Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/299589
1 6 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | M a y - J u n e 2 014 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m u b l i c r e l a t i o n s i s c h a l - l e n g i n g . I t s e e m s t h a t no matter how carefully we strategize, there will always be something that gets in the way of our perfect plan. As the old adage says, "There's many a slip twixt the cup and the lip." But that doesn't mean you shouldn't plan. In fact, we much prefer to plan our PR programs as much as a year in advance. We do this for three reasons: + It allows us to make sure that every- one is on board, so that we don't spend a lot of time later in the year thinking through the basic concepts. That hap- pens right up front, and we address all the big questions at the begin- ning. Then we can move forward. + It helps us answer that age-old client question in the PR business: "What are you guys doing?" We don't have to answer that question: We can simply point to the plan and say; "Check the work plan, look at the calendar, and you'll know exactly what we are doing." + It allows us to sched- ule our time effective- ly. In every PR plan, there are times of intense activity and times that are slow- er. When we know in advance what to expect, we can use down time to start prepping materials or clearing the decks so that crunch time doesn't mean disas- ter time. If you want to plan your public relations activities for the next year, where you do start? Here are some basic elements to any winery PR program that can be iden- tified well in advance. Set those up first, because they will give the plan some struc- ture, and then add other activities where and when they make sense. It helps to start with one big calendar, either online or on paper. GET STARTED Enter the dates for all the new wine releases planned for the next year. This should include both new products and v i n t a g e t r a n s i t i o n s . O n c e y o u h a v e those dates, count back two or three months. That's when you need to enter the development of the wine fact sheets and new-release letter, and the list of media that will receive samples of the wine. It all needs to be done before the wine is shipped. If you have a wine club, you'll also need to include those materials in this effort. Enter the dates for any proposed travel by the winemaker or other winery princi- pal. About two months before those dates, you'll need to start contacting media to see if they have time to meet with your spokesperson. By then, you'll need to know what your pitch is going to be, and you'll need to have supporting materials developed as well. Add those to the calen- dar where they belong. Now add the dates for all the major events you will attend. It will be much harder to set up media meetings around these events, since lots of other wineries will be in town at the same time. But you need to get these on the calendar so that you can understand where your spokes- person is at all times. Obviously, you can't schedule events or media visits at the win- ery if the host is on the road. SHORT COURSE + Create a year-long plan to keep the winery's PR program on track. + Set start and completion dates for such tasks as preparing wine fact sheets, sending media samples and travel. + Keep a full-year calendar so that you see when the busy and slow times will be. + Use the completed calendar to bud- get costs of the program. Make a New Plan, Stan Here's how to do it, step by step UNCORKING PR PAUL WAGNER