Challenge
In 2006, the City of Palm Desert produced its inaugural Art of Food & Wine, a high quality art, food and wine festival. It was an ambitious undertaking largely involving volunteers. In instituting the festival, the City sought to create a signature event that would grow in stature over time, attract visitors to the area, stimulate business for the local tourism and retail trade and generate revenues through ticket sales and sponsorships. For the 2007 event, the City opted to hire a professional event management company.

Our Solution
The agency was brought in to produce the 2007 Art of Food & Wine festival by building on and strengthening the initial concept. We were asked to: shine a spotlight on the City and its myriad treasures; engage the various local communities of Palm Desert in the event; and create exposure, attracting attention and visitors to the area from both regional and national markets. We created a four-day festival that involved six events - Opening Night Reception; Golf Tournament; Street Festival; Concert; Grand Tasting Saturday; and Grand Tasting Sunday - in five venues, showcasing numerous chefs, sommeliers, wines, sponsors, and local business participants. To build awareness of the festival and the area, we created comprehensive marketing and public relations plans that started locally, expanded regionally, and continued to reach out to audiences both nationally and internationally. We created a strong and vibrant website, sharpening the focus and expanding the content and capabilities of the existing site. Our PR efforts utilized a three-pronged approach to differentiate the festival by focusing separately on its three key elements: art, food and wine.

Results
The Art of Food & Wine festival saw dramatic improvements in 2007 from an organizational, promotional, operational and attendance perspective. Ticket sales for many of the events more than doubled over the previous year. The PR campaign made more than 17 million impressions through print, online and broadcast media. Some $2 million in revenue was generated, and feedback from all quarters was overwhelmingly positive.