CHEERS to a Successful Partnership!

By Vivian Koontz

The word partnership, though clear in meaning, holds many interpretations and misrepresentations of the explication. In the world of events, especially as a municipality, it is common for a “partnership” to be suggested or implied with the relationship often being one sided. True partnerships in the municipal events world are hard to come by and seem to be rare. Entering into a partnership, especially one between a municipality and a private corporation can be a harrowing adventure, but I am here to tell you about a “Uniquely Southern” partnership that is worthy of raising a glass.

“Hits the Thirsty Spot”

“Full of Good Cheer!”

“Deliciously Different”

“Born in the South, Raised in a Glass”

If any of these slogans make you want to toast, CHEERS, then you probably grew up in the general vicinity of North Carolina, specifically near the heart of the piedmont in the small town of Salisbury. But if not, allow me to tell you a little bit about it.

Salisbury, founded in 1753, sits in the center of North Carolina between Winston Salem/Greensboro and Charlotte and is about equidistant from the mountains and the coast. Laying claim to the oldest continually populated colonial town in the western region of North Carolina, Salisbury has a population of 35,000. With a robust resume of rich history including five local Historic Districts and ten National Register Historic Districts, Salisbury has seen its fair share of history unfold, has been explored by many including George Washington, Andrew Jackson, and George Bush, and was home to Senator Bob Dole.

In addition to its history, Salisbury has a prominent Arts District and is a growing hub of economic and commercial development, housing corporations such as Food Lion, Imperial Brown and, if you were at all familiar with the slogans above you know it is also home to Cheerwine.

L.D. Peeler created Cheerwine, North Carolina’s iconic soft drink, in Salisbury in 1917. Now 105 years old, Cheerwine is still owned and operated by Mr. Peeler’s family making it the oldest existing soft drink still operated by the original family.

In 2017 Cheerwine commemorated the monumental occasion of turning 100 years old by holding a ‘100 Years of Cheer’ Centennial Celebration in downtown Salisbury. Only intended to be a one-time event, the anniversary event drew an astonishing crowd of 30,000 people to its hometown. The overwhelming response to the Centennial Celebration, as well as the economic impact generated from the highly successful day spurred a discussion between Cheerwine and the City of Salisbury to create a partnered annual event, The Cheerwine Festival.

Common with any new event, it would need to be determined why we were producing an annual event, who was the intended audience and what were we hoping to accomplish by producing a partnered annual festival.

Cheerwine and the City event coordinator met to evaluate the Centennial Celebration to determine what was successful from that event and what we wanted to carry into the annual Festival. We also looked at what adjustments were need and what limitations and/or advantages we may or may not have now that our municipality was involved and it was no longer a privately produced event. With all else considered, we wanted to make sure that the Cheerwine brand was in the forefront of the event, being promoted and displayed in alignment with the company’s branding guidelines and company mission and values. Equivalent to that, we also wanted to make sure that the City promoted and displayed in alignment with our mission and values. Following these discussions, with everyone on board and comfortable with the direction we were taking the Cheerwine Festival, it was time to delegate the tasks to make the event come to fruition.

True to any successful partnership, the individual parties have their own skill sets and strengths. It was important to both Cheerwine and the City of Salisbury to recognize and rely on each other’s strengths and assign tasks accordingly.

At over a century old, Cheerwine has a proven record of accomplishment of successful branding and marketing. They are the experts on their product and have found the right formula, pun intended, to keep consumers excited and coming back for more. In over 100 years, they have created meaningful and lasting relationships across the state, both private and public, that would prove to be a benefit to the festival. In addition to branding and marketing, Cheerwine also has expertise in merchandising, sales, and vendor relations. Moreover, if you are familiar with the brand at all, you know that Cheerwine continuously finds a way to give back to the community through generous charitable contributions.

Cheerwine’s main tasks include, but are not limited to:

• Marketing and Public Relations as it pertains to the Cheerwine Festival o Cheerwine has an existing network of media outlets to utilize for promotions o The backing of the festival from the namesake corporation adds legitimacy to the event

• Branding as it pertains to the Cheerwine Festival o It is important to incorporate pieces of Cheerwine’s existing branding and logo into the Festival branding and logo for recognition and consistency o Festival shirts, flags, banners, etc. to be designed and/or approved by the Cheerwine team

• Merchandise and Sales o Cheerwine coordinates wholesale product with the vendors (beverages) o Cheerwine obtains and manages sales of official Cheerwine merchandise and official Festival apparel o Cheerwine obtains and provides staff apparel and other items to all employees (Cheerwine and City) working the event

• Vendor Relations o Cheerwine assists in outreach and communication with other Cheerwine partners and encourages their participation in the Festival to include other North Carolina based companies to participate in the Food Lion Carolina Brands Sampling Area

• Charitable Contribution o With many organizations in our community in need, Cheerwine graciously created a charitable component to the Festival. 100% of the proceeds of beverage sales from the official Cheerwine merchandise booths go to a local non-profit agency of chosen by Cheerwine.

The City of Salisbury is able to bring their own set of strengths to the table having direct access to many of the departments needed for successful festival implementation. With experience in ordinances, policies and permitting, public safety, risk management, event coordination, sanitation and so on, the City is able to manage the internal, logistical aspects of the festival.

The City’s main tasks include but are not limited to:

• Submitting and obtaining proper permitting as it pertains to the Cheerwine Festival, careful to mind all City ordinances and policies o To include coordination with NCDOT, City Public Works, City Fire Department, City Police Department, etc.

• Develop Risk Management and Public Safety Plans o Involving Salisbury Police Department, Salisbury Fire Department, Salisbury Public Works, Engineering, City Risk Manager and Event Coordinator – to include outside agencies such as County Sheriff’s Department, County Emergency Management Services, local hospital, etc.

• Event Coordination o Create vendor application and selection process and communicate with vendors o Hire contracted vendors such as production, entertainment, kids zone activities, ice vendor, port-a johns, tents, photographer, etc. o Coordinate Volunteers o Create Festival layout maps and other documentation

Along with individual tasks, there are also additional joint effort duties that are coordinated between both partners. These include sponsorship solicitation, additional marketing, specialty aspects of the event, day-of management and more.

• Sponsorship solicitation o Cheerwine and the City collaborate to create a sponsorship guide and a joint list of potential sponsors for the Festival. These are evaluated and edited yearly as needed.

• Additional marketing avenues o The City creates and maintains the Cheerwine Festival website that is updated each year with the current Festival information. Both partners give input on the content for the website. o Cheerwine creates and maintains the Cheerwine Festival Facebook event page. A social media content schedule is produced by Cheerwine and supplemented by the City and both parties are responsible for creating and posting content, responding to comments and answering questions.

• Specialty aspects of the Festival o Each year Cheerwine and the City look to bring something new to the event. In 2019, it was a scavenger hunt throughout downtown Salisbury during the event. For 2022, it was the addition of Historic Salisbury Trolley Tours. We will continue to collaborate and add exciting new components as we move forward.

• Day of Management o Each partner sees to their individual day-of tasks but stays in constant communication to make sure that every aspect of the Festival is covered.

Everyone that has worked in the event world is well aware of that no matter the size and scale, it is impossible to ever be able to put on paper every last little task and detail that it takes to produce the final product. The duties listed above only give you the mile-high view of the uncountable, individual, minute and seemingly menial items to be completed for the Cheerwine Festival. Planning an event alone can be taxing enough as you are constantly checking to assure that all of the tasks are covered and you are generating the best event you can to achieve your desired outcome. When you add a partner to the mix, often things can get miscommunicated and confused, and components of your event can fall through the cracks or just frankly do not get completed. True, successful and lasting partnerships require trust, communication, and a willingness to work for the greatest end-result that, if done correctly, will meet or exceed your original why/who/what that you determined when you started.

Since the inception of this joint venture, to date, Cheerwine and the City of Salisbury have held three in-person festivals, 2018, 2019, 2022, and one virtual festival, 2020. We unfortunately lost one event completely in 2021 due to COVID-19. The three in-person festivals combined have resulted in 230 vendor opportunities, 140,000 in attendance, 9 regional and 4 national recording acts on the main stage, $24,180 given in charitable contributions to 4 community organizations and $4.13 million in economic impact. It is impossible to calculate the number of smiles shared, photos taken, Cheerwine consumed or memories made, but we are confident that it is safe to assume that the annual Cheerwine Festival will be a destination for individuals and families alike for many more years to come!

The Cheerwine Festival is a great example of a successful collaborative effort of municipal and corporate partners who established a common goal, recognized each other’s strengths and skills, communicated effectively and trusted each other. We cannot wait to hear what you come up with next!

Vivian Koontz is the Events Coordinator for the City of Salisbury Parks and Recreation Department in Salisbury, North Carolina where she oversees several annual and partnered events including The Cheerwine Festival, a celebration of All Things Cheerwine, All Things Salisbury. Vivian has a Bachelor’s degree in Recreation and Physical Education from Catawba College and has worked for the City of Salisbury for 16 years where she started her career in programming, eventually discovering her passion for special events.

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