12/15/17

Presenters: Telling Your Winery’s Story Todd Trzaskos & FM Muñoz

Todd Trzaskos - VT Wine Media [email protected] FM Muñoz [email protected] Notes by Helen Labun - built from the starting point of FM’s presentation in the webinar. This webinar was made possible through a Specialty Crop Block Grant from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture.

Our Topic Part of the value of a Vermont wine is a personal connection and sense of the larger story behind each bottle. That's true for wine buyers at restaurants as much as individuals at the store or visitors traveling to your vineyard. This webinar looks at ways to tell the stories that bring value to your wine. The webinar will include: • An brief overview of tools for communicating your winery's unique story through both online and traditional media • More detailed discussion of earned media and working with food / travel / wine writers • Q&A

The 5 S’s of Telling Your Story Not…See, Swirl, Sniff, Sip, Savor

Statistics: Make the basic information easily available – product information, technical steps, story basics. Story: Be genuine & honest without embellishment. Surveillance: Research the interests of the people you want to work with and craft your pitch accordingly. Synergy: Create a network of people connected to your product, including not just people in the media but also other businesses in your region. Sustain: Maintain the relationship over time. Make it part of your ongoing business practices.

1

12/15/17

Good Example of Technical Information that is very easy for a writer on deadline to access.

Statistics Make the basic technical information easily available – product information, technical steps, distribution, front line pricing.

From: Hall Wines hallwines.com/trad e-tools

Archive this information publicly; have it available both online and at your tasting room.

(Each of those listings links to a separate sheet)

Keep this information up to date on the site and also the entire site up to date so people trust the info is current.

Story Be genuine, tell your story, don’t embellish. Social media platforms help with this goal, they are an easy place to share your day to day work and ‘behind the scenes’ look at winemaking. Note: Just because digital tools have made many channels for telling your story easily accessible, that does not mean you don’t have to be professional in planning how you present your brand. It doesn’t need to be expensive, but it does need to be thoughtful.

Story- Brand & Content Need to have Concise & compelling brand story: Your audience is busy, with a lot competing for their attention, you can both be genuine and craft the story for your audience.

Engaging brand voice & tone: In the wine world, there are many voices - serious, wry, humorous, friends-focused, etc. What is your business’ voice?

Well-designed branding/packaging Don’t forget to make your labels easy to photograph and share via social media platforms!

Professional photography

Nice to have: Video Content

2

12/15/17

Story - Channels Need to have Modern, mobile-friendly site Well-managed Yelp, Google Places Accounts - any popular info aggregator that customers would use to find you. Facebook

Nice to have Instagram YouTube

Think about Print Radio Television

Surveillance Just like you can research writers and other media influencers, you can use the same tools to know your audience. See what they’re responding to online, follow relevant hashtags, talk to customers in person. . . you are (by definition) not a typical wine drinker, so keep in touch with what interests your audience.

Surveillance Today it is easy to follow what writers and influencers are doing - you can track published stories as well as who their followers are, which social media circles they move in. So, if you’re trying to connect, do your research and be sure it’s with the right people. You may also find cross over here, people who are influential in other circles (for example - book clubs, they account for a lot of wine drinking)

Know your audience

Millennials care about sustainability, variety, and enotourism. – FB101

A clear understanding of your audience can drive your story telling, operational investments and innovation.

3

12/15/17

Synergy

Synergy - Cheese Camp

You’re looking to connect with people, not outlets. Look for natural affinities - again not necessarily just wine writers but influencers from adjacent businesses who are interested in wine.

8-12 food bloggers come to Vermont to spend a long weekend learning to make cheese.

Look for natural affinities with other local businesses too, creating context and adding depth to your story. You’re creating a network of awareness.

They don’t just make cheese, they visit farms, and have activities hosted by related businesses, like Farmhouse Pottery, Simon Pearce, Citizen Cider. Vermont Creamery pays for travel and hosts the weekend, the related brands participate as in-kind partners.

Synergy - Adventure Dinners Another example of brand synergy: Stonecutter Spirits hosts an Adventure Dinner series where they partner with farmers, chefs, illustrators (for the invitation), high end table makers (for the table), and so on to produce a highly crafted experience for diners.

4

12/15/17

Experiential + Enotourism

Synergy - Results

Brand Partnerships

Find your tribe.

There isn’t a quid pro quo - you can’t send unsolicited samples and expect a writer to write about your wine. If you have found people who connect well with you and your brand, promotions and opportunities to pitch stories will emerge over time.

5

12/15/17

Let them tell your story.

Sustain Provide content on a regular basis - whether that’s daily, weekly, or monthly. Sustain relationships you are building - writers and otherwise. For example, if you are sending a mass e-mail invitation to an event, pre-send a personalized invitation to your closer network. “Sustain” is a component of all these points. It can take years to see the return from relationships you’ve built.

Sustain Sustaining your marketing & promotional work relies on having a good strategy that you will realistically have time to implement. If marketing is pulling you away from other key business activities, it may be time to bring in outside expertise. That could be as simple as someone to help organize your thoughts, set priorities, and build an effective marketing roadmap for you to execute.

6

12/15/17

Know your audience

To Recap. . . Statistics Story Surveillance Synergy Sustain

Buyer / Distributor Retailers Restaurants / Food Service Consumers

Media + Influencers

AUDIENCE determines CHANNEL + MESSAGE

The tactics. • Social Media • Site + Digital • Relationship Marketing (E-Newsletters) • Experiential (Demos & Events) • PR / Earned Media • Brand partnerships • Influencer Marketing • Think about: Print, Radio, Television

Tips for working with Influencers • Treat them like people • Be a fit not a force • Respect the craft – expect to pay, trade, barter. • Allow for creativity. • Demonstrate ongoing interest • Be in it for the long haul

7

12/15/17

Success looks like

Contact

CONVERSION

REACH

Don’t hesitate to reach out.

Did your efforts impact consumer behavior in the desired way?

Did the campaign effectively reach enough people?

Topline revenue, basket size, repeat purchase, newsletter signup, storefinder use

KPIs (key performance indicators): Impressions, conversation volume, social sharing

ENGAGEMENT What was the impact that the campaign had on the audience, and how did they react? Engagement, video views, completed videos, site traffic, petition signatures, average time engaged

EFFICIENCY

RELATIONSHIP

BRAND FIT

Was the campaign cost efficient? CPM, CPC, CPV, CPA, etc.

Did your investment yield a relationship with utility for the future?

Does the relationship/content reflect positively on the brand?

Todd Trzaskos - VT Wine Media [email protected] FM Muñoz [email protected]

8