Taste Vacations (or, more specifically, our overarching travel company, Zephyr United Travel Collection, which is our sister company) is hiring a new office employee to conduct the marketing for all three of our travel brands.

As you probably know, Zephyr United is a small company. We currently have 4.5 full-time employees (including Allan Wright), and one of those positions is left vacant by our Marketing Lead to pursue a new career path.

We are specifically looking for an individual with marketing experience, preferably in the travel industry. The individual also needs to have an outgoing, caring, fun personality, as all our office staff also guide tours. The pay is not going to make you rich, but the lifestyle benefits are superb. Plus, you can work where you live as we gave up our brick-and-mortar office long ago (way before the pandemic).

Do you know someone who might be interested? Please refer them to the job description and application form. Application deadline is August 10.

The post Hiring Digital Marketing Manager for Zephyr United (Our Tour Division) appeared first on Wine Marketing & Tourism Conference.

Founded in 2011, the conference last ran in Oregon in March 2020, just prior to the pandemic. The conference took place nine times over nine years in locations such as Sonoma, Virginia, and Texas with an audience that include wineries, winery associations, tourism organizations, and tour operators.

Obviously, the pandemic has been bad for conferences. Even conferences that have run have tended to have fewer participants and sponsors than in pre-pandemic years.

We at Zephyr Conferences also faced the reality of losing 1/2 our four-person staff due to the pandemic. We would need to hire new staff, since our beloved employees Reno and Sara have moved on to new careers.

We are also faced with the reality that in 2021 there was a surge in (mostly domestic) travel and this surge has only increased in 2022, as people are hungry to again travel around the world. This means the tour side of our Zephyr United business has been booming and requiring much of our time and attention. Which we are not complaining about!

In the end, we have decided to focus only on our media conferences, which includes the Wine Media Conference, for 2022 and beyond. We are open to any suggestions from key wine or tourism industry players regarding the future of the WMTC.

The post Wine Marketing & Tourism Conference Suspended appeared first on Wine Marketing & Tourism Conference.

We have stated since January we are confident we can run the event safely, in part because of our requirement that all attendees be vaccinated or provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result. However, in discussions with our partners in the Oregon wine industry it has become apparent that the wine industry – our community of attendees – is not ready for this conference in 2021.

We very much understand the wineries are dealing with the effects of the pandemic and focused on re-opening to the public. Attending a conference, even one as direct to their marketing as this one focused on marketing and tourism, is just not a priority. We will reassess and make other plans.

Having said this, the Wine Media Conference will take place as planned August 5 – 7 in Eugene. We hope you can join us there!

The post Wine Marketing & Tourism Conference Postponed appeared first on Wine Marketing & Tourism Conference.

Why market through influencer conferences:

International Food Blogger Conference

Conferences in a COVID-19 World

• Is the conference communicating their COVID-19 precautions?
• Sponsorships are more pertinent now more than ever – influencers need content and conference organizers need support after a year of no conferences

Zephyr Conferences

• Three influencer conferences: Wine Media Conference, International Food Blogger Conference Beer Now Conference
• We’re COVID-safe: negative PCR test or vaccine to attend
• Influencers get a discount for writing about sponsors – this ensures sponsors get ROI

Our Presenter

Allan Wright is founder and president of Zephyr Conferences. He has been organizing these conferences, determining content, and securing speakers for 13 years. Allan also has 24 years of experience running his own small company and an MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

The post Marketing at Wine Influencer Conferences appeared first on Wine Marketing & Tourism Conference.

What is Influencer Marketing?

• Working with someone who has a point of view and has a following of any size
• Influencers are credible because they’re sharing products that align with their point of view with their community

Methods to Work with Influencers

• Blog post to feature a product
• Sharing content on social media
• Preparing content for the brand’s website

What Brands Should Provide

• Concept
• Peremeters
• Contractual Terms
• More specific, the better

Check out the video to dive more into influencer marketing with Toni.

Our Presenters

Allan Wright is founder and president of Zephyr Conferences. He has been organizing these conferences, determining content, and securing speakers for 13 years. Allan also has 24 years of experience running his own small company and an MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Toni Dash is a professional writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer and creator of Boulder Locavore®.  Toni has been developing recipes for over two decades. It all started with the need for quality gluten-free recipes for her family at a time when there were few resources available.  She’s been featured in several magazines, on TV, and podcasts and is a member of the IFBC Advisory Board.

The post Influencer Marketing for the Wine Industry appeared first on Wine Marketing & Tourism Conference.

What is Public Relations?

• How to reach your local audience
• Identifying your unique message
• Public relations is relations with publics, with an S

3 Basic Marketing Campaign Components

• Message
• Audience
• Tactics

Your Publics

• Media
• Neighbors
• Local Regulatory Agencies

Paul’s Book

• Artisan Public Relations: A practical guide for getting your hand-crafted products the attention they deserve

Check out the video to dive more into what public relations is with Paul.

Our Presenters

Allan Wright is founder and president of Zephyr Conferences. He has been organizing these conferences, determining content, and securing speakers for 13 years. Allan also has 24 years of experience running his own small company and an MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Paul Wagner has been an instructor at Napa Valley College for the past twenty-five years and teaches at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. He is also a guest lecturer at many universities and has spoken at more than eighty conferences throughout the world on wine, tourism, public relations, and marketing. In 1991, Paul founded Balzac Communications & Marketing, where his clients have included everyone from Constellation Wines and Diageo to a host of artisan wine, food, and regional tourism clients.

The post Public Relations for the Wine Industry appeared first on Wine Marketing & Tourism Conference.

Our Presenter

Allan Wright is founder and president of Zephyr Conferences. He has been organizing these conferences, determining content, and securing speakers for 13 years. Allan also has 24 years of experience running his own small company and an MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Get Updates

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Successful Marketing Video Series

Week 1: Effective Websites
Week 2: Local Marketing
Week 3: Survey Your Customers
Week 4: Consumer Reviews
Week 5: CRM/Email Marketing
Week 6: Social Media Marketing

The post Video Marketing for the Wine Industry appeared first on Wine Marketing & Tourism Conference.

Our Presenters

Allan Wright is founder and president of Zephyr Conferences. He has been organizing these conferences, determining content, and securing speakers for 13 years. Allan also has 24 years of experience running his own small company and an MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Sarah Wohlner is the Marketing Manager for all our conferences.  She loves cooking, traveling and all things food in addition to some social media recipe blogging of her own. Growing up in the California Bay Area, she has always been immersed in a variety of food cultures and now is eager to expand her beer and wine knowledge and experiences.

Get Updates

Want these free weekly marketing tips delivered to your inbox?  Sign up here.

Successful Marketing Video Series

Week 1: Effective Websites
Week 2: Local Marketing
Week 3: Survey Your Customers
Week 4: Consumer Reviews
Week 5: CRM/Email Marketing

The post Social Media Marketing for the Wine Industry appeared first on Wine Marketing & Tourism Conference.

In week 5 of our 10-week Successful Marketing video series, Allan and his guest, Beth Peluse, Zephyr Adventures’ Marketing Director, discuss the importance of databases/CRMs and email marketing.

Importance of Databases/CRMs

• Track Customers & Potential Customers
• Customer Service
• Share Data Among Team
• Marketing

Building a Database

• Sales Transaction Data
• Calls to Action on Websites or Social Media
• Login on Taproom or Tasting Room Wifi
• Partnerships
• Follow Data Privacy Rules

Importance of Email Marketing

• Universally Used
• Conversions
• Cost Effective
• Micro Targeting
• Personalization
• Measurable

Effective Email Strategies

• Automated Emails
• Email Newsletters
• Email Campaigns (specific news or events)
• Targeted Emails (to specific groups)
• RSS Feeds
• Personal Emails

Check out the video to also learn about selecting a database and email program, what data to collect, and email analysis.

Our Presenter

Allan Wright is founder and president of Zephyr Conferences. He has been organizing these conferences, determining content, and securing speakers for 13 years. Allan also has 24 years of experience running his own small company and an MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Beth Peluse is the Marketing Director for Zephyr Adventures and Taste Vacations. Beth holds down the Midwest “office” just outside of Chicago and works full time leading the charge for Zephyr’s marketing and guiding a variety of our tours. She is a self-described book nerd and loves to run, hike, cook, garden and is even an amateur beekeeper.

Get Updates

Want these free weekly marketing tips delivered to your inbox?  Sign up here.

Successful Marketing Video Series

Week 1: Effective Websites
Week 2: Local Marketing
Week 3: Survey Your Customers
Week 4: Consumer Reviews

The post CRM & Email Marketing for the Wine Industry appeared first on Wine Marketing & Tourism Conference.

Handling Negative Consumer Reviews

• Acknowledgement
• Don’t Be Defensive
• Be Polite
• Outline Corrective Action
• Invite Back With Perk

When Not to Engage

• When commenter is:
  • Aggressive
  • Won’t let go of an issue
  • Are racist, homophobic, or otherwise unacceptable

Set Up Alerts

• Google Alerts
• Reputology
• Review Trackers

Check out the video to also learn about other rating sites available!

Our Presenter

Allan Wright is founder and president of Zephyr Conferences. He has been organizing these conferences, determining content, and securing speakers for 13 years. Allan also has 24 years of experience running his own small company and an MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Get Updates

Want these free weekly marketing tips delivered to your inbox?  Sign up here.

Successful Marketing Video Series

Week 1: Effective Websites
Week 2: Local Marketing
Week 3: Survey Your Customers

The post Consumer Reviews for the Wine Industry appeared first on Wine Marketing & Tourism Conference.