With COVID-19 concerns leading to cancelled events, Winefest — the annual, week-long celebration of Des Moines’ wine, food and culture scene — decided to transform their normal in-person gatherings into mini “house party” packages. With such a pivot, they needed a way to boost excitement and early registration numbers for two of their largest (now at-home) events, Sips in the City and the Grand tasting. That’s where we came in.
Working in tandem with our Performance Marketing counterparts, who created the Winefest poster and event promotion materials, we developed a sharable video concept and style centered around the idea of “The Year of the House Party.”
The team concepted color palettes, animation styles and typographic treatments. The palette that we chose produced a neon-like effect when elements overlapped — creating a fun visual experience. And because Winefest events celebrate the handcrafted food and wine community, we chose a loose, handmade illustration style to complement the experience those events provide.
Once the right style was established, we jumped into storyboarding a video that was as fun and vibrant as Winefest — from the music selection to the animations.
Met by rave reviews, the new Winefest house party format saw fantastic registration numbers and attendance — quickly becoming Des Moines’ social distancing party of the year.
