Southbrook Vineyards – Sustainable Vines Online

Southbrook Vineyards engaged Up Marketing to promote their wines and location online. Southbrook is a Niagara-based organic and biodynamic vineyard with an inspiring sustainability story and a beautiful Tasting Pavilion designed by renowned architect Jack Diamond that earned Gold certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standard. Up Marketing created three intelligent campaigns that helped Southbrook Vineyard spread the story, improve brand awareness, enhance their LCBO marketing initiatives, and attract tourists to the estate store.

Up Marketing mobilized our expertise in Google AdWords to selectively display ads to specified target demographics. To Taking full advantage of Google AdWords’ versatile and complex technology, we implemented three complementary strategies in campaigns for the Southbrook’s Connect! Brand, Triomphe Cabernet Franc Rose, and estate destination. We targeted websites with visitors likely to be intrigued by Southbrook Vineyard’s range of product offerings,, sustainable winemaking practices and spectacular Niagara-on-the-Lake site.  Up Marketing also crafted a place-based marketing campaign to reach tourists researching Niagara-on-the-Lake attractions or Ontario wineries, deploying Google functionality to place advertisements on selected sites on the Display Network and within a broad spectrum of targeted search results.

Up Marketing produced 24 static and animated ads.  We coined a new brand slogan—“Casual Blends Connect Friends” – to support their new labels and introduced it in creative that visually links Southbrook Vineyard’s online presence to the rows of bottles displayed at the LCBO.  Quick recognition allows consumers to spend less time searching shelves and more time connecting with friends!

Executing Google AdWords campaigns to promote products containing alcohol is a challenge due to restrictions on selling alcohol online. For example, ads may be limited to display on sites which verify their visitors’ ages. Leveraging our working relationship with Google, Up Marketing succeeded in gaining full approval for ad sets promoting the Connect! brand family, Triomphe vintage Rose, the Southbrook estate as travel destination, and an international tasting event hosted at the tasting pavilion.

Up Marketing’s AdWords campaigns have drawn visitors to Southbrook Vineyard’s website and estate. Static and animated Display ads are appearing on leading news suites including the Globe & Mail and New York Times, Ontario’s most important wine sites such as Wine Align, and extended animated versions have run on Youtube. Our campaigns generated over 800,000 impressions in the first two months – for a fraction of the cost of buying impressions outright.  Southbrook’s LCBO sales are climbing and Up Marketing is now working on the next series of ads to promote Southbrook’s  fall offerings, focus products and estate events, combined with a special offer to increase their online newsletter subscribers.