Background
The South Coast Wine Festival combines the worlds of wine culture, art, tourism, and experience into one unforgettable weekend, all set within the historic Highcliffe Castle on the Dorset coast. As the only wine festival in the UK hosted in a castle, it is as ambitious as it is iconic.
From day one, founder Simone set out to do something different, to create not just another tasting event, but a cultural celebration that champions great wine, local people, and local business. CrowdComms was proud to be part of that journey from the very beginning, helping transform an idea on paper into a digital-first festival experience that continues to grow year after year.
Event Goals
Create a seamless, sustainable, and tech-enabled festival experience for wine lovers and exhibitors.
- Create a seamless, sustainable, and tech-enabled festival experience for wine lovers and exhibitors
- Deliver real-time updates and flexibility as schedules and experiences evolved across the event
- Build a community that could connect both during and after the festival, encouraging year-round engagement
- Manage cash flow more efficiently, ensuring ticket revenue was instantly accessible to reinvest back into the festival
Challenges
- Limited event technology experience from the founder
- Need for instant ticket revenue access, having previously had to wait until after the event
- A growing festival that required a more flexible platform
- Need for real-time updates capability
- Requirement to host a digital wine list with save and favourite functionality
- Goal to reduce printed materials for sustainability
- Need for a single, connected platform managing registration, engagement, and reporting
Solution
CrowdComms stepped in with a tailored tech ecosystem, combining ticketing, a branded app, and website integration into one seamless event platform. The impact was immediate.
Instant access to ticket revenue allowed the team to pay suppliers on time and scale faster.
The mobile app replaced printed guides, saving costs and reducing waste while keeping attendees fully informed.
Real-time updates meant schedules, FAQs, and maps could change on the fly, with no reprints and no confusion.
Exhibitors could see which wines were being favourited by attendees, giving them powerful insight into buyer behaviour.
Attendees could save, review, and rate wines directly in the app, replacing the old paper tasting notes with a modern, digital experience.
Outcome
The collaboration did not just solve challenges, it unlocked real momentum. Instant ticket revenue access improved cash flow and supplier relationships. Previously unprovable ROI is now delivered to exhibitors. Real-time feedback and data capture helped improve the experience live at the event and year after year. A trusted partnership between CrowdComms and South Coast Wine Festival continues to evolve with every edition of the festival. The South Coast Wine Festival is now building new features for 2026, including in-app purchasing, exhibitor ratings, and a digital community hub for wine lovers to share notes, favourites, and recommendations long after the event has ended.