Author Archive for joanie

I find myself thinking a lot lately about the whole concept of social media (which has become a staple in modern day marketing).  As companies build up their reputations in the virtual world, branding is more important than ever.  But what I am drawn to is the way that personalities become more and more what are being built up as brands, in the process promoting whatever company or larger umbrella that they write about or for.  At a time when there is much fuss about the impersonalization of the virtual world, I find that in some ways it is quite the opposite (speaking on a larger scale than communicating with the people that you see and interact with on a regular basis, Facebook anyone?).  I would argue that social media has the effect of bringing people closer together, instead of further apart, and with this in mind also make a case of the importance of strong virtual personalities at any given company to build an audience for the brand through the branding of individuals (ah the beauty of blogging, where run on sentences are OK).

One of the most important lessons that I have learned over the past year when it comes to marketing is the importance of communicating anything and everything to your consumers.  If the consumer or distributor chain is not presented with information about accolades, press, etc., you may as well not even bother going through the trouble of trying to get the press in the first place.  Social media has become a convenient and quick outlet for companies to communicate this sort of information.  Yet in order to have it be effective, the company has to have an audience, and in order to garner an audience, there needs to be a couple of personalities that people are willing to spend their time following (there are only so many blog / news sites we can visit everyday!).

Examples of industry personalities in wine are plentiful.  Think of the handful of reviewers that are considered to be the most influential on a national and international level:  we have Parker, Laube, Heimoff, Tanzer.  These personalities have followers, an audience, and what they say matters and translates to both the establishment and legitimization of a brand / winery.  It works in reverse as well.  There are certain faces that consumers associate with certain wineries, whether it be the owner, winemaker, or members of the marketing and sales team.  Having a face / personality to a brand helps to bridge the gap between virtual anonymity, and building bridges between companies and a broader national audience.  Text becomes something more than just words on the page, it becomes the means through which the consumer is able to relate on a more personal level with the brand.

I started thinking about this after reading my daily dose of Steve Heimoff’s blog (of Wine Enthusiast Magazine).  His recent blog on ‘What I Tell Winemakers’ made me think about how important it is, at least for me personally, to be able to relate on a personal level to a company that I support regularly.  Sure I impulsively buy bottles of wine here or there, but I could put together a list of wineries with which I am a regular consumer – whether that be buying new releases, attending wine dinners or tastings that they pour at, or purchasing their wine by the glass as a “comfort” when I see it on a restaurant list.  This special list of wineries to me has developed over more than just the quality of the wine – it comes from little things like remembering back in the day when I wasn’t into wine seeing the bottles arrive at my house because my Dad was in the wine club for years, or having a really fantastic tasting at the winery, and / or just really respecting what the winery stands for.

Joanie Hudson, Director of National and International Marketing, Santa Barbara Winery / Lafond Winery & Vineyards