Wine, Dine and Gain Customers Brown Printing Company, Fairfax, Va., wanted to show its appreciation to customers and leave a memorable impression with prospects. It decided to sponsor the Vintage Virginia Wine Festival in Millwood, Va., and invite 500 guests and their families. The annual festival held this year in June features 50 Virginia wineries, an arts and crafts fair and seminars on wine tasting, the history of wine, pairing wine with food, and more. Approximately 250 of Brown Printing's invitees attended the festival. The company purchased tickets for its guests, set up a hospitality booth and arranged for lunch. "We do other forms of marketing and expressions of appreciation for our customers," says Todd Schurig, sales service representative at Brown. "But this is really something totally unique. Customers come, and you meet them on a personal level. It's really just a fun day in the country." To maintain a casual atmosphere, Brown employees refrain from distributing overt marketing materials. Instead, they give imprinted corkscrews, T-shirts and cups. After the event, almost all attendees respond with thank-you notes, either by email, phone or mail. Brown Printing employees use the opportunity to follow up and maintain relationships with their customers and prospects. "A large part of our business is about developing relationships with key people in our industry," says Robin Mattson, senior sales representative for Brown Printing. The event also gets the company's name out to the public in the Vintage Virigina brochure and on the sign at the event itself.