Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/111102
BY ROBERT LARSEN Case studies in successfully standing out n public relations and marketing communications, as in all disciplines, it's important to pay attention to the fundamentals. Call it what you will – blocking and tackling, the basics, best practices – the concept remains the same. Fundamentals are paramount. What are the fundamentals of public relations? They include press releases, pitch letters/e-mails, wine samples, telephone calls, tweets, posts, messages, organized tastings, meetings and interviews, and many other things – and you need to do all of them well. As Tom Wark points out on his successful blog, Fermentation + Pay close attention to the fun(fermentationwineblog. damentals of public relations, com), creativity – along from press releases to tweets. with things like know+ Creativity is paramount when ing the writer's audipitching the media. ence and responding + All PR efforts must support the quickly to requests for winery's "unique quality brand information – is one message." of the most important aspects of pitching the + The method of delivery for your media. It's what will brand message can make a big separate your pitch difference. from the vast number of others bombarding journalists every day. Rusty Eddy, director of communications for Middleton Family Wines, stresses that all PR efforts must support the "unique quality brand message" – with an emphasis on "unique." The last thing a PR pro wants is for the brand he or she represents to be bland, or viewed as "me-too" in its messaging. Even if you do everything else right in your PR efforts, if you don't have a solid, unique message, you'll get very few hits in the coverage arena. With 249,999 other wines in the market, how will your brand be noticed? AT A GLANCE 108 V I N EYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT | Mar - Apr 2013 Sam Folsom runs a PR agency in San Francisco, Folsom + Associates, and he's been in wine PR for nearly 30 years. According to Folsom, "There are a lot of wineries competing for media attention in the U.S., and many of them make outstanding wines. But making great wines isn't necessarily enough to get media to the table." He's right. He nails it, too, when he explains that calling a writer in New York City with a simple offer for lunch just isn't enough anymore. Every PR person reading this will have an example that counters what I've just said regarding the offer of lunch. That's true for me, too, but that's due to the relationships many of us have built over time and a solid understanding and use of the basics. It's harder these days to get these types of lunches, though, and less frequent by a large margin. Rusty Eddy of Middleton Family Wines emphasizes the "unique quality brand message." w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m