New marketing director for Margaret River Wine Association

Congratulations to Amanda Whiteland on being appointed to the newly-created position of marketing director at The Margaret River Wine Association.

The news comes as the Association prepares to celebrate the Margaret River wine industry’s 50th anniversary year, with events including a wine festival in December.

A south-west Western Australian local, Whitehead has a wealth of global wine marketing experience, having worked in marketing roles both domestically and internationally for 20 years.

She has extensive experience working in cross-cultural and challenging environments, in both large and small organisations. Most recently, she has been working as Marketing & Publicity Manager for the CinefestOz Film Festival, which premieres feature films and events in the south-west region’s cinemas, wineries, boutique breweries, small bars and galleries.

Whiteland's new senior role will see her report to the board. She will be charged with further developing and implementing the Margaret River Wine positioning through a structured and planned marketing approach.

"Having worked overseas for three-quarters of my career, I have always been a huge ambassador for Margaret River Wine quality and its unique positioning in Australia," Whiteland said. "I am really excited to collaborate with our members, the wider community and industry to further build the Margaret River brand." 

Cath Oates, Margaret River Wine Association chair, said: "Amanda brings unique skills and wide ranging experience to the Association, having a strong understanding of the fine wine industry, key international markets and the local South West region. We are excited to have someone of her calibre to lead our Association forward."

Key responsibilities will focus upon marketing planning, brand management and stakeholder communications.

In addition, Pip Heaford who has worked for the association since 2008 has been promoted and will now work full-time. Tamara Chick, recently employed as Administration and Accounts Officer, will continue in her current role.

The Margaret River Wine Association was started by a group of winemakers in the late 1970s. The Margaret River Grape Growers & Winemakers Association as it was known then, was incorporated in 1982 and at that time had only a handful of members.

The charter of the association has remained constant over the years – primarily to represent the interests of the Margaret River wine industry and promote Margaret River wine. The association was one of the first groups in Australia to register a geographic boundary for our region in 1996 and Margaret River was one of the first three wine regions in Australia to have its boundaries legally defined by the Australian government.