THE WASHINGTON WINE INDUSTRY MOVES SOUTH

The Washington Wine Commission is kicking off a national ad campaign this week in Tampa, Florida. The campaign will feature print, radio and outdoor advertisements along with in-store promotions and wine tastings. The test-campaign will measure the effectiveness “of using broad consumer advertising” to increase knowledge of Washington state wines and will run from February through April. "The WWC selected Tampa as our test market because the area has higher than average wine consumption and features similar demographic characteristics to many other mid-sized cities across the country. However, Florida wine consumers have relatively low awareness of Washington wine. By launching our first national ad campaign in a 'clean' test market, we can see the degree by which our efforts can move the needle," said Robin Pollard, executive director for the Washington Wine Commission.