Denver-based Wander + Ivy is a certified woman- and disability-owned company providing premium wine in elegant, easy-to-open single-serve packaging. We were introduced to the founder, Dana Spalding, in December of 2020, during an intense phase of the pandemic while Wander + Ivy finished up an astounding 425% growth year. Founded in 2018 as a disruptive DTC brand, they were shipping wine to 39 states and had entered distribution in four states (CO, TX, CA, NY) to close out the year.
As direct-to-consumer wine sales skyrocketed, Wander + Ivy was poised to fuel growth by extending distribution into new states, creating a great opportunity for media relations to drive brand awareness and earn distributor share of mind (and shelf space). PR helped Wander + Ivy reach distribution goals by earning retailers trust with impactful media placements and a strong brand narrative.
By leveraging over a decade of hands-on national beverage go-to-market experience, a deep
understanding of the national media landscape and experience in all four current markets, Turn It Up publicized Wander + Ivy’s disruptive and occasion-based narrative, securing coverage that aligned with sales priorities. We developed a simple strategy by identifying priority segments to help fuel their success.
Beverage Industry Focus
Although it's not the most sexy approach, strategically we began introducing the brand narrative to beverage industry outlets. With a growth strategy focused on adding distribution and chain business, Turn It Up targeted beverage outlets to create brand awareness throughout the industry by leveraging W+I's meteoric growth narrative. The earned media placements provided value to new distributor meetings and chain presentations as W+I added distribution and continued to grow.
National Consumer Focus
With a focus on occasion-based consumption, we executed an aggressive sampling program, securing over 100 targeted samples to key media outlets. As Wander + Ivy added new varietals, we were able to leverage new products for additional sampling opportunities, solidifying the unique and disruptive nature of their single serve packaging, by delivering bottles directly to the media. Below are some of the earned media placements from our first year of PR efforts.
Entrepreneur / Business Consumer Focus
Leveraging Wander + Ivy's unique market position as a certified woman- and disability-owned business, along with Dana's positive and energetic personality and compelling founder's story, we targeted business consumer publications, aiding W+I fundraising efforts and sharing the W+I story with distributors and retailers. We developed a strong W+I press kit, anchored with Dana's knack for compelling interviews. Spaulding, a new mom as well as a new business owner, built Wander + Ivy’s investment pool raising more than $1.6 million to grow and scale the business. After Spaulding gave birth to her first child in January 2020, the company’s sales grew 425-percent year-over-year.
2021 Earned Media Results
We enjoyed the first year, introduced the W+I brand to a ton of media outlets and secured over 130 media placements, sent over 100 qualified samples, earning a reach of over 380 Million for the young brand.
All Wander + Ivy wines are produced by award-winning, family-owned vineyards around the world. Varietals change seasonally and are available for purchase in select retail stores in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Maine, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Washington. Customers can also order online and ship direct to their door at www.wanderandivy.com/wine-shop.