Thierry’s and Vrazon join forces at the LIWF

Thierry’s will be returning to the London International Wine Fair (LIWF) 16-19 May, this year as the main sponsor of the Access Zone (stand F72) run by social media experts, Vrazon (Ryan and Gabriella Opaz and Rob McIntosh).

The Access Zone aims to show how social media can be used to engage with consumers and build brand awareness. It will offer wine communicators a space for networking and a hub for exchanging ideas. There will also be a series of practical seminars, presentations, tastings and interviews, to be recorded and streamed live to the internet.
 
This year, Thierry’s and Vrazon join forces to host a unique and ambitious experiment which aims to ‘disrupt’ the traditional way the wine trade thinks about wine branding
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They will bring together three top winemakers – Austria’s Markus Huber; Emmanuel Laurent from Antonin Rodet, Burgundy and Italian winemaker, Giorgio Flessati, from Trentino (also behind Viña Falernia, Chile) to create an innovative, pan-European, premium white blend from scratch over the three days. Thierry's buying directors, Lindsay Talas and Dominique Vrigneau will be lending their expertise, working closely with the winemakers.

Thierry’s and Vrazon will demonstrate how wine is brought to market and show the role of winemakers, importers, designers, marketers and retailers in the process.  Visitors to the Access Zone and the wider international blogging community will be invited to get involved in the whole process, encouraging their feedback on the blends and consulting with them on label designs.

Together, Thierry’s and Vrazon will harness the power of social media and create an exciting new blend, brand identity and web presence, putting the finished wine on sale by the end of the fair. Vrazon will be broadcasting much of the action, making the content available to the wider world - this is branding as you’ve never seen it before.

Thierry’s new-look blog will also go live on 9 May, in time to capture all the excitement in the run-up to the Fair and over the three days.

Matthew Dickinson, commercial director, Thierry's, comments: "We always like to think outside the box and do things a bit differently and this year is no exception. Supporting the Access Zone is a perfect fit for us and a natural progression from our foray into the world of social media last year, with the launch of Thierry's blog. The beauty of the Access Zone is that it allows the wine blogging community access to the workings of the wine industry through the LIWF and provides a focal point for visitors to learn more about social media and how effective and powerful it can be.”

James Murray, exhibition director, LIWF, added: “We are excited to be working with such cutting-edge companies as Vrazon and Thierry’s, who are not afraid to push the boundaries of social media and entice the wine trade into the conversation.”

Thierry’s will also be holding a blind tasting of some of their more eclectic wines on the stand (F72) and will be launching the new Zampa range from India. The Thierry’s bar will be serving Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne and a selection of Indian beers.

May 2011