How Outshinery helped over 900 wine brands weather the global storm

I just got chills writing the title of this story because it brought me back to a day in March when the Outshinery team came together, as we always do, on a Zoom call. Borders were closing around the world. All of us were hunkering down. No one knew what to expect.

Moving forward

As we gathered on the call, we checked in with one another and then got busy. And not in a forced way, not in a way motivated by fear (though we were fearful) but rather we focused on what we could do to help right then, right in the now. Our product and service has always been 100% online, a combination of virtual and digital fluidity that allows our small team to be completely remote, even before that was a necessity. 

Early in the year we published a piece we’d titled How Outshinery fixed wine photography. It was a look back at all the brands we’ve had the pleasure of serving, of all the assets and visuals that have passed through our screens and into the world. 

We knew then, just as we know now, that without images that cross borders and speak all languages, the wine industry would be lacking, especially compared to other industries.

Work from home

By the time March and April 2020 rolled around, the breathtaking need to sell wine online was being shouted from rooftops all over the world. People were in their homes and they wanted wine!

We knew Outshinery customers loved our marketing calendars and holiday-themed IG sticker packs (check out Valentine’s Day here) so we decided to craft some work-from-home love with a fresh sticker pack, new Lifestyle Images, and remote-desk advice plus (bonus!) a recipe collection from our team.

Selling wine online

Throughout spring and summer we cooked up content and ideas to help everyone sell more wine online. This information is as relevant now as it was mid-2020, so check it out:

• How to market your wine before it’s bottled
• Meeting Customers Where They Are: Intentional Marketing During COVID-19
• How to modernize your wine club for 2020 and beyond

We also rolled out more free resources for social media like the Rosé All June calendar followed by the summer marketing kit. Then we told you why Instagram Stories Stickers are an easy way to promote your wine brand including a handy guide on how to use animated stickers PLUS a library of free-to-download sticker packs, which are still available for you to use.

Lots of conversation

One area that really feels alive here at Outshinery is our virtual conversations and discussions. The collaborations have been far and wide across our industry. Some highlights include:

Laurie was on the panel for The New Normal: A Town Hall About the Future of Wine which holds tons of meaningful takeaways for the wine industry. And in conjunction with the event, a fundraiser for World Central Kitchen raised nearly $5,000! 

The State of NOW in the wine industry: How to connect with people through wine marketing was the first in our On the Spot series. The conversation was so rich that we had to ask guest Megan DeCicco back to the SPOTLIGHT blog to contribute this story. 

And speaking of Outshinery’s On the Spot summer Facebook Live series, you can find them all here. Guests such as Ed Feuchuk from Tank Garage Winery chatted with Keltie about delighting customers. Natasha Hays, a successful wine marketing consultant, shared how to take off your winery hat and think like a consumer. There are 10 weeks, 10 guests, so be sure to take a peek at the full lineup.

Just in time for the cyber-everything season we uncovered tips about how people shop and how wine fits in. There is a free cheat sheet available with the replay, so grab that and learn 15 things your winery needs to do to rock sales this holiday shopping season.

New!

Outshinery welcomed four new people to our family this year: Luke, our Chief Technical Officer; Jef, Outshinery’s 2D designer; Juane, the newest member of the 3D team; and Karen, working on the creative side.

This year our team executed 3,850 Bottle Shots and 916 Lifestyle Images and Group Shots. And the Outhinery revolution grew to 430+ clients and 920 brands in 2020!

We also rolled out our Dear Outshinery video series, answering all your pressing questions, the Outshinery portfolio, and our client-lovin’ Out and About with Outshinery feature. Your winery can be the star of that show too, find out more here.  

Your life just got easier, rolling into 2021 with the new Outshinery Market, an easy way to shop for all the visuals you need. And while you are there, get a load of all the new Lifestyle Images that are available. We’ve added hundreds of new images in 2020, so browse by collection and get exactly what you need to market your brand in style. We’ll be adding more assets to the market soon (animated GIF sticker!) so browse often.

We’ve got a bit of an Outshinery workshop going on these days, with loads of new items in the works for 2021. This year provoked tons of innovation, and we are fired up to deliver even more useful and delightful things to you next year.

We’ll take a cup of kindness

We sit at the edge of a new year, and in some ways that Zoom meeting in March seems like yesterday. In other ways it feels like a long-gone moment of near innocence. So much has changed. 

But here’s what hasn’t: the great people in our industry, the wineries (and breweries and distilleries) that make products people love (and by the way: bought TONS of this year). 

Thanks for including Outshinery in your work, your progress, your solutions. Here’s to you in 2021!

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