Modern Methods of Communicating Directly

to Your Customers:
How effective is New Media in terms of
recruitment and sales?

Presented by:
Paul Mabray, CEO of VinTank
Marc Engel, Partner and Director of
Wines Practice, B/R/S Group
 Flow

1) Who We Are
2) What is ‘New Media’?
3) What Does It Mean for Wine?
4) Is New Media Effective for Recruitment and
Sales?
5) Lessons
6) Workshop It
WHO WE ARE
 Two guys. Two Opinions.

Paul Mabray Marc Engel

• 17 year online wine veteran.
• Work for the only digital think tank in the
wine industry.
• Wrote a tiny little report about wine and
social media called “We are here” and then
gave it away for FREE.
 Two guys. Two Opinions.

Paul Mabray Marc Engel

• No, I don’t work for Paul
• Marketing researcher
• Listen to the voice of the consumer (and trade)
• Presented “Engaging the U.S. Wine Consumer: A
New Paradigm” at Wine Evolution, January 2007
WHAT IS NEW MEDIA?
 So what is new media?

WIKIPEDIA DEFINES - New media is a term meant to encompass

the emergence of digital, computerized, or networked information
and communication technologies in the later part of the 20th
century. Most technologies described as "new media" are digital,
often having characteristics of being manipulatable, networkable,
dense, compressible, interactive and impartial.
 So what is new media?

New media is a term meant to encompass the emergence of

digital, computerized, or networked information and
communication technologies in the later part of the 20th century.

Really?
Most technologies described as "new media" are digital, often
having characteristics of being manipulatable, networkable, dense,
compressible, interactive and impartial.
Old vs New
This…
This…
This…
This…
This… Is new media.
 No really

We are witnessing a fundamental shift in

communication.
But don’t take our word for it…

If Facebook were a country, it would be

the 4th largest country in the world.

Source: TechCrunch 2009

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/15/facebooks-
offical-user-count-now-250-million/
 Did we say fundamental?

Never in history has humanity been as

interconnected as they are today.
Welcome to the Revolution

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mlemos/
3522358252/sizes/o/in/set-72157617990467890/
 Translation

This ain’t your mamma’s internet.

Evolution
 Evolution

Google
 Today

66% of Global Internet Population Visit Social

Networks. Nielsen
 Today

66% of Global Internet Population Visit Social

Networks. Nielsen
Social networks are the 4th most popular online
activity – ahead of personal email and PORN.
Nielsen
 Today

66% of Global Internet Population Visit Social

Networks. Nielsen
Social networks are the 4th most popular online
activity – ahead of personal email. Nielsen
75% of consumers rate Word of Mouth as the
#1 influencer of purchase intent. Nielsen
 Today
66% of Global Internet Population Visit Social
Networks. Nielsen
Social networks are the 4th most popular online
activity – ahead of personal email. Nielsen
75% of consumers rate Word of Mouth as the
#1 influencer of purchase intent. Nielsen
71% say they share a recommendation (product,
service, restaurant) online with others at least
every few months. Razorfish 2009
66% of Global Internet Population Visit Social
Networks.*
Social networks are the 4thToday most popular online
activity – ahead of personal email.*
75% of consumers rate Word of Mouth as the
#1 influencer of purchase intent. Nielsen
71% say they share a recommendation (product,
service, restaurant) online with others at least
every few months. Razorfish 2009
75,000 new blogs created every day, updated to
the tune of over 1.2 million posts per day, or
over 18 updates a second. Technorati
Social networks are the 4th most popular online
activity – ahead of personal email. Nielsen
Today
75% of consumers rate Word of Mouth as the
#1 influencer of purchase intent. Nielsen
71% say they share a recommendation (product,
service, restaurant) online with others at least
every few months. Razorfish 2009
75,000 new blogs created every day, updated to
the tune of over 1.2 million posts per day, or
over 18 updates a second. Technorati
25% of top search engine results for world’s 20
largest brands are Consumer Generated
Media (‘advertising’ consumers trust). Qualman
Social networks are the 4th most popular online
activity – ahead of personal email. Nielsen
Today
75% of consumers rate Word of Mouth as the
#1 influencer of purchase intent. Nielsen
71% say they share a recommendation (product,
Don’t make us
service, restaurant) online with others at least
every few months. Razorfish 2009
75,000 new blogs created every day, updated to
estimate
the tune of over 1.2 million posts per day, or
over 18 updates a second. Technorati
tomorrow.
25% of top search engine results for world’s 20
largest brands are Consumer Generated
Media (‘advertising’ consumers trust). Qualman
New media is like the swine flu.
 … but why?

Interactive
Connected
Because new
Free
media is
Fast
Measurable
 … but why?

Interactive
Connected
Because new
Free
media is
Fast
Measurable
 … but why?

Interactive
Connected
Because new
Free
media is
Fast
Measurable
 … but why?

Interactive
Connected
Because new
Free
media is
Fast
Measurable
 … but why?

Interactive
Connected
Because new
Free
media is
Fast
Measurable
 And it’s not contained

It has jumped out of computers and into our

pockets.
 People can connect, update,
complain or praise – anytime,
anywhere.
Just wait till tomorrow
Just wait till tomorrow
Tomorrow
is
TODAY
 Sounds scary

“Technology is shifting the power away from the

editors, the publishers, the establishment, the
media elite. Now it’s people who are in
control.”
Rupert Murdoch, Global Media Entrepreneur
 We understand.

Most Business People

 Your Competition.

86%
say
they

have
not
used
social

networking
sites
to
get

business
advice
or

informaDon.


76%
have

not
found
social

networking
sites
such
as

Facebook,
Twi@er
and

LinkedIn
to
be
helpful
in
 Most Business People
generaDng
business
leads
or
 61%
say
they

for
expanding
their
 use
general

business
during
the
 search
engines

last
year. like
Google.

Source: Citibank/GfK Roper survey of 500 small business executives across

the U.S., as cited in Research Brief from the Center for New Media
Research, 2 Nov. 2009
 Imagine

The advantage you

could have with your
head out of the sand.
WHAT DOES NEW MEDIA MEAN
FOR WINE?
So what’s in this for wine
 Wine & New Media: A Perfect Pair

I’m
a
long

tail
product.
New

Wine Media
 Wine & New Media: A Perfect Pair

I’m
a
long

tail
product.
New

Wine Media

I
love
long

tails!
 Wine & New Media: A Perfect Pair

New

Wine
Word
of
Mouth
 Media
is
the
biggest

reason
why

people
buy
me.
 Wine & New Media: A Perfect Pair

OMG!
People

talk
about
what

they
like
all
the

New
 Dme
on
me.
Wine
Word
of
Mouth
 Media
is
the
biggest

reason
why

people
buy
me.
 Wine & New Media: A Perfect Pair

I
confuse
and

inDmidate
 New

Wine
most
people. Media
 Wine & New Media: A Perfect Pair

I
confuse
and

inDmidate
 New

Wine
most
people. Media

I’m
not
scared.

People
trust

me.
Even
your

mom
will
trust

me.
 Wine & New Media: A Perfect Pair

I’m
quite
the

experience.
New

Wine Media
 Wine & New Media: A Perfect Pair

I’m
quite
the

experience.
New

Wine Media

…
and
I
seek

mastery
and

control.
 Wine & New Media: A Perfect Pair

I’m
quite
the
 …!!!
experience.
New

Wine Media

…
and
I
seek

mastery
and

control.
Look who’s talking

Source: www.cruvee.com
The Dominance of Twitter
Where they’re talking…

On
Blogs
On
Forums
On
Microblogs

Source: www.cruvee.com
 Wine Blogs

• 250,000 products
produced annually
• About 30,000
reviewed by
‘professional’ reviewers
• There are over 1000
dedicated wine blogs
 Wine Blogs

Collectively wine bloggers represent an audience

much larger than the winespectator.com.
 Wine Industry Noise

40+
50+
200+
 Wine Industry Noise

40+ – Wine Social Networks

50+ – Wine iPhone Apps
200+ – Wine Portals
Wine, where should you play?
Wine, where should you play?
Wine, where should you play?
Wine, where should you play?
Wine, where should you play?
Wine, where should you play?
 Wine Social Networks

Fishing where the fish are.

 Wine Social Networks

Fishing where the fish are.

86,000+ Users 50,000+ Users

1,000,000 Tasting 32,000+ Tasting

Notes Notes
Customers Recommend Brands
 Change

“No longer is it enough to make and sell wine and then

expect the world to beat a path to your door. (Well,
unless you’re Lafite in China, that is.) Today, sellers have to
reach out to their customers, and they have to do so in
ways that may be unfamiliar and even uncomfortable for
them.”
–Steve Heimoff, blogger and writer, Wine
Enthusiast
It’s a crazy Wine World
It’s a crazy Wine World

Insane Regulations
 It’s a crazy Wine World

Insane Regulations
An incredibly complex
product
 It’s a crazy Wine World
Distribution has all but
ended as a viable sales
channel for small wineries.
Rob McMillan

Insane Regulations
An incredibly complex
product
IS NEW MEDIA EFFECTIVE?
Is new media effective?

3,279,102 friends 620,359 friends

1,043,850 friends 218,172 friends

1,824 videos uploaded 330 videos uploaded

Channel Views: 20,024,491 Channel Views: 2,221,268

151,206 followers 4, 848 Followers

 Is new media effective?

$360 $639
million million
 Why yes, it is.

$360 $639
million million

Overall funds raised during the 2008 campaign.

Obama’s Online Fundraising

• $150
million
(sha@ered

previous
record
of
$65m)
• 632,000
donors
(total
was

3.1
million)
• Average
donaDon
<$100

(Plouffe)
 Hyper Speed

After Palin disparaged Obama’s past work as a

community organizer, he raised $10M within
24 hours, most of it online.
 The Obama Network

Widgets
facebook
MyBO.com

Email

Barack TV Social
networks
Outreach

twitter
Mobile
MyBO.com

• 2 million profiles
created
• 35,000 volunteer
groups
• 400,000 blog posts
• 200,000 offline events
Mobile Obama
New Media is extremely effective
for branding, marketing and public relations…
 Why?

1) Informative
2) Inclusive
3) Entertaining
4) Engaging
5) Democratizing
 Hulu

“Consumer behavior is one of the hardest things to

change.The gap between the existing and the new
has to be so materially better that it shocks you
into behavior change.”
--Jason Killer, CEO of Hulu
 Hulu

• 380MM videos (up 150% in 6 months).

• 2.6% market share of all video.
• Resurrecting old media properties, bring to
whole new generation.
It’s powerful, ask Domino’s
 Listening - Customer Service
Chris Brogan – President of New Marketing Labs
 Listening - Customer Service
Chris Brogan – President of New Marketing Labs
October,
2009…
My
website
went

down.
The
moment
I
noDced
it,
I

tweeted
to
Rackspace,
my
host.

(Yes,
I
pinged
Twi@er
before

looking
anywhere
else).
I
said,

“Dear
@rackspace
–
my
site
is

down.
Please
help.”
 Listening - Customer Service
Chris Brogan – President of New Marketing Labs

Guess
how
long
it
took
for
them
to

respond.
 Listening - Customer Service
Chris Brogan – President of New Marketing Labs

Four
Minutes.
 Listening - Customer Service
Chris Brogan – President of New Marketing Labs

I’m
fully
sold
on
who
I’d

choose
if
I
needed

mission‐cri5cal
support
for

a
heavy
traffic
site.
I’d
use

Rackspace
cloud.
Zappos
Will it Blend?

• A small company, no marketing

budget - CEO Tom Dickson
blends objects in their blender
and video tapes it.
• Marbles, golf balls, hockey
pucks
• 3.8 million views
• 5x increase in sales (home
and commercial)
#flymeto

• Give away iPhones, flights

for tweeting their
company’s name
• 90x increase in Twitter
followers in one week
• Web traffic up 600%
• 100% increase in signups,
still sustaining growth
• Bolstered by coverage in
the media (BBC,
about.com, Mashable)
Cost: $13,500
IS NEW MEDIA EFFECTIVE IN THE
WINE INDUSTRY?
 Gary Vay-ner-chuck

• 850,000 followers on Twitter

• Nearly 90,000 viewers per day of his vlog,
Wine Library TV
• Million dollar book deal
• NYTimes, Amazon.com bestseller
• $80 million retail, half on Internet
Murphy-Goode
Pinotblogger

Josh Hermsmeyer wanted

to start a winery.
Participated in online
forums, including
eRobertParker
• But found them
hierarchical
Now, nearly 5,000 Twitter
followers
• Up 3x since May
Over 1200 mailing list
names
 New Media to Drive Offline Sales

Free membership in a lower-tier ‘club’

No purchase commitments
Exclusive content online
• Recipes
• Pairing tools
• Special e-commerce offers
Purchase offline
‘Proven’ by surveys with these ‘club’ members
 Marketing is not the same…
As sales.

It’s about building brand awareness and connection,

which should allow for the opportunity for sales.
 Facebook for personal connections

Already have a direct

Fans on FB come to the relationship with people
winery to buy wine at the winery who blog
and are on FB
 Facebook for personal connections

Already have a direct

Fans on FB come to the relationship with people
winery to buy wine at the winery who blog
and are on FB

Tony the
winemaker
Josh & Ryan,
Kent, the chef pourers in the
tasting room
 Old new media, more effective
than new new media.
Ad on FB offering 10% discount
• Nearly 300,000 impressions (times displayed)
• 90 clicks to the website
• 0 sales
• Targeted email more effective
• FB-only 25% off promotion in honor of the winemaker and
her husband’s 25th anniversary
• 0 sales
• Then emailed to mailing list…nearly $15,000 in sales
 Old new media, more effective
than new new media.
Ad on FB offering 10% discount
• Nearly 300,000 impressions (times displayed)
• 90 clicks to the website
• 0 sales
Targeted email more effective
• FB-only 25% off promotion in honor of the winemaker and
her husband’s 25th anniversary
• 0 sales
• Then emailed to mailing list…nearly $15,000 in sales
 Uncertainty about Facebook

• “But I don’t think it affects the bottom line”

• “Not the driving force behind sales, but a great
information tool”
• “Still trying to figure out how to measure its
impact”
 Uncertainty About Twitter

• “Hard to track and measure”

• “Not sure what to make of it yet. Is it a fad or is it
a useful tool?”
• “Losing its edge”
LESSONS
 New Media is NOT a silver bullet

“YOU NEED
TO BE ON FB,
MS, Twitter, FF,
etc, etc, etc.”
 New Media is NOT a silver bullet

“YOU NEED
TO BE ON FB,
MS, Twitter, FF,
etc, etc, etc.”
“YOU NEED
TO HAVE YOUR
WINES RATED
BY WINE
BLOGGERS.”
 New Media is NOT a silver bullet

“YOU NEED
TO BE ON FB, “YOU
MS, Twitter, FF, NEED to
etc, etc, etc.”
BLOG.”
“YOU NEED
TO HAVE YOUR
WINES RATED
BY WINE
BLOGGERS.”
 New Media is NOT a silver bullet

“YOU NEED
TO BE ON FB, “YOU
MS, Twitter, FF, NEED to
etc, etc, etc.”
BLOG.”
“YOU NEED
TO HAVE YOUR
WINES RATED
BY WINE
BLOGGERS.”

WHAT IS THE TRUTH?

Your brand will benefit from a good social media strategy that is PART of
your overall digital strategy.

PICK the social network where YOUR type of customers are engaging. Do
activities that yield the HIGHEST ROI for your efforts.
 What new media will give to you

• Exposure

• Likelihood to be recommended

• Customer acquisition

• Extended customer life time value (LTV)

• Measurement

• Unparalleled access
 Content is King

From customer relationship management to

customer-managed relationships

MESSAGE MUST BE RELEVANT

 Business is Personal

The Godfather was wrong

 Integrate the Old & New

New media is just 1 (one, uno, eins, un, ichi, 일)

communication channel.
 Integrate the Old & New

New media is just 1 (one, uno, eins, un, ichi, 일)

communication channel.
Publicity initially gained online may eventually get
reinforced by traditional media.
E-marketing, website, employee relations,
community release, PR.
 Be Patient

Don’t expect immediate sales payoff, but you can

expect uptake in discussions.

Again, brand building is not the same as sales.

 Set clear goals

Finding trends and tracking them back to their

point of origin is the key to measuring ROI.
• Number of referrers on your e-commerce site (assuming
you can track this data) from your website or Twitter
• Number of coupons used that were given away in a
Facebook campaign to start calculating which sales
stemmed from your social media campaigns
• Hash tags on Twitter, redirects in links
• Use bit.ly
 Take aways

1) Listen
2) Be Authentic
3) Be Transparent
4) Engage
5) Care