Marketing & Promotion Plan
The Drink Show - NSW Edition is supported by a structured, multi-channel marketing campaign designed to attract an engaged audience of wine buyers, cellar door visitors and trade professionals.
The focus is on quality of audience rather than crowd volume, ensuring wineries connect with guests who attend to discover, taste and purchase.
Promotion is targeted across Newcastle, the Hunter and Central Coast, supported by digital campaigns, media partnerships and direct industry outreach.
Target Audience
Marketing is directed toward guests with a genuine interest in boutique wineries and cellar door experiences, including:
✔ Wine lovers and collectors
✔ Cellar door visitors and wine tourists
✔ Hospitality professionals and venue operators
✔ Sommeliers and wine buyers
✔ Retail buyers and bottle shops
✔ Distributors and industry contacts
✔ Local professionals and premium lifestyle consumers
✔ Trade and media with wine focus
This ensures exhibitors connect with purchase-ready consumers and relevant trade, not just general event visitors.
Media & Digital Campaign
The campaign combines digital marketing, media exposure and event listings to drive awareness and attendance.
✔ Official event website and landing pages
✔ Paid social campaigns (Facebook & Instagram)
✔ LinkedIn promotion targeting wine industry and trade audiences
✔ Email marketing to targeted subscriber lists
✔ Google search visibility
✔ Event listing platforms and online guides
✔ Tourism and lifestyle websites
Media & Local Partnerships
✔ InTouch Magazine (print and online)
✔ Newcastle Live (print and online)
✔ Hunter Hunter (online)
✔ VisitNewcastle.com.au (tourism promotion)
✔ Wine industry event listings and association calendars
✔ Local press and event listings
✔ Dedicated collaborative marketing with participating exhibitors
These partnerships support both regional awareness and targeted audience reach, including wine-focused consumers and industry professionals.
Venue & Local Promotion
The event is promoted in collaboration with the venue and local networks, including:
✔ Venue website and event listings
✔ Showground social media and EDM campaigns
✔ On-site signage and local visibility
✔ Community event calendars
✔ Poster placement across targeted venues and high-traffic locations throughout Newcastle
✔ Local tourism and visitor information channels
✔ Regional wine tourism promotion (Hunter & surrounding areas)
✔ Local business and lifestyle networks
Industry & Trade Outreach
Trade attendance is supported through targeted industry engagement and direct invitation strategies designed to attract relevant buyers and decision-makers.
✔ Direct invitations to licensed venues and operators
✔ Liquor licence holder mail distribution
✔ Outreach to retail buyers and independent bottle shops
✔ Distributor and wholesaler networks
✔ Sommeliers and wine buyers
✔ Hospitality professionals and venue groups
✔ Wine industry contacts and association networks
✔ Trade registrations and media invitations
✔ Tourism operators and cellar door networks
✔ Corporate hospitality and business contacts
The Trade Preview session allows wineries to engage with industry attendees in a focused environment prior to the public tasting.
Exhibitor Participation (Important)
Participating exhibitors play an important role in supporting the overall success of the event. This is a collaborative marketing platform, not a passive listing.
Exhibitors are expected to promote their participation through their own networks, including:
✔ Social media promotion announcing attendance
✔ Email marketing to customer and mailing lists
✔ Invitations to wine club members and VIP customers
✔ Trade invitations to venues and buyers
✔ Ticket promotions and early bird offers
✔ Website and cellar door promotion
✔ In-venue and cellar door signage
✔ Providing media clips for Facebook, Instagram and TikTok
When all wineries promote their involvement, the combined reach significantly increases awareness and attendance.
Expected Attendance
The campaign is designed to attract approximately:
1,000 - 1,500+ engaged visitors
With limited exhibitor numbers, this supports strong visibility and meaningful interaction for each winery.
The Organiser delivers the core marketing campaign; however, exhibitor participation is an important component of overall attendance. The event is designed as a shared promotional platform.
This collaborative approach supports:
✔ Stronger attendance
✔ More targeted, wine-focused visitors
✔ Increased direct-to-consumer sales opportunities
✔ Greater exposure for each winery
✔ Improved commercial outcomes
The overall success of the event depends on a coordinated promotional effort from all participating wineries and distillers.
Future Event Priority
Exhibitors in The Drink Show - NSW Edition receive priority access to future events.
✔ First option on future Newcastle booth allocations
✔ Priority access to future NSW editions
✔ Consideration for the Melbourne Wine & Spirits Fair (October)
✔ Early invitation to exhibitor applications
The Melbourne Wine & Spirits Fair is planned as a national and international wine showcase, bringing together wineries from across Australia alongside a limited number of overseas producers in a curated, wine-led format.
Participation in the NSW Edition provides automatic inclusion in the consideration pool for the inaugural Wine & Spirits Fair line-up, positioning your winery as part of a proactive group supporting a growing national wine showcase.