An autumn celebration of the finest food, wine and beer in Victoria’s spectacular North East.

1. Marketing Toolkit An autumn celebration of the finest food, wine and beer in Victoria’s spectacular North East. 16th – 25th May, 2014 www.highcountryharvest.com.au

2. What is High Country Harvest ? • High Country Harvest is an annual event to showcase the exceptional food, wine and beer offering across the Victoria’s High Country. • We encourage all tourism businesses across the North East to get involved and promote High Country Harvest as it is a strong visitation driver for our region. To make it easy, we’ve developed a toolkit with everything you need to tell your customers, guests, patrons and friends about High Country Harvest. • The toolkit contains: • Key High Country Harvest messages for you to use in your marketing • Short and long blurbs describing the event. You can cut and paste these directly – there is no need to change the wording • High Country Harvest logo for use in your in electronic and printed material • Marketing ideas on how you can leverage High Country Harvest for your own organisation or business

3. Key Messages • High Country Harvest (16 – 25 May) is an autumnal celebration of the bountiful food, wine and beer culture in North East Victoria; • An up-close-and-personal 10-day program of 40 events interacting with the High Country’s passionate producers, chefs, winemakers and brewers; • Feast the senses on autumn produce amid harvest-hued landscapes of panoramic valleys, rising mountains and big autumn skies; • Full program on sale mid-March: www.highcountryharvest.com.au

4. Short Blurb • You’re invited to feast your senses in North East Victoria alongside the region’s top producers, chefs, winemakers and craft brewers this May. Get up close and personal with a program of 40 events over 10 days, as you celebrate the High Country’s autumn goodness amid landscapes of harvest-hued valleys, rising mountains and wide open skies. • When: 16th – 25th May 2014 • Where: Victoria’s High Country • More information: www.highcountryharvest.com.au

5. Long Blurb • You’re invited to feast your senses in North East Victoria alongside the region’s top producers, chefs, winemakers and craft brewers this May. Get up close and personal with a program of 40 events over 10 days, as you celebrate the High Country’s autumn goodness amid landscapes of harvest-hued valleys, rising mountains and wide open skies. Join beekeepers to inspect their hives and harvest honey in a secret beekeeping forest, or learn to make sweet Italian cannoli from scratch from a nonnain the know; feast and dance bonfire-side before a night camping out under a full autumn moon, or learn the lost art of packing a horse (only this time, with Prosecco!) before a ride to the riverbanks finishing with bubbles and cheese. • When: 16th– 25th May • Where: Spectacular settings right across the High Country, including Beechworth, Benalla, Bright & Surrounds, Falls Creek, Glenrowan, King Valley, Milawa Gourmet Region, Mansfield & Surrounds, Rutherglen, Tallangatta and Wangaratta. • When: 16th – 25th May 2014 • Where: Victoria’s High Country • More information: Web: www.highcountryharvest.com.au • Facebook: High Country Harvest • Twitter: @HighCountryHarv • Instagram: #seehighcountry

6. High Country Harvest Logo & Banner • Copy the High Country Harvest logo from our website • Copy the High Country Harvest banner from our website • Copy the High Country Harvest Program from our website • Electronic marketing • The High Country Harvest logo and banner can be copied and pasted into your: • website • direct mail pieces • facebookpage • Link the logo or banner to www.highcountryharvest.com.auand visitors can click through to see the entire program. • Printed material • You can use the logo in your own printed material, programs and advertising to publicise High Country Harvest.

7. Social Media Facebook If you have a facebook page, 'like' www.facebook.com/HighCountryHarvest and share our posts about the event with your facebook audience. This is an easy and quick way to generate content on your facebook page. Post your photos and interesting stories about your High Country Harvest event or food, wine or beer experiences to www.facebook.com/HighCountryHarvestand we’ll share highlight images that are quirky, relevant and enticing to our audience. Instagram Follow our #seehighcountry and share #seehighcountry with your database and customers. Share your photos of the fabulous food, wine and beer offering in the North East and #seehighcountry.

8. PR Ideas Tourism North East will drive significant public relations for High Country Harvest with famils (familiarisations with visiting journalists), media releases and diary mentions in key publications for the event. In addition, you can individually target Melbourne diary media and local media to promote your event by sending your event details to media to be included in their diaries/calendars/What’s on columns. • Approx. 6 - 8 weeks out from your event create a press release. Visit the TNE website for the DIY media kit to help you. Remember a picture tells a thousand words, and make sure it is HIGH RES for print ie 300 dpi.• Some key diary media (see Melbourne Diary and Local Media contact lists for full list):- The Saturday Age, Life & Style weekendevents@theage.com.au- The Sunday Age, M Magazine weekendevents@theage.com.au- Herald Sun Weekend, Weekend Planner michael.cahill@news.com.au - Border Mail Weekend Pulse, Weekend Planner ben.robson@bordermail.com.au

9. Marketing Ideas If you have an event in High Country Harvest here are some ideas: • Email your database about your event AND its involvement in High Country Harvest• Include information about High Country Harvest in your newsletters• Brief staff on the event so they can spread the word to visitors• Create a visual display in your business that promotes the food, wine and beer offering of the North East• Reference your event on your special boards• Make sure you pass all your event information on to your Visitor Information Centre so it can be included in the Shires & Regional “What’s On” information Signage & Printed Collateral • Produce a flyer, postcard or poster and distribute to local businesses, residents, other networks, visitors, guests and Visitor Information Centres.• Remember to include the High Country Harvest website & logo on printed collateral as well as your own website, social media handles & contact details.

10. Marketing Ideas Online • Distribute e-flyers to networks & databases• Update regular information about your event on social media such as Facebook & Twitter, including images, video and snippets of info.• Ensure Tourism North East is aware of your social media handles so that we can follow you (if we are not already)• Ensure your upcoming events are featured on the homepage of your website• Add an image or text line to your email signature to promote your event. Advertising • If budget allows advertise in local papers or local radio

11. Tourism North East Marketing Program • TNE has developed an extensive marketing program to promote High Country Harvest. • 270,000 copies of the High Country Harvest Program will be distributed across the High Country and into Melbourne, Canberra and Albury/Wodonga. There is also a strong PR program in place with journalists visiting the region to experience High Country Harvest as well as articles in major publications prior to the event. • Here is a summary of activity: • 35,000 event programs inserted in Border Mail – Sat 22nd March • 155,000 event programs inserted into Age Epicure- Tues 25th March • 55,000 event programs inserted into Canberra Times – Sat 29th March • Event programs distributed to all High Country Visitor Information Centres • Facebook competition to build email database for future marketing • Google Adwords Campaign • Posters across the region in cafes, wineries, breweries and retail precincts