Case Study: Barefoot Wine & Bubbly Shows Its Heart and ‘Sole’ Through Beach Cleanup Partnership and Media Outreach

Company: Barefoot Wine & Bubbly

Agency: Hunter Public Relations

Timeframe: Fall 2010 - Present

For the June 4, 2011, Chicago cleanup effort at the Navy Pier, Barefoot Wine and Surfrider Foundation volunteers combed the beach for trash, and afterwards enjoyed free Barefoot Wine and a concert. Photo courtesy of Hunter Public Relations

Not all wine brands align themselves with pristine Napa Valley-like landscapes and upscale tasting events. For more than 20 years, Barefoot Wine & Bubbly has crafted its unique image by making wine fun and by supporting nonprofits and local communities through donations of time, money and, of course, wine.

In 2007, Barefoot and Hunter Public Relations channeled this tradition of sipping alongside great causes to develop the Barefoot Wine Beach Rescue Project, a program that highlights the brand’s passion and spirit for two things: bare feet and clean beaches.

It’s hard to have barefoot fun on beaches when so many are closed or posted as unhealthy. That’s why Barefoot rolled up its pants and got its toes wet—literally—by partnering with the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans and beaches. The partnership goes beyond just ocean beaches that flank the coasts, however, and strives to keep pristine areas among rivers and lakes across America “barefoot friendly.”

What makes the Surfrider Foundation the ideal partner for Barefoot? Elizabeth Windram, brand manager at Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, says Barefoot identifies with Surfrider’s grassroots approach of bringing attention to local causes through community activism. “It mirrors the path that Barefoot takes with its fleet of local wine representatives, known as ‘Barefooters,’ who spread the word about Barefoot Wine while giving back to their local communities,” says Windram.

For the 2011 edition of the Beach Rescue Project, the two organizations, with the help of local community volunteers, embarked on a tour of 21 cleanups, nationwide. Specific objectives included:

• Raise awareness by earning positive press coverage for the project.

• Recruit at least 50 volunteers at each Beach Rescue event.

• Tangibly demonstrate Barefoot is serious about keeping America’s beaches barefoot-friendly.

• Engage Barefoot’s target consumers by providing positive and memorable brand experiences at cleanups.

• Continue a national legacy program that Barefoot Wine sales specialists can activate at the retail level in order to drive sales and Surfrider local chapters can activate to drive local membership.

• Maintain a PR CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions) of $5 or less.

BEACH RESEARCH

Proprietary research showed that Barefoot Wine’s target consumers become loyal to products that support causes close to them. Additionally, the brand’s “Barefooters” love beaches and shorelines—places that are inherently shoes-off locations. Barefoot also commissioned a survey in conjunction with Surfrider through Wakefield Research to learn about the habits and concerns of America’s beachgoers, which showed:

• 75% of those surveyed gave their beach a grade of “C” when asked about overall beach quality.

• 37% of respondents said water pollution and debris has kept them out of the water.

• 98% of respondents said they see litter when visiting the beach, and 78% of beachgoers are willing to remove litter on their own and have picked up others’ debris when visiting the beach.

Secondary research from Surfrider showed that each year, more than 25,000 beaches are either closed or posted as unhealthy, and that plastic is the most common type of marine debris and comprises 90% of debris in the ocean. Clearly, there was still work to be done by both beach and wine enthusiasts to protect these barefoot havens.

RESCUE STRATEGY

The combined 11-person communications team’s strategy was to leverage Barefoot’s fun personality and charitable heritage to connect with consumers, Surfrider members and distributors and retailers in their communities by creating opportunities to volunteer.

Gigi Russo, partner at Hunter Public Relations, says that in order to expand the beach rescue experience beyond the physical cleanup and earn wider support, the team identified folk/pop singer and songwriter Brett Dennen, a Surfrider supporter who was named by Rolling Stone as an “Artist to Watch” in 2009, to serve as spokesperson and performer at cleanups in large media markets.

In order to generate mainstream news and catch the attention of multiple audiences on and off the wine pages, the team kicked off the summer with Dennen and the Surfrider Foundation’s communications manager Alexis Henry participating in a national radio media tour.

Throughout the spring and summer months, the Beach Rescue Project team set up four large-scale events, starting on May 21, 2011, in Washington, D.C., and moving to Chicago, Seattle and Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and 17 smaller-scale cleanup events and volunteer appreciation celebrations.

MEDIA WAVE

To help increase awareness and turnout leading up to the program launch, Hunter PR conducted national and local media outreach for coverage of the project, targeting several beats including wine, lifestyle, philanthropy, music and the environment.

On the day of each event, local camera crews were invited on site to capture volunteers joining together to give back to their communities. In cities where Dennen was not present, local Surfrider Foundation chapter heads and Barefooters served as spokespeople for the Beach Rescue Project.

BEACH GREET

In each market, volunteers gathered to help clean their local beach/shorefront. Volunteers were greeted at a check-in table at Barefoot Wine and Surfrider Foundation branded tents where they signed in and received supplies for a safe cleanup. Participants were given a commemorative T-shirt and encouraged to wear it during the cleanup. After given instructions and safety precautions, volunteers took on the challenge of cleaning the shorelines, planting native greenery or sorting through the collected litter to separate recyclable items. After the two-hour cleanup, volunteers gathered to deposit their full bags and pose for a group photograph.

Following every cleanup event, volunteers 21 and over were invited to attend an appreciation celebration at a nearby venue to reward them for their good deed. Each event featured complimentary surf-inspired fare and Barefoot Wine, and at four locations, Dennen performed and participated in the cleanups.

“Picking up trash along the shore isn’t necessarily the most glamorous experience, so we focus on making the entire cleanup fun and memorable,” says Russo.

One of the campaign’s biggest challenges is that the Surfrider Foundation is a volunteer-based organization, with only a handful of paid staff members who are vital to the planning of every event to scout cleanup locations, obtain permits, help recruit attendees and even serve as spokespeople. Also, pitching the media in cities like Washington, D.C., Chicago and Seattle presented a unique set of challenges for securing coverage of beach events.

The results, however, were stellar:

• In 2011, the Beach Rescue Project campaign garnered 117 million media impressions, 113% more than the set goal of 55 million.

• Noteworthy national and local placements for the program included: USA Today, Women’s Health, Time Out Chicago, Boston and Phoenix, Miami Herald, Seattle Times, Surfline.com, Treehugger.com, NBC & Fox Miami, NBC Seattle, NewsChannel 8 Washington, D.C., and DailyCandy.

• The campaign outperformed the 2011 CPM benchmark at $3.67.

• More than 1,400 volunteers were recruited throughout the summer (approximately 65 per event).

• To date, the Beach Rescue Project has activated more than 5,500 volunteers and collected more than 3,000 pounds of marine debris; more than 8 tons of trash have been removed from the coastline. Surfrider Foundation’s local membership base and awareness have also increased, breathing new life into smaller chapters.

Every year, Barefoot’s goal is to expand the Beach Rescue Project. For 2012, Barefoot has increased the number of beaches it’s visiting and will be supporting Surfrider’s newest chapters. The campaign has also gone global, with Barefoot cleanups planned in Europe and Australia—cheers to that.

CONTACT:

Gigi Russo, [email protected]; Matt McClain, [email protected].

Follow Bill Miltenberg: @bmiltenberg