Inside Our Drinks Cabinet - Speed Communications

We know that an effective comms strategy needs to come with a kick to make a big impact in the drink sector.

With over 20 years’ experience, we represent some of the most well-known and loved brands in the beverage world. And one success story we are particularly proud to tell is that of i heart Wines…

From start-up to top ten wine brand in 8 years.

When we started working with i heart Wines in 2016, the brand was almost unheard of and only available in limited convenience stores across the UK.

However, fast forward eight years and you will find a bottle of i heart Wine in every major supermarket, in the hands of celebrities, on the feeds of influencers and on the pages of all consumer magazines.

How?

Working as the lead discipline, PR rocketed brand awareness through an ever-evolving programme of media relations, influencer engagement, celebrity ambassadors, events, sampling, partnerships and press trips.

Our efforts over the past eight years have been instrumental in i heart Wines success, achieving top ten status in the UK’s top wine brands.

Results

Achieved #7 status in the UK’s top wine brands
Listings across all major MULTS
Thousands of pieces of media coverage
Over 800% growth in social media followers
An army of influencer superfans
Three celebrity partnerships

Rylan x i heart Wines. The perfect pairing.

i heart Wines challenged us to break them into the UK’s top ten wine brands. Growth in brand awareness and saliency was critical but to outpace competitors spending ATL we needed to think smart.

How?

Our brand ambassador strategy proved to be the perfect pairing to accelerate i heart Wines commercial growth and enabled us to punch above our weight whilst continuing to deliver throughout COVID restrictions. Rylan was the perfect match for the brand, epitomising the creative campaign of ‘open for fun’.

Results

78 pieces of media coverage
5% growth in social media followers
+7% in brand growth – outperforming the market average of 0.62%
Uplift and all-time high in brand penetration of 7.5% (Kantar)

Influencers check-in for a trip of a lifetime!

Tapping into summer celebrations, we set out to amplify i heart Wines’ on-pack Trip of a Lifetime competition, capturing consumer imagination – and sales! – by offering the opportunity to win a dream getaway.

How?

To extend campaign visibility in front of the brand’s Instagram-savvy audience, strategic collaborations with inspirational travel and lifestyle influencers were activated.

Targeted partnerships resulted in a suite of dynamic and engaging content with campaign and product messaging at the heart. All content focused on driving web traffic, seeding promos and building brand love with a new social community.

Results:

Social buzz directly impacted web traffic and sales; +570 website visits direct from IG stories
Suite of on-brand content created; 100% featuring promotional product images and CTA to enter competition

Target audience engaged; +138K new followers reached, 84% female and 64% aged 25-34

But don't take our word for it...

“I’m really impressed with the team at Speed. They truly understand our brand and our consumers and the team are dedicated and passionate. They offer a strategic, yet commercial approach and are extremely results-oriented. They present us with creative and inspiring ideas which they underpin with ambitious and realistic KPIs. A flexible, hardworking, diligent and lovely team – they are a joy to work with!”

Lucy Auld

Marketing Director for Freixenet Copestick

“Speed really challenged us with the recommendation to appoint our first brand ambassador. This was the biggest investment we have ever made as a brand, and it completely paid off. The bravery, ambition and tenacity from Speed is why we continue to work with them as our PR partner.”

Dani Buckley

i heart Wines Brand Manager