Comments on: the corporate wine blogging manifesto

By: Jo Diaz

Jo Diaz — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 23:30:56 +0000

What you do is still craft your message. You’ve got to make the initial imprint, and then let the chips fall where they may.
What’s you’ve written is very provocative. While I agree with most of what you say, I also know that marketing is not all-or-nothing; i.e., “It used to be, you could buy a piece of media, hire some advertising professionals to polish the message till it was nice and shiny, and deliver it to as many people as you wanted, in whatever form you wanted.
“But suddenly, you’re now irrelevant.“
Marketing has life cycles, from being created, to market decline, to near obscurity.
Example: Foot sizing apparatus — which my uncle Harold Clarke invented to process soldiers quickly for WW II expediency. It went into market maturity — when, if you were buying shoes, you first had to have your foot sized. Then to market decline — still in shoe stores, but with self service, people just try on shoes from the rack. They either fit or not, but there’s at least one per store, if not two.
While I believe that many stories are now coming from others on the Internet, there’s still plenty of assignments out there to write internal copy, because if we all just rely on what others are saying on the Internet, chaotic stories about us all will reign. I don’t see that in the near future.
That said, I do see the proliferation of Internet social exchanges adding to the truths and perceptions (which are also truths of a kind)of every single brand that exists in the world, and they’re are thousand upon thousands of them, so it’s crafting the best stories, now, not throwing up one’s hands in a “What are we to do?” just yet.

By: hugh macleod

hugh macleod — Mon, 28 May 2007 18:50:23 +0000

I think there are other opportunities, Jenny, just not quite the same opportunities as ours.
The secret sauce is not so much the blog per se. The secret sauce is having the willingness to try out new experiment, with the goal of raising customer engagement etc.

By: Jenny van Niekerk

Jenny van Niekerk — Mon, 28 May 2007 18:34:59 +0000

I was fortunate enough to listen to Graham Knox tell his story on Stormhoek and was amazed but as Johnathan Cohen asked … is this a once off or do you think there is opportunity for other winery’s to do the same and expect the same type of success?

By: Smith

Smith — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 23:19:51 +0000

The more “you are there” an experience is, the less immersive. It’s why a movie can’t involve a user to the extent that a printed book can. It’s why TV news can’t keep people riveted on a single subject for more than a couple minutes whereas newspaper or magazine articles can grab them for 15 minutes or more.

By: Paul Mabray

Paul Mabray — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 22:03:07 +0000

Hugh,
We agree on many points — the internet is scary to most wineries and they don’t yet understand that that the internet is their DIRECT link to their customers (consumers, restaurants, retailers, press, wholesalers, etc.). It has extreme power when leveraged properly. Moreover, the wine industry has been conditioned so long to the three tier system that only since consumer direct started (about 15 years ago and only really aggressively 5 years ago) has the concept of customer centric marketing started to become mainstream. We appreciate you helping communicate the power of the internet and technology to the entire industry.
—Paul Mabray — CEO

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 19:47:20 +0000

You’re right. I guess even though the Internet is beginning to surface as the premier means of communication, still, many have not realized the power it can do when it comes to business. The Internet has a lot of negative hearsays that people who are not familiar with the whole media is not getting the point.

By: Roger Wilks

Roger Wilks — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 11:31:47 +0000

I love theplanned book or what have you. Whilts I don’t feel offened by your aggressive tone I wonder if talking to wine people reminding them that at the retail level the public walks into the winestore that makes them comfortable, the manager is pleasant, helps them with good wines knows the latest football scores ot cricket scores you name it there is a relationship that extends beyond just buyinga bottle of wine or a case. Isn’t that what we try to do in a blog build a relationship not just grab a customer.
keep on keeping on some people are out there listen even learning.
B;ess
Roger

By: Josh

Josh — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 04:11:48 +0000

I like it. I agree with John Dodds above. Does your audience care about Clay Shirky and Jeff Jarvis? If they listen to you, they will tomorrow. Today their names are just so much incomprehensible Internet noise…

By: futuregirl

futuregirl — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 10:54:31 +0000

I’ve been reading your blog for months. I found you with a google search for “edgy blog writing.” I immediately loved your comics (and still do). And, as a web programmer, I am blown away by your marketing ideas.
I love what you are doing for Stormhoek. I love what you are doing for marketing. But most of all, I love what you are doing for the internet and blogging.
The future is messy — we should all just dive in.

By: Tim

Tim — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 09:57:35 +0000

Yea, imitation of a great idea is the sincerest from of flattery, etc., but if their wine sucks, they have done more harm to their brand than good. I’ve signed up to try Mankas Hills just like I did for Stormhoek; I don’t see any issues with others using this strategy and hope more wineries will follow…
The bottom line is the personal connection with customers who dig your wine. The trick is making those connections. Hugh is onto part of the solution here, but it’s still evolving.

By: James Thomson

James Thomson — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 06:47:45 +0000

another winery trying to enter the same game http://www.mankashills.com/blog/?p=13

By: hugh macleod

hugh macleod — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 02:42:14 +0000

Kim– I don’t think a 4000% increase in sales by the time we’re done is out of the question, by the time we’re done.
Of course, by that time I’ll be on my yacht, ergo not really giving a hoot whether I have their attention or not

By: kim

kim — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 02:22:55 +0000

I like the aggressive tone.
However, I think you could make it more convincing, by adding to the ‘shock value’, with an additional sentence:
(Put in your real metrics here, but you get the idea):
What do you do?
You use these networks of millions to circulate 500 bottles of wine to 100 dinner parties to generate 400 reviews, 10 bajillion links, and a sales growth of 4000%. And you do it on a budget of $200,000. That’s what you do.
Provided you have real results that prove your point, I think this will get the attention of your most skeptical wine readers.

By: James Thomson

James Thomson — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 01:38:18 +0000

Hugh
I see two stages; (1) getting attention and (2) good follow through. Back in ’95 and onwards an agency I started put a big load of single malt scotch brands online. The brand owners were taken there by us ‘kicking and screaming’. Each brand that embraced each new web opportunity first got an advantage. How did we sell it to them. Told them to shut up and listen and do as they where told (they were clueless marketing people — almost)
So (1) is doing something first and do it well.
But you need (2) and that is you have to follow through with great products, good ways to find and buy the stuff, keep on all the other conventional innovations that are not pure marketing. The mix is big. A different mix will work for different types of people.
To summarise — Stormhoek have got all these wine marketing guys chattering and also a whole lot of coverage and buzz in lots of new consumer places. All they need to do is further understand the people who are buzzing and look after them with more new cool stuff — both wine and ways to communicate about their wine and their company. As for the ‘other’ wine producer guys — Stormhoek just have to be better than they are and keep ahead. People love to copy ideas.
So Stormhoek need more Hugh — and while they ‘give good hugh’ they should not forget to also give out more wine
James (who now loves Cumbria)

By: hugh macleod

hugh macleod — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 01:14:06 +0000

Well spotted, Harry. Typo fixed. Thanks.
Steve: Web vs Internet. The debate continues…