Australian winery McGuigan ramps up UK and Ireland marketing

Australian Vintage-owned wine estate McGuigan is rolling out a series of marketing activities this autumn in a bid to raise consumer awareness of the brand.

The winery, which recently launched a 2012 vintage red blend in the UK retailing at £100 per bottle, said it will run its “biggest ever” public advertising campaign from 25 September to 22 October, with marketing material displayed on more that 200 London Underground station panels, alongside a wider national focus with key locations such as central Manchester, across Yorkshire and all major cities in the Republic of Ireland.

As well as this, the brand will run a competition to win the “ultimate Australian adventure” on its wine bottles sold in the UK and Ireland from the beginning of September until the end of November. The top prize will be a 16-night trip around Australia for two people, including a VIP tour around Sydney Opera House, snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef and an exclusive visit to the home of McGuigan Wines in the Hunter Valley.

McGuigan will also partner with London food festival Meatopia next month as the event’s official wine partner, setting up an airstream bar on-site which will sell wines from its Black Label range.

Chief Operating Officer, Julian Dyer said: “This series of marketing activities is our biggest yet, showcasing the different moments and occasions when consumers can enjoy McGuigan’s award winning wines. We’re particularly excited to have increased our advertising campaign efforts outside of the capital this year to help build brand awareness in the UK and across Ireland over the next 12 months.”

Speaking to db during the London Wine Fair earlier this year, chief winemaker Neil McGuigan said that sticking with the UK market despite the uncertainty of Brexit was starting to pay off.

“Two years ago Brexit hurt us and we lost half our profit in the UK but we decided to continue investing in the market with a big London Underground ad campaign.

“We have worked hard to extend our footprint in the UK as we can’t walk away from a country that has supported us from day one. We could have backed off but our continued investment is paying off now,” he said.