In announcing the new consumer marketing campaign, Jennifer Leitman, The Family Coppola’s senior vp-marketing, said a key part of the campaign is a short film contest hosted by the winery, the winner of which will premiere at the winery’s private venue during the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
Accomplished filmmaker and entrepreneur Roman Coppola will lend his expert creative eye to the judging of the competition. The winery is currently accepting submissions through September 5, at CoppolaShorts.com, an extension of Coppola’s Zoetrope.com website.
Another element of the digital campaign is the winery’s branded short film, intended to reflect the spirit of adventure and fresh thinking that’s at the center of The Family Coppola brand. Roman Coppola, through his extensive experience with short form work and creative collaborations with colleagues, has guided the production toward a wonderful young filmmaker – Brazilian director Rodrigo Saavedra – that he feels can really capture the essence of the Coppola brand. Saavedra is known for his artistic approach to brands such as Corona, Chivas, and Volkswagen among many others. The film will be shot in Italy this summer and released later in the year.
The winery has secured mainstream and niche partnerships including Thrillist, Gothamist, Time Out, and Pandora that will present events in major U.S. markets. Custom activations will be components on the festival circuit with partners like BottleRock, the Newport Folk Festival, and the Junk Gypsies.
Film industry collaborations, such as those with the Sundance Film Festival and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, offer an expanded network of potential consumers and added brand awareness.
The overall marketing campaign will continue to be supplemented by the winery’s internal content studio that produces video content for everything related to The Family Coppola – whether it’s a wine pairing video or an interview with a Hollywood stuntman.
While the winemakers take their wine production very seriously, and can be meticulous in describing the nuances of a particular vintage, varietal, or blend, the marketing team’s approach to presentation more closely resembles that of Francis Coppola himself. As Leitman says, “We’re storytellers and now we’re telling the Coppola story to a larger audience and entertaining them across all technological platforms.”