Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/40615
MANAGEMENT UNCORKING PR When the Media Come to Call Cut the blah-blah and concentrate on the wines arketing is a lot like journal- ism. No journalist was ever interested in a story about someone who is exactly like everyone else. Journalists are interested in those of us who are different, who stand out from the crowd. A good journalist wants news. Take a look at that word: NEWS. It means something that is, in fact, new; maybe even different. So many wineries complain that they don't get covered in the media, and yet those same wineries do noth- ing new or different. There can be no news where the story is old hat. different and special. In the first lecture of Marketing 101 you are likely to hear: "Unique Selling Prop- osition," or USP. That's the key phrase that explains to everyone how you stand out from the crowd, and why your brand is truly worthy of attention. So what's your winery's USP? What is the one thing that makes your product unique? Most likely, you don't know, and you can't put it into words that capture the hearts or the imagination of the consumer. No wonder your wines aren't sell- ing any better than anyone else's. USE YOUR USP This all becomes brutally obvi- ous when the media make a winery visit. This should be a red-letter day for the winery. It's your one shot at making a statement and capturing some of the attention that so often goes to someone else. What you present to the media should really communicate your USP. Tell them what makes you different, so that they can write an interesting story. And yet … A recent tour with a group of Unless you're doing something new or different, you're old news to journalists. That's where good marketing comes into play. Marketing is all about explaining what makes you 12 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT SEPT - OCT 2011 journalists showed me just how far most wineries are from achiev- ing this goal. It was as if every winemaker were reading the same script. Instead of showing the jour- nalists how their wineries were dif- ferent, these winemakers spent all of their time explaining how they were exactly like everyone else. Talk about not clear on the con- cept! If it were not sad, it would be comical. I was once given a winery tour Paul Wagner formed Balzac Communica- tions & Marketing and is an instructor for Napa Valley College's Viticulture and Enol- ogy Department. PAUL WAGNER SHORT COURSE Don't waste the media's time with a tour aimed at neophytes. Focus on what makes you differ- ent, and leave the rest out. Taste the wines instead of boring the media with tanks and barrels. Make every minute count. in a language I don't really speak: Italian. But the winery had provided a charming translator for me, so that each pearl of wisdom from the winemaker's mouth could be fully comprehended in my native Eng- lish. And so we began the tour. The winemaker took me to the vineyard, and began explaining how they grow their grapes. Every time the translator began to explain, I was able to quickly leap ahead and finish the sentence for her. After three or four sentences, she looked at me in delight and said, "Oh! But you understand Italian perfectly!" "No," I explained, "but I have heard this same script from a thousand winemakers around the world, and I could give this tour in my sleep." What a waste of time. I can hear you chuckling to your- self. You know that you and your winery would never do this, don't you? Well, if that's the case, let me ask you: How many of the state- ments below have come out of your mouth during the last year? I am willing to bet that if you elimi- nated these statements, you or your winemaker would simply stare WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM