At the festival, Porsche will be offering test drives of cars such as its Panamera. Image credit: Porsche
German automaker Porsche’s United States distributor is becoming the exclusive car sponsor of the Las Vegas Food & Wine Festival.
Produced by Barcelona Enterprises, the festival will be held from Oct. 4 to 6 at the mixed-use complex Tivoli Village. Food festival tie-ups enable luxury automakers to reach consumers through experiential events outside of the dealership.
Dining and driving
At the festival, Porsche Cars North America will be displaying its sports cars. During the afternoons ahead of the festival opening, attendees will also get the chance to test drive the brand’s four-door models including the Panamera, Cayenne and Macan.
“Porsche Cars North America is known for supporting education and social issues, and the festival does just that by donating its proceeds to Critical Care Comics,” said Alan Semsar, CEO of Barcelona Enterprises, in a statement. “We love the enthusiasm that Porsche Cars North America brings and the fact that they want to help young kids succeed.”
Along with presenting sponsor Porsche, the festival also includes Four Seasons, Maserati of Las Vegas and Diageo as sponsors.
Las Vegas Food & Wine Festival
The event is being held at Tivoli Village, which includes stores such as Restoration Hardware, dining, office space and gyms.
Luxury brands have aligned themselves with culinary festivals, particularly as consumers crave experiences.
For instance, Toyota Corp.’s Lexus is connecting to consumers over food by becoming the title sponsor of the All-Star Chef Classic in Los Angeles.
Hosted at the downtown venue L.A. Live, the event will give attendees the chance to interact with chefs through experiences ranging from seated dinners to tastings. Lexus has frequently associated its brand with the culinary world through marketing, making a link between car design and cooking (see story).