Poulter Partners wins £2m Western Wines
Wine importer and distributor Western Wines has appointed Poulter Partners to handle its &£2m advertising business for its wine brands such as Kumala.
The company, based in Telford, has handed its media buying and planning account to MediaCom. The business moves from Brilliant Independent Media.
Creative advertising has been done by different agencies on a project basis and, according to Nielsen Media Research, the company spent &£823,000 on advertising last year.
However, senior brand manager at Western Wines Paul Sullivan says investment will be increased this year because the company wants to develop its brand identity.
Western Wines carries a gecko lizard on its labels and Sullivan says this will be turned into a brand icon.
Western Wines is an independent company founded by executive chairman Roger Gabb in 1980. Mike Paul, a managing director for Destination Wines at Southcorp, was appointed managing director in February last year.
The company relaunched its consumer website in October last year and created brand sites for all its main wines, including Kumala, Cono Sur, Tre Uve Ultima and new Italian wine Da Luca.
Western Wines is the UK’s largest supplier of branded South African wine with more than 40 per cent market share in retail. Kumala is the UK’s fastest-growing wine brand and sold 2 million cases in 2002 compared with 1 million in 2001, according to the company.
