Good Grape Wine Company

November 22 2008

Video Interactivity in the Wine World

For most of the past two years, I have been consumed with work, making this blog a welcome relief and outlet for individual expression.

Or, in other words, aside from the Facebook explosion that took place last summer and the social networking explosion that occurred with the Open Wine Consortium earlier this year, work is my excuse for not having kept as close of tabs on the online technology scene as I might like.

That said, an interesting thing happened at the Wine Bloggers Conference a couple of weeks ago – I realized three things:

1) There are groups of cliques in the wine blogging scene that I am not a part of …’

2) Twitter is huge and I am not doing it (yet!)

3) Video is happening in the online wine world in a big way

All three of these things are of interest to me, because, well, frankly, to keep currency, you have to adapt with the times.

In my opinion, blogging, as we have known it the last couple of years, is fragmenting into different areas of user-generated content and Twitter and video are becoming increasingly important and influential.

This is not to say that blogging is going away, in fact, I believe more than ever that blogging is enduring and a rising influence.  However, other interesting, enduring and important influencing functions are happening for the wine business.

Between Twitter and video, video, to me, holds the more tangible promise.

First, we are seeing TV move online that means eventually television is going the way that traditional written word content has turned –- professional and pro-am. 

Essentially, user generated content will be pro and proletariat; networks vs. public access content ala Wayne’s World. 

I think Twitter has potential as well, but the jury is still out on their business model, let alone how you use it for your business purposes.

One of the shining stars and pioneers in video for the wine industry is Bret Lyman.  The “Warren Miller of Wine” as I have dubbed him.

Bret has been doing some beautiful and amazing work for clients like Don Sebastiani & Sons and, recently, Wilson Daniels.  You can see a series of videos for Wilson Daniels here.

Interestingly and progressively, Bret is teaming up with a Los Angeles producer named Bob Asher from Chilmark Media to create a revolution in the way that wines are marketed online, using video.

In a recent interview I conducted with Bob, he stated:

The wine business stands at a similar crossroads.  As a sector, for the most part, wine brands and retailers have been dangerously slow to embrace the media marketing revolution that has swept every other sector.  This was crystalized for me when I heard the brand manager for a giant consumer brand say at a recent industry event “I have an $8 million marketing budget and I spend $8 million on magazine ads.”  I was literally speechless.  This is 2008… have you heard about this little thing we call the Internet?  I think it may catch on, but I’m not sure.

In the wine space this means telling your story and creating a community of customers who have an emotional attachment to your brand.  there is so much clutter out there, so many wine brands competing for attention, that savvy brand managers have to do something to cut through the static.  Consumers too are overwhelmed by all of the choices they face and the persistent desire to have someone guide them through the wine maze at the local supermarket.

Smart, Bob.  Equally smart to work with Bret who has an incredible eye and a knack for emotional narrative.

Elsewhere, Dan Chapin, a friend and former colleague at Inertia Beverage Group recently left IBG to develop and expand his own company, Artisan Media Services.

I expect big things out of Artisan.  While the business is still developing, it sounds like Dan is working on a content delivery vehicle in addition to the content development via video. 

According to their site:

Artisan Media is a media production company committed to creating media assets that capture the unique personality of artisan companies within the beverage and food industry. Our focus is to help you broadcast the personality of your brand and the essence of your company’s message to both prospective and loyal customers. As growing numbers of people turn to the internet to gather information about various products and services, video on the web has proven to be one of the best vehicles for helping convert website visitors into customers and brand ambassadors.

Now, mind you, not all video work online is happening at a professional/services level.  In addition to Gary Vaynerchuk, there will be other personalities that emerge in true guerilla style fashion. 

Probably one of the most interesting is Dirty South Wine.  Dirty’s mix of food and wine with contemporary music and pro-style editing is first class, interesting and authentic. 

Regardless of what you think about internet marketing, the intractable truth is the printing press gave way to the television and so it is with the internet and video.  Wineries should Ignore at your own peril.  Early adopters are encouraged, as well.

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