Gallo Leveraging Barefoot’s NFL Partnership To Connect With New Drinkers

The largest wine brand in the Gallo portfolio, Barefoot has U.S. volume of more than 18 million cases annually, according to Impact Databank, including the core brand as well as offshoots like Barefoot Bubbly, Barefoot On Tap, and Barefoot Refresh. While the brand already looms large in the wine category, Gallo has focused on further expanding its audience, notably by positioning Barefoot as the official wine sponsor of the NFL.

“We have helped NFL fans introduce wine into the gameday occasion,” Gallo chief marketing officer Stephanie Gallo told SND. “Our goal is to continue to make wine as fun and approachable as the game. You don’t need to be a wine expert to enjoy wine—the same way you don’t need to be a fanatic to enjoy NFL football.”

Most recently, Gallo has leveraged the NFL partnership with a campaign featuring Olympic gymnast Simone Biles. The “Barefoot BandWAGon” push offered consumers a chance to watch the Green Bay vs. Chicago rivalry game this Sunday with Biles. “The response to the Barefoot-Simone Biles collaboration has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Gallo. “The Instagram reel that Simone and Barefoot posted to announce the contest has accumulated nearly 50,000 likes, 2.4 million views, and inspired hundreds of entries.”

The campaign with Biles followed two NFL-related initiatives with Donna Kelce (mother of NFL stars Travis and Jason Kelce), first the “Barefoot Bandwagon Box” and then “Super Bowl Hosting Tips from Mama Kelce.” Gallo says the Kelce campaigns helped significantly boost Barefoot’s share of voice compared with other NFL brand partners, as well as the brand’s social media following. The Biles campaign further builds on both objectives.

“We’ve found that our campaign is resonating with all NFL fans as well as with fans of Simone, but that emerging NFL fans have been the most excited and enthusiastic to engage,” said Gallo. “Our goal with Barefoot BandWAGon is to create innovative new connection points for emerging NFL fans, so we are very happy with the result.”—Dan Marsteller

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