promo during the event
● Adding Wine Riot to the Boston Wine
Tour
● WineRiot.com is bare boned
● Partnerships with restaurants in the area
● Add more info (price indicator & Google
ratings) to Google sidebar
● Tag us/Tweet at us for a discount
● Push $15 and under selection
Threats
● Competitors
● Millennial laziness
● Location and proximity to T-stops social
hubs/residential areas
5
7. Target Analysis
Demographics
Females 21-39 years old. Our target lives within Boston city limits, preferably
walking distance to the South End neighborhood. She can be married or single. Annual
income is roughly $40,000 - $60,000 a year.
Psychographics
Wine Riot is perfectly matched to those young women who love wine, but don’t
know much about the history behind it, or the various types of wine out there. They
don’t like paying a lot for alcohol, as Boston’s expensive housing market keeps them to a
strict budget. However, they would like a nicer wine than Barefoot or Yellowtail. As
these young women venture farther from their college career, they realize they can’t go
out partying every night like they used to, although they still enjoy going out and prefer
it to staying in.
Target Usage
Wine Riot’s target market is similar to that of other millennial women, who drink
wine fairly often in both at home and in social settings. Our target preferably drinks 1-2
glasses of wine a few times a week, and drinks more during the weekend. Our target
market would ideally visit Wine Riot once every two weeks.
Target Bio
Amanda is a 25 year old Bostonian working in government relations. She
graduated from Boston University and now lives in the South End neighborhood. She
has crossed over into an adult lifestyle, actively exercises and cooks, manages a strict
budget, and wakes up earlier. She wants to try better and different wines, but Amanda
feels judged going into connoisseur wine shops, as she doesn’t know the difference
between Italian and French wines or anything in between.
6
8. Campaign Goals
Goals
Long term goals:
● Increasing awareness with people knowing about/visiting the store
● Increasing social media engagement with the store
Short term goals:
● Update the website
● Streamline social platforms
● Create a clear line of distinction between Second Glass and Wine Riot
● Update the app to make it more user-friendly
Target Audience
Wine Riot’s target are young females, just starting out in their careers. They live
in Boston and ideally in the South End. As mentioned in the target market section of
this plans book, they are tight on a budget. As a millennial, they are active users of social
media and rely on social to get their daily information.
Our mailers target those in the South End neighborhood, close to Wine Riot’s
retail store. The mailers include a coupon to help incentivize visits by new customers.
Social media posts and a print ad will be targeted to reach our target directly, and guide
her into Wine Riot. All media spend and results will be tracked to measure and analyze
ROI and other analytics.
Media Schedule
This media schedule is slated to start in January of 2017 and last through May of 2017.
Social media: Posts will be boosted at the beginning of each month and run for 2 weeks
Print ads:
● Improper Bostonian: February 1st-15th issue (bi-monthly magazine)
● Boston Common Magazine: February 15-28th issue (bi-monthly magazine)
● DIG Boston: March Issue (monthly magazine)
● Edible Boston: Spring issue, which comes out in April 2017 (quarterly magazine)
Direct Mailers: Mailers will be sent out on January 15th.
7
9. Measurement, Testing, and Analysis
The success of this plans book will be measured by social media impressions and
engagement, returns on the mailer, and ultimately, by the increase in Wine Riot’s sales.
Testing will occur by dark A/B testing of paid social media, and by A/B testing of
the mailer. A/B testing will allow us to gauge what creative succeeds and what creative
fails, and how to better our ROI in the future.
Timetable
This Plans Book is to be completed and presented by December 20th, 2016. This
plans book is intended to last from January through May of 2017, when the plans book
from EmComm’s spring semester team will be implemented.
Financials
We estimate that this Plans Book will cost $25,117.
We were not given a budget for this Plans Book.
Direct Mailers: $197 total
Stamps: $0.47 per stamp
Printing: $80 for 250 mailers
We plan to mail out 250 mailers to residents in the South End neighborhood.
Social Media Post: $60 total
Boosted post to 1,000-3,000 people: $10
Boost Duration: 14 days ($0.71 per day)
Times boosted: 6
Print Ad: $24,860 total
DIG Boston: $2,500
Improper Bostonian: $7,500
Boston Common Magazine: $11,500
Edible Boston Magazine: $3,360
All these costs are for one full page, full color ad.
Costs can be cut by reducing print ad to half page, mailing fliers to fewer people, and/or
organically posting social media content.
8
10. Creative Brief
Business Objective
To build awareness of Wine Riot’s retail location in order to increase foot traffic and sales.
Business Problem
Wine Riot has become very successful in the event space, but how do they cross over into retail space?
Business USP
Wine Riot South End is the only wine and alcohol shop that combines a fun, inviting atmosphere with an
emphasis on wine education. This isn’t some snobby wine store that judges you for not knowing the
difference between Old World and New World. At Wine Riot, we provide an inviting, relaxing space to
learn about wine without judgement or snobbery.
Target Profile
Demographics: Mostly females 21-39 years old. Bostonian, not married, in an entry-level job.
Psychographics: Loves wine but doesn’t know much about the history behind it. Doesn’t like paying a lot
for alcohol, but appreciates higher quality products. Would prefer going out to staying in, but can’t go
clubbing every night like in college.
Target Profile: Amanda is a 25 year old Bostonian working in government relations. She is crossing over
into a more adult lifestyle by trying more expensive wines, but feels judged going into more expensive
places. Her and her friends love going out and trying new things.
Target Problem
“I love wine, but I don’t know that much about it. Since graduating college, I’ve been able to afford more
high-quality wines, but I’m still learning and lack basic wine knowledge, so I still need help knowing what
to buy.”
Target Solution
Wine Riot offers daily wine tastings, based on region or type of wine so customers can learn about the
wine they’re drinking. This creates a culture of learning about wine rather than the snobbery Amanda has
experienced. Wine Riot’s wines are high-quality yet don’t break the bank.
Solution Support
Wine Riot has a fun, youthful atmosphere that allows people to try new, affordable wines while having a
blast. It’s emphasis on education lets customers learn without feeling like they’re in a classroom.
Solution Alternative
Boston is home to many shops that combine alcohol to make for a fun experience. Shops like Paint Nite
give Amanda the fun, relaxed experience she’s looking for.
Brand Identity
Brand colors are blue and red, however Wine Riot’s brand identity is colorful, so the more colors the
better. Emphasis on youth, fun, excitement, and education should be apparent.
Mandatories
All materials should reflect Wine Riot’s brand identity, contain the logo, and are copyrighted to Wine Riot.
9
