News and Notes

Not content to simply dish out samples of their cheeses at events in Houston, Philadelphia and San Francisco, Alouette asked Pavone to come up with a way to draw attention to the company and its selection of products in an already crowded environment. Our answer was to turn the tables and harness the very power of crowds by creating some of our own: lively and unforgettable flash mobs that literally sang the praises of the Alouette brand.

The first flash mob, in the form of 50 amateur and semiprofessional performers, assembled at the Houston Wine & Food Week on June 11. At a predetermined time, members of the mob shed their “casual festivalgoer” attire to reveal branded Alouette T-tshirts. Led by their cheese maestro, the singers then belted out a spirited rendition of the well-known French-Canadian folk song, “Alouette” (with suitably cheesy lyrics added), as more than 2,000 surprised attendees hummed along and snapped photos.

Follow-up mobs made appearances at San Francisco’s Castro Street Fair in October and at the Philadelphia Food & Wine Festival later the same month.

As with any flash mob, a written description does it no justice, which is why we captured the Houston experience for you to sample in the video below. Bon appétit!  Read more...

The Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association recently teamed with Pavone to create a public image campaign centered around the theme “Your Milk Comes from a Good Place.” At the heart of our public relations and social media-heavy efforts was a contest that awarded a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a V.I.P. guest on a working dairy farm to six dairy fans throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

In addition to garnering media coverage in nearly every area hosting V.I.P. experiences, the campaign created something even more valuable – memories that will last a lifetime for some very happy dairy fans. Four of those experiences are summarized below, with two more taking place this weekend at farms in Delaware and Virginia.

An elementary school librarian by day, Mary Bowser got up close and personal with a calf at Griebel Dairy Farm in Lucinda, PA. “My 97-year-old mother pastured her family’s cows in our neighborhood when she was young,” wrote Bowser in her winning contest entry. “I would love to be part of the world of agriculture – if only temporarily.”  Read more...

When it comes to “beach beers,” Corona has the sleepy, laid-back approach down to a
science. That’s fine if your idea of a good time is a beach chair and a good book, but the
brewers behind Carib – a leading beer on its home island of Trinidad, and the Caribbean’s
most widely distributed brand – have other plans.

Brewed since 1950, Carib has enjoyed huge success in the Caribbean and in recent years
has begun focusing more attention on the American beer market, particularly in Florida and in New York. To help speed the transition from homeland beer of choice to mainland import, Carib has partnered with food and beverage marketing agency Pavone. Pavone is focusing much of its initial efforts in Florida, a market providing an ideal launching pad and a natural fit for a beer that prides itself on embracing the outgoing, high-energy Caribbean lifestyle.

The main objective for Pavone: Make a bigger splash in Florida and then introduce the
original island favorite to beer drinkers beyond the Sunshine State. As the current buzz
surrounding Carib builds, those introductions should come easily. “The quintessential beach beer” is how it was recently described on FoxNews.com. The reviewer was also “confident it’ll beat Corona every day of the week and twice on Sundays.”  Read more...

The Pennsylvania wine industry has many stories to tell, but the stories the state’s 140-plus winery owners would really like to hear are the ones from their millions of fans.

That’s the basis of a new campaign created by the Pavone called “Pennsylvania Wine Stories: There’s a Story Behind Every Cork.” The promotion for the Pennsylvania Winery Association (PWA) will also benefit the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL).

The effort asks wine lovers to visit PennsylvaniaWine.com, the PWA Facebook page, or a participating winery to share their Pennsylvania wine stories and read some of the many tales submitted by other wine lovers. For every story submitted, the PWA will add another cork to its growing collection, which will be transformed into a sculpture at the end of the year – and donate one dollar to the NCFL, an organization that inspires and engages families in the pursuit of education and learning together.

“If you’ve got good wine, a good story isn’t far behind,” said PWA President Sam Landis, a second-generation owner and operator of Vynecrest Winery in Lehigh County.  Read more...

The opportunity to work on a fun and creative marketing campaign is a reward in itself. When that campaign is successful (in this case, it sells tons of beer), it’s even more rewarding. Throw in a nationally known award like the Public Relations Society of America’s Bronze Anvil, and you’ve got a campaign really worth bragging about.

Yuengling is known for its flagship beer, which everyone orders by name: “Lager.” But America’s Oldest Brewery came to us with the challenge of rejuvenating the first beer D.G. Yuengling ever bottled when he opened his brewery in 1829 – Lord Chesterfield Ale. Sales were low and awareness even lower, but the brand did have a small loyal following, which the company took as a sign that there were more people would appreciate its unique flavor. So we brought Lord Chesterfield back to life – literally and figuratively.  Read more...