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by Steve Korchynsky

Account Executive, The Verdi Group 

It was our big party—we needed to make a big impression. The dimensional mailing was key.

All over the world and here in the U.S., there is a celebration of the arrival of the new Beaujolais—Beaujolais Nouveau—the first time we can (according to French law) actually taste the wine from Gamay grapes made in the Beaujolais region of Burgundy. The wine is released annually on the third Thursday of November.

Every year, The Verdi Group, a Rochester, NY-based marketing agency, holds its own Beaujolais Nouveau Partee! The agency invites all of its clients, friends, and family for an evening of celebration.

In late 2013 The Verdi Group was at it again planning the 17^th Partee, and the most critical task was developing a creative and response-worthy invitation.

Strategy:

The invite communications had to be representative of the out-of-the-box thinking and direct mail expertise that The Verdi Group is known for. Naturally, a dimensional mail invite would be the showpiece created to stand out as one of the most interesting things to land in guests’ mailboxes in recent history.

Implementation / Creativity:

The direct mail invitation was a unique mailing to say the least, and sure to stick out amongst any other piece of mail—the shell was a wooden cheese box. It was sealed shut with a green ribbon (green being The Verdi Group’s signature) and a label on top announcing the 17^th annual wine and cheese celebration—it also hinted at the great things in store, including the cheese, wine, contest, prizes, and a wine charm inside the cheese box. Once opened, a perfectly sized three-panel note presented all the details of the party—the date and time, the location (with a map and some history), how to RSVP, information on the contest, and an introduction to the wine charm (made using The Verdi Group’s own 3D printer) enclosed in the cheese box.

The main call-to-action in the direct mail piece was to go to the party website to RSVP, enter the wine and cheese song-spoof contest or find out more!

Effectiveness / Results:

The 2013 Verdi Beaujolais Nouveau Partee ended up being the most well-attended in the party’s 17-year history. The party lived up to the hype as well. Guests enjoyed a lively atmosphere, wonderful live music, and great food and drink which not only included the Beaujolais Nouveau, but also a cheese assortment with 50+ varieties from all over the world!

• Generated a response rate of 45%. This far exceeded the goal and was much higher than the previous year’s response rate of 27%.

• Received 19 entries to the Verdi Wine & Cheese Song & Lyrics Contest.

• Regenerated two client relationships a few months after the party.

• Because of the buzz generated around this event there was even local news coverage

This campaign earned The Verdi Group the 2014 Rochester AMA Marketer of the Year award in the for-profit category.

For more information visit www.theverdigroup.com. New Verdi clients will receive an invitation to next year’s Partee!