Gray Monk Estate Winery Digital Strategy + Launch
Gray Monk Estate Winery is rooted in family. In 1972, George & Trudy Heiss moved to the Okanagan Valley from Europe, via Edmonton, with dreams of owning a successful vineyard. Fast-forward to present day, and Gray Monk stands perched above Okanagan Lake, with stunning panoramic views of mountains and vineyards, offering guests a true taste (or sip!) of Okanagan living. With a one-of-a-kind portfolio of award-winning BC VQA wines, a bustling boutique and the world-class Grapevine Restaurant, Gray Monk is a full-service destination in Lake Country’s burgeoning wine region.
After a monumental 34 years of winemaking, the Heiss family proudly sold Gray Monk to Andrew Peller Ltd. in September 2017. As a natural extension of our work with a number of its other brands, Andrew Peller Ltd. tapped us to help usher Gray Monk into a new era, while continuing to honour the brand’s history, tradition and excellence. The vision was to establish a solid social media presence for the brand, complete with strategy, content, and visuals, while building relationships between Gray Monk, media, and influencers.
The Reformation
- Developed a full social media strategy including custom visual aesthetic, and managed all content creation/community management
- Styled, directed and executed an on-location photoshoot at Gray Monk Estate Winery to create visual content for the brand’s native social feeds
- Curated semi-monthly social media content calendars for Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to establish a consistent and ongoing brand presence
- Seeded bottles of Gray Monk 2016 Pinot Gris with key media in British Columbia and Alberta to generate editorial mentions
- Engaged with notable influencers in the Greater Vancouver Area and the Okanagan through seeded bottles of wine and invitations to the winery to secure social media mentions
- Developed consistent and impactful social media advertising presence to effectively reach audiences across Western Canada via Facebook and Instagram
Our Services
- Social Media Management
- Media Relations
- Influencer + Brand Engagement
- Visual Content Creation
“You can't go wrong with the Gray Monk 2016 Pinot Gris ($17). It's a perennial favourite for its fresh pear, apple, lemon and lime profile that shows light orange-pink in the glass from a little extra skin contact with the Pinot Gris grapes, which, although they are used to make white wine, can vary in colour from pink and grey to blue and black.”
The Results
- Earned media coverage was secured in the Georgia Straight, Victoria Buzz, Kelowna Daily Courier, plus other local Kelowna and Lake Country publications
- Organic Instagram mentions were shared by leading Okanagan + Vancouver influencers including Jillian Harris (844k), Kaitlyn Bristowe (1.6m), Kirsten Wendlandt (25.2k) and Elisha Sander (11.6k)
- Increased Instagram follower count increased by 31.5% within first two months of launching
