5W Public Relations was tasked with the launches of Fifty Shades of Grey Wines, a collaboration with the erotic romance novelist E.L. James, as well as Downton Abbey Wines, celebrating the British period drama.

1. Overview:
After a successful campaign surrounding the Wines That Rock Collection expansion in 2012, 5W Public Relations was tasked with the launches of Fifty
Shades of Grey Wines, a collaboration with the erotic romance novelist E.L. James, as well as Downton Abbey Wines, celebrating the British period
drama.
Strategy:
Working alongside Wines That Rock and the vineyards responsible for blending the new collections, as well as the creative minds behind the book
trilogy and television series, 5W launched each brand by drafting two press releases, one targeting trade and one targeting consumer media. Through
relevant pitches and sample mailers, 5W reached out to hundreds of media contacts at daily newspapers, television networks and affiliates, radio
stations, wire services, magazines, websites and blogs, simultaneously building awareness and buzz among consumers while also creating demand and
driving sales at retail.
5W leveraged the timing of the launches to position Fifty Shades of Grey Wines as a must-have holiday and hostess gift during the holiday season and
during the casting announcements for the upcoming Fifty Shades of Grey movie, and Downton Abbey as a must-have holiday and hostess gift during
the holiday season and leading up the to premiere of Season 4 in the U.S. Lastly, 5W worked closely with E.L. James, to promote the wine that she
herself helped blend to her social networks, as well as with NBC Universal and The Project Factory, who supported the launch of Downton Abbey
Wines through unique initiatives on social platforms associated with the television series.
Impact:
5W secured a groundswell of media coverage for both collections, garnering close to 2 billion impressions in less than two months, including
placements within broadcast, print and online media outlets including Good Morning America, The TODAY Show, PEOPLE, Vanity Fair, Marie Claire,
Cosmopolitan, Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator and many more.
Specific to Fifty Shades of Grey Wines, the client commented that 5W could, in fact, have executed the “biggest wine launch in history.”
Additionally, media and retailers received countless calls and emails requesting information as to local retailers carrying both collections, driving
sales for Wines That Rock as well as for the company’s retail partners. Further, an editor from In Touch Weekly online relayed that the story
on the launch of Fifty Shades of Grey Wines was the “most read story” for over a month on intouchweekly.com.

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