A very important thing took place in the wine world recently - seems as though someone "got it." Now, that may be unfair because there certainly are people in the wine industry who get it, but it's been slowly developing over time, rather than coming about as a quick and revolutionary transformation. Sure, winemakers know how to make wine and I thank my lucky stars every day that they do. But, the marketing side of things has always been a bit elusive for so many winemakers...and then adding in the Internet and the power of social media and the whole thing took what was already turned on its head back on its head again.The gist is this...people like me, and oh so many of me out there, decided that the power of the Internet opened up a whole new world of sharing thoughts on wine. What was already a very socially based product all of a sudden had a technology that enabled the sharing of wine tastes to be played out on a global scale, real-time and among thousands and thousands of "close" friends. In the process, this new world of sharing and community was so intimidating for some folks that all they could think to do was stand back and watch the world unfold around them, watching innocently as others represented the brand they tried so desperately to build.
But, let's be honest, this has been happening for a very long time now and the wine industry is just now starting to embrace the concept of social media, social marketing, user-generated content - whatever you want to call it. Well, it's time to start living up to what others have known for quite some time - don't watch your brand pass you by. Please. I beg of you. The reality is that it's your brand and you have more control than you think.
The most poignant expression of this came out of a report in 2006 published by digital agency powerhouse Avenue A | Razorfish (full disclosure: I was at the agency at the time this report was published). Keep in mind, all you in the wine industry, this is from almost 4 years ago now....
The Consumer is not in Control
This might be a surprise, because the notion of "consumer control" is widely accepted. But you still control your brands. You decide what products are launched. You implement customer service policies. You price your products. However, you are now dealing with an "activist consumer" who has a voice, and it can be a loud one. These consumers expect to have things on their terms - what they want and when they want it. They assume that if you can't provide what they need, your competitor will. They are well informed, researching their purchases as a matter of course. They have embraced social media, and sharing their experiences and opinions in a public way is the norm. They may not be in control, but if you ignore these activist consumers, chances are you won't be in control much longer, either.
Take heed of these words, all you winemakers, wineries, PR agencies...anyone associated with building a wine brand. Don't let others take control of your brand. Bloggers and social networks are not only not going away, they're getting stronger. But you can preserve and manage your brand more than you think.
Which brings me back to my point of someone who "gets it." Recently, the folks over at Cruvee and a whole host of supporters launch YourWineYourWay.com, a place where all those involved in the building of a wine brand can start to take back control of their brand while also serving a fundamental purpose for those of us hungry for accurate and timely information. The concept is this (from the site):
OwnIT is a movement that is going to change the way wine is represented online. We understand that wineries, wine companies, and PR agencies have a incredibly difficult task of managing the product and profile information currently generated by users across a multitude of sites including; marketing agent sites, mobile applications, online retailers, social networks as well as other distribution channels. This user-generated material misrepresents brands and confuses customers and updating product information across all these respective sites is cumbersome, time consuming and nearly impossible to manage. This is what started an industry wide movement to organize all wine data and product information from a single location; and can be managed, accessed and published as needed to best represent your products across these multiple online locations. Ultimately wineries and wine companies will have control over their message and brands by forcing these retailers, social networking sites, mobile applications and more to publish your wines, your way…correctly.
Or, you can also watch the video below...
It's new and untested at this point, but my hope is this concept takes off because (1) as a blogger, I want easier access to timely and accurate information and (2) I desperately want the wines I love to get their information out and for them to own the story they've built over so many years. My guess is that some will abuse it or use it to generate well-spun marketing messages, but at the core of the idea, like at the core of all social media, it should be fueled by a base of authenticity and accuracy, with just a bit of the magic that draws us all to wine to begin with.
Gadget
A great post RJ. This is an exciting development. It will be interesting to see how many wineries come on board and who picks up the API to broadcast their material.
completely agree - would love to see this take off.
We completely agree gentleman, exciting things to come in the future and a service like this may assist in easing the barrier with wineries adopting other new technologies. One step at a time. Thanks again for the great post on this movement!
Very very cool. I hope the industry embraces this as a tool and sees the potential it provides. I'm a new reader and I love your blog.
Josh @nectarwine (twitter)
RJ, you make a valid point. I saw the PR yesterday in winebusiness.com about yourwineyourway.com and immediately saw it as a valuable tool. Coming from a tech background (& living in TX), I’m amazed at the number of TX wineries that haven’t embraced social media or Web 2.0 yet.
@rockplace2be
drinknectar - thanks for the kind words. i have fun doing it and even more fun hearing from people and getting to understand what they think.
brian - it's definitely a valuable tool, especially as a blogger. it's so hard to find information on some wines and when you do, it's old, outdated, different than what you just saw from another source, etc. i hope it's embraced because, in part, it will make my life a lot easier.
I can see the value of having a site where any interested party can go to get accurate details on wine, especially older vintages. Coming from the broadcast industry where we worked to create standards for metadata (yes wine making is much more fun) I know it's going to be tough to get people to publish this data in a way that supports the concept of "change info in one place and watch it magically fix itself across the world." Love to see the database be available, and I'll add my wines for sure.
And not to cast stones but dude - that video - sounds like a fundraiser for some poor sick child :-)
@Alan Yes, we will make the data model publicly available and encourage input and participation from anyone who is willing to contribute. More coming on this front. We understand the magnitude of this project and realize that it cannot succeed without the support of many facets of the industry. But we obviously think the time is right to give this a shot and are excited about its potential.
Given the diverse needs of the consumers of this information, we'll provide it on many levels including web pages, extracts, and real-time APIs. The goal is to reduce or eliminate the barriers to access to the data to maximize its use. It's going to be a long slog, though, and the magic will come over time as sites tap into what we're building. Several sites have already stepped up, though, and are eager to integrate as well as contribute.
Get on board and get your wines into the system. So much to gain!