Visa Wellington On a Plate and Beervana are two of Wellington’s most significant events, playing a central role in shaping the capital’s reputation as Aotearoa’s culinary destination and taste-maker.

In 2025, Thorn PR worked alongside the team at the Wellington Culinary Events Trust to lead PR and media activity across both festivals — helping ensure the stories landing in newsrooms reflected not just what was happening, but why it mattered.

Working across two of the city’s largest food and drink festivals, we identified the most newsworthy moments and shaped a national narrative that captured the scale, creativity and economic importance of Wellington’s hospitality scene throughout August - and well beyond.

Our approach

Thorn PR led media strategy, storytelling and execution across both festivals, including:

• Strategic media planning
• Narrative and messaging development
• Media releases and briefing materials
• Proactive pitching and journalist liaison
• On-the-ground media support
  

Everything was shaped by one guiding question: What would make this story worth covering? In practice this looked like:

Impact-led storytelling: We anchored coverage in real outcomes - visitor numbers, spend, sell-outs and the flow-on effects for local hospitality businesses — rather than promotional messaging.

Clear, confident media positioning: We framed both festivals as infrastructure for Wellington’s economy and culture, not just events. That meant talking about jobs, tourism, confidence and momentum, alongside incredible food and beer.

Quality over quantity: In the lead-up to Visa Wellington On a Plate and Beervana, we prioritised story quality over volume - pitching only when there was something genuinely newsworthy to say, and tailoring angles carefully for different outlets.

The results

Across Beervana and Visa Wellington On a Plate, the festivals delivered measurable, city-wide impact:

• A combined $10 million boost to Wellington’s economy, driven by ticket sales, visitor nights, burger purchases and out-of-town spending
  
• 250 hospitality businesses across the region taking part
  
• More than 60 stories placed in mainstream media, including multiple front pages and primetime TV coverage, reaching millions of New Zealanders
  
• 200,000 burgers devoured during Burger Wellington
  
• More than $3 million injected into the city over Beervana weekend alone
  

• A 44% lift in out-of-town visitor spending at Burger Wellington finalist venues during September
  
• Strong post-event impact, with 84% of Visa Wellington On a Plate attendees more likely to return to participating venues and 84% of Beervana attendees more likely to buy beer from participating breweries
  

Coverage landed across print, digital, radio and television, reaching audiences well beyond Wellington and reinforcing the city’s reputation as a food and drink destination.

Why it mattered

For Wellington, these stories weren’t just about great food and beer - they were about confidence. They showed:

• A hospitality sector that is resilient, creative and worth backing
• Events that drive real economic return
• A city capable of delivering large-scale, high-quality festivals with national impact

At a time when the sector was navigating rising costs and uncertainty, that narrative mattered. Beervana and Visa Wellington On a Plate proved that when strong events are matched with clear, credible storytelling, the impact travels far beyond the festival itself.

For Thorn PR, this work reflects what we do best: telling smart, human stories that cut through and letting the results speak for themselves.