The Board of Pinot’s Post 2013, review was very much focussed on how to make the Pinot event even more successful than the 2013 version, which was the fifth iteration since it commenced in Wellington in 2001. Amongst the matters identified in that review was a need for greater NZW involvement in the event including in areas such as administrative support and sponsorship.
NZW also conducted a review of Pinot Noir and the associated events post 2013. Whereas the Pinot Board review looked at the event in detail, the purpose of the NZW review was to examine the fit of major events within the context of the wider suite of NZW marketing activities. In particular the review examined the role of major events as “hooks” to attract visits to New Zealand by key media and trade – a well-established feature of the NZW marketing programme.
The outcome of the NZW review was that the Board in October adopted the “In-bound visitor and Major Events Strategy 2014-2024’. Subsequent to that at its most recent meeting in March the Board agreed the organisational structure and funding model to support the in-bound visitor and major events strategy.
In essence, NZW has decided that major events (such as the Pinot Noir celebration) and the in-bound visits associated with those events are a core component of the NZW marketing strategy. As such NZW has decided to bring the organisation of these events “in-house”. The practical effect of this change is that Pinot Noir 2013 as a separate company will be dis-established and a Pinot Noir Event Committee will be established by NZW. Other major event committees (notably a Sauvignon Blanc Committee) will be established in due course to organise the events
The event committees will organise a series of events over the next 10 years as follows:
2016 – NZ Sauvignon Blanc
2017 – NZ Pinot Noir
2019 – NZ Sauvignon Blanc
2021 – NZ Pinot Noir
2023 – NZ Sauvignon Blanc
The Pinot Noir celebrations will be book-ended as in the past by events on full bodied reds and aromatics. The bookends for the Sauvignon Blanc events have yet to be decided, but could well be Chardonnay and sparkling wines that feature for example.
This major event cycle will culminate in 2021 with the 20th anniversary of the first Pinot Noir Conference in Wellington, while the 2023 Sauvignon Blanc event is timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of planting of grape vines in Marlborough.
As noted above, Event Committees will be established for each of these celebrations. The Committees will provide the creative vision for each of the events and the accountability back to the Board and to the members. As with the previous Pinot Noir Board, industry members who wish to be part of the Committees will be invited to submit applications with the final decision on Committee membership being made by the Board of NZW.
Funding for the events will come from a mix of member participation fees, sponsorship and ticket sales, as is the case with the current Pinot Noir event. NZW support will likely be primarily in helping to deliver the key media and trade audience to events as we have done for each of the Pinot Noir and associated events since 2001.
We believe the decisions made on the structure to support these major events is a strong signal of the commitment of NZW to supporting these events into the future. The strategy also is a very positive response to a number of the issues raised by the Pinot Noir Board after the 2013 event. With a long term plan in place we now need to begin to commencing the event planning.
If members require any further information about the major events strategy, please contact either myself or Chris Yorke and the NZ Winegrowers office. ν
