The Dirty Laundry winery in Summerland, B.C. is one of my favorite wineries to visit in the Okanagan. What I love about Dirty Laundry isn't just their great wines, it's how they've built their fun brand into every aspect of their business. The name comes from a historic Summerland laundry that reportedly housed a brothel upstairs, earning the business the nickname the "Dirty Laundry."

 

So the Dirty Laundry winery logo features a red hot iron with images of women in the iron's steam, while their tagline is "The Okanagan's Dirty Little Secret." Their newsletter is called Laundry Lines. The welcome sign resembles a giant sheet hung out on a clothesline. The entrance gate posts are giant clothes pegs. The tasting room/gift shop decor is reminiscent of an old-fashioned bordello (not that I'd know what one looks like) complete with lingerie strewn about the display cases. They sell products such as pink stiletto wine bottle holders. Their membership tagline is "Friends With Benefits." And of course their wine names include such gems as, "A Secret Affair", "Naughty Chardonnay" and "A Girl in Every Port."  Even the descriptions of the wine are playfully suggestive.     

 

What I love about Dirty Laundry is how they carry their theme throughout every aspect of their marketing and business. Everything reinforces their fun brand and image. I see too many businesses drop the ball by not integrating a fun theme or new initiative as thoroughly as they could. They miss so many opportunities that it comes across has a halfhearted effort to stand out, when the real dirty little secret to standing out from the herd with your brand or image is to, as the Dirty Laundry winery folks might suggest, go all the way.