The NYWGF is excited to support the international campaign, Come Over October (COO)! As a Friend of COO, we are encouraging New York wineries to join the promotional campaign this fall through the many opportunities to engage with COO and celebrate New York wines.
What is Come Over October?
- COO is an international campaign created by wine journalist Karen MacNeil and industry PR veterans Gino Colangelo and Kimberly Noelle Charles.
- The mission of COO is to encourage people to invite family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues to come together in October to share wine, friendship, and goodwill.
- The messaging of COO is focused around celebrating wine for the positive role it has played in society and culture as an artisanal, agricultural product that brings people together.
Visit the COO website to learn more about this campaign, its founders, why it came about, and how you can start promoting your support of COO.
How Can My Winery Participate in Come Over October?
One of the most exciting aspects of COO is that engagement and activation are easily accessible and can be layered into programs and activities that you already have planned. We encourage your participation in this campaign via all channels that make sense for your business and show off the best of the New York wine industry’s collaborative spirit. Ideas for participation may include:
- Hosting a special event at your tasting room or a partnering business (wine shop or restaurant) and posting it on social media (more information on social media tips and tricks below).
- Incentivizing current wine club members to visit with special offers and wine flights in October and encouraging them to invite their friends to join them.
- Emailing your subscribers to offer promotions and shipping discounts during October.
- Posting on social media throughout the month and tagging @comeoveroctober and @newyorkwines and using the hashtags #comeoveroctober, #cometogetherforwine, and #newyorkwines to maximize re-posting, reach, and engagement.
What Tools Are Available to Promote COO?
There are many free tools available on the COO website to help make your participation efforts seamless. From email banners to rack cards to social media posts to posters and more, COO has made it easy for you to share this campaign on- and offline. Download the co-branded New York Wines & COO Assets here.
One of the best ways to maximize your reach during October will be to engage on Facebook and/or Instagram with the COO campaign and NYWGF.
- COO will repost/share any posts using the #comeoveroctober and #cometogetherforwine hashtags.
- Follow @comeoveroctober to see how others are getting in on the celebration.
- Be sure to tag @newyorkwines in your posts and we will re-post to our platforms!
Potential themes for events, emails, and social postings:
- Since COO occurs during harvest it is the perfect time to invite people to raise a glass to those who are working hard to fill the 2024 bottles while enjoying a glass of one of your favorite New York wine bottles from previous years.
- Encourage people to “come over” and support local businesses, engage your wine club members and customers with new fall releases and special offerings, and highlight food and wine pairings for fall and holiday gatherings.
- Close out the month with a Halloween-themed COO celebration or offer a Halloween party-themed promotion or wine package with spooky decorations and pairing recipes for those hosting their own COO Halloween party.
We encourage you all to take advantage of the many free resources that COO has available on its website and to customize your events and social media postings to your winery and brand. Be BOLD and encourage your followers to show their support of New York wines all month long.
Join the Collaborative Selling Movement for FREE this October
The NYWGF, in partnership with WINEing, invites member wineries to take part in Come Over October through the power of collaborative selling. By joining for FREE, your winery can:
- Be featured on WINEing, the digital platform affiliated with COO and NYWGF
- Reach new, engaged audiences during October
- Turn tastings, events, and gatherings into direct sales opportunities
This is a chance to showcase your wines while tapping into a growing movement that connects wine lovers with local producers. Contact Moshé Weizman, co-founder of WINEing, to learn more: moshe.wineing@gmail.com
What Does NYWGF Have Planned?
As a Friend of COO and representative of New York wines, we will be promoting this campaign through our digital channels. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram as we will be posting weekly on our social media channels to raise awareness of COO.
Please tag us @newyorkwines in all of your social media posts and we will be happy to repost all content to our channels. We will also be sharing resources with consumers and industry professionals in our Press Deck and Grapevine Email Newsletters.
To kickstart the COO Campaign to New York wine consumers, we recently shared the article, “Raising a Glass Together: New York Wines and the ‘Come Over October’ Movement”, to our Press Deck Newsletter. Please feel free to share this article on your digital channels while you are promoting COO!
We look forward to celebrating our industry together with you in October and all throughout fall and the upcoming holiday season.
Please reach out to Meg Hopkins at meghopkins@nywgf.org with any ideas and questions, and we will continue to share details about NYWGF’s support for and promotion of COO in the coming weeks.
