Meet the Face Behind Wine Garden of England : Jo Smith , Brand Manager
How did you end up in your role and what does it entail ?
I ’ ve been involved in the wine events industry on and off for decades , and a couple of years ago I struck up a friendship with BBC Radio Kent who were interested in my events for local winegrowers . During the pandemic , I went out and interviewed vineyard owners in Kent and Sussex so they could be featured on Julia George ’ s show . When the Wine Garden of England Brand Manager job became available , I was approached by a number of the Kent vineyard owners to consider working for them . I jumped at the chance – who wouldn ’ t ?
I am a team of one ! Wine Garden of England is a collaboration of eight Kent wine producers who work together to promote tourism to their vineyards , and to Kent as a whole . My job is to make things happen . That usually encompasses marketing , PR , events , strategic partnerships and liaising with the board which includes all the vineyard owners and the marketing teams .
What does a typical day at the WGoE look like for you ?
No day is typical because there ’ s always something different going on . I work from home doing mountains of admin - anything from ordering marquees for our Summer Festival , Zoom meetings with local authorities , liaising with our social media agency about the next month ’ s activity , chasing vineyards for copy , wine lists and images for our Wine Garden of England Handbook , or maybe a bit of budgeting and bookkeeping .
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