NASHVILLE, TN – Tennessee Farm Winegrowers Alliance, a 501c6 trade organization representing the commercial Grape and Wine Industry in Tennessee, announces the launch of their new consumer facing brand identity with Tennessee Wines. The organization will conduct all consumer based marketing initiatives from advertisement, wine festivals, and social media interaction as Tennessee Wines. Among the changes include logo, social media channels, tagline, and domain name (www.TennesseeWines.com).
Initial discussions within the wine industry leadership in 2018 determined that the formal business entity known as, Tennessee Farm Winegrowers Alliance (TFWA), was a confusing brand identity for the general consumer. While its name and branding as TFWA represented its mission, and made sense from an internal industry standpoint. It made no sense to a general public consumer when they saw Tennessee Farm Winegrowers Alliance on marketing collateral. It was determined that the TFWA needed to find a way to service both inter industry initiatives as well as connect with the public.
“The decision was made in June of 2018 to pursue a new branding package taking ownership of Tennessee Wines, which was already being done in part with an existing domain name. After much discussion we opted to find a partner in one of Tennessee’s Higher Education Institutions to tap into some of the talented designers and next generation of consumers to get a fresh perspective on what an emerging industry should look and feel like”, said TFWA Executive Director Adam Acampora.
Tennessee Tech University was selected and in October of 2018 TFWA, Executive Director Acampora met with 16 design students. Working in tandem with their professor David Gallop, the students got to experience what a real world client brief would be like. They spent an afternoon in a client brief, learning about the historic background of the industry, discussing values, moods and style preferences. Over the next 8 weeks the students would work through web based project management applications to showcase their thoughts and designs making adjustments based off of feedback provided by Acampora. This simulated a true client designer relationship that they might find once they graduate.
“Working with Tennessee Wines was a great experience for our graphic design students. This project had an invaluable impact on my students in learning professional practices, industry standards, and gaining experience working with a great client.” said David Gallop, Assistant Professor of Design & Digital Media, School of Art, Craft & Design Tennessee Technological University
The final brand package was chosen from among the design students submissions after Acampora and the TFWA Board had weighed the pros and cons of all projects submitted. “It was an extremely hard decision. Up until the very end it was neck and neck between two very well thought out concepts but in the end, we chose, Ansley Stennett’s Design Package” said Acampora.
The chosen Designer received a $1,000 award for her work in addition to Tennessee Tech receiving a $1,000 award for their Bacchanal Fund.
“I greatly appreciated the opportunity to work with Mr. Acampora and Tennessee Wines. I was honored to work on this project. It helped me grow as a designer and professional. I was thrilled to see the design and collateral printed for this summer!” Ansley Stennett, Final Award Recipient. “During the project, I strived for my brand proposal to embody Tennessee Wines. I consistently tried to portray sophistication, southern hospitality, and agricultural elements. I tried to keep in mind the longevity of my design as I was creating. Trends come and go, but I wanted to create something that would represent Tennessee Wines for many years to come.”
The new logo, tourism brochure, winery map and brand elements can be seen on marketing collateral that will begin rolling out in Spring of 2019. The main Tennessee Industry Website has also been given a face lift to reflect the new consumer brand design, www.TennesseeWines.com.