Best Practices for Press Trips: Part I

When it comes to press trips, protected-origin food and beverage brands invest heavily. Flying media from the U.S. to Europe, enthralling them with amazing meals and wine, and creating a romantic experience (all day, every day) for a week is expensive, and not just in dollars. There are countless hours spent by several people to pull off the perfect bespoke trip.

It’s more than worth it, of course. With the right planning, a few days spent exploring the chateau of the Médoc or the rolling hills of prosciuttificio in Parma (client) can lead to fruitful and long-term relationships with KOLs and influencers, several months of earned media, and the organic recruitment of more brand evangelists for your client. After years of wine press and trade trips everywhere from Sicily to Alto Adige to Northern Spain, I’ve come up with a shortlist of best practices culled from the most successful trips I’ve had the good fortune of co-hosting.

Plan a press trip that exceeds expectations: curate the ideal group of guests.Click To Tweet

Below, Part I of my do’s and don’ts for a press trip that exceeds expectations for both hosts and guests: curating the ideal group of guests.

Now that you’ve come close to constructing the ideal group, stay tuned for Part II on tips for creating a press trip that keeps on giving!

Have any fun and/or horror stories on past press trips? Let’s discuss via [email protected].

Full disclosure: I am fresh off the plane from an outstanding week in Bordeaux (client) with some of my favorite writers and I couldn’t be more grateful for the experience!

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