DTC Wine Symposium Sessions Announced – January 17th & 18th Concord, CA
As I am gearing up to moderate a session on “360-Degree Customer Views and Leveraging CRM data” at the DTC Wine Symposium on January 17th at 11:00 in Concord, CA, I have taken time to review the final schedule for this year’s DTC Wine Symposium taking place January 17th & 18th. As a steering committee member for the past five years, it has been exciting to contribute ideas around workshop and session topics and the sessions at this years conference are sure to please!
CEO Roundtable: Driving Through Fire, Frost and Competition Toward Success
Sudden challenges to our business arise via natural disasters like the October fires in Sonoma and Napa or early frosts in France. Additionally, exponential competition in the DTC marketplace for tourism dollars has affected individual tasting room traffic. We’ve asked a panel of tourism and winery chiefs to open up about agile problem solving for short and long term success via marketing, branding and segmentation. The panelists include Steve Tamburelli, CEO, Clos du Val Winery; Nate Belden, Chief Proprietor, Belden Barns Farmstead & Winery; Claudia Vecchio, CEO, Sonoma County Tourism; Clay Gregory, CEO, Visit Napa Valley and will be moderated by Barbara Gorder, President, Undisclosed Location.
Philip van Allen is a professor at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Phil will shed light on what technology and design research tells us about the current state of Immersive Media, including artificial intelligence and virtual reality. What is possible? How fast is it coming to businesses? How do you deploy these new technologies? He will touch on how VR/AI could deliver new possibilities for wine marketing and staff training, as well as consumer education and hospitality.
State of the States: A Legislative Update on DTC Legislation
Steve Gross, Vice President, State Relations for Wine Institute will present the “state of the states” legislative update. Steve’s presentation, a perennial favorite, will highlight recent wins, areas of concern, future priorities, and implications for winery compliance in 2018.
First Peek: 2017 DTC Shipping Data
Larry Cormier, General Manager, ShipCompliant by Sovos, will share highlights from 2017 and how to use the 2017 data to increase your DTC sales prior to the widely-anticipated release of Sovos and Wines & Vines’ 2018 Direct-to-Consumer Wine Shipping Report. Which states are buying the most wine? What varietals, regions and price points saw growth in 2017? Join us to get a sneak peek of the 2017 highlights.
Grapes to Grass: How Will Wine and Cannabis Work Together?
This panel discussion will address how new cannabis regulations will affect commerce. What is the potential for future winery partnership as well as competition for market share? What are the similarities to wine marketing, hospitality and consumer trends? Brian Baker, VP Sales & Marketing, Chateau Montelena, will moderate this panel including Scott Zeramby, consultant to regulators and product manufacturers as well as CEO & Director, Mendocino Agricultural Products; and Omar Figueroa, a pioneering cannabis lawyer in California’s cannabis industry.
Workshop Sessions:
Implementing Customization in Wine Clubs
You’ve heard it again and again… customizable wine clubs bring increased revenues and member retention, are a great sales tool, and so on. But how are people doing this and is it for you? In addition to discussing forecasting challenges and fulfillment options, this session will explore creative ideas to make customization within your club shipments a reality.
Intended Audience: DTC/Wine Club managers looking for ways to add value and update the traditional wine club model; Managers who are looking for ways to manage and enhance customization workflows.
Moderator: Chloe Tyer, Huneeus Vintners
Panelists: Jeff Stai, Twisted Oak; Jess Zander, Fidelitas; Cheryl Riedel, Rombauer
Reading Between the Digital Lines: Tips & Tricks for Facebook and Instagram Ad Strategy
Social media not only provides a digital platform to support and tell a brand’s story, but it also provides new ways of advertising and targeting a brand’s consumers. In this workshop, our panel of experts will discuss case studies that use the free and powerful tools available to everyone: Facebook and Instagram. Participants will gain a better understanding of how to utilize some of the more advanced social media tools help achieve their wineries objectives, some of which may include: increasing brand awareness, driving online sales and increasing traffic to tasting rooms.
Intended Audience: Social Media Marketers, Marketing Directors and DTC Managers looking to learn about advanced digital marketing strategy.
Moderator: Kamyn Asher, Benson Marketing Group
Panelists: Louis Calli, Partner, Echo DTC; Susan DeMatei, Owner, Wine Glass Marketing; Carin Oliver, Chief Innovation Officer and Co-Owner, Angelsmith
Wine consumers want more high-touch experiences and meaningful interactions between visits. Learn how winery managers are collecting, managing and using data to build 360-degree customer views and campaigns that support both front-of-house and behind-the-scenes administrative teams.
Intended Audience: DTC Sales Managers looking for practical ways to capture and utilize sales and customer data.
Moderator: Sandra Hess, Founder, DTC Wine Workshops Consulting Agency
Panelists: David Crum, DTC Manager, Duckhorn Wine Company; Matt Wood, General Manager, Elizabeth Spencer; John Curnutt, Revenue & Systems Specialist, Chateau Montelena
Staying Legal with Social Media
As social media channels become more important to DTC communications, how do you keep your social media program both effective and legal? If you re-tweet a post from a retailer or restaurant, is that considered a “thing of value” by alcohol regulators? Can you promote winemaker dinners on Facebook? What about event promotion? This session will explore legal questions, outline restrictions, and recommend guidelines to help you and your team stay legal.
Intended Audience: Social media managers, marketing managers who need to understand regulatory constraints.
Speaker: Tracy Genesen, Vice President and General Counsel, Wine Institute
Winery Mystery Shopping Unwrapped, sponsored by WISE
A behind-the-scenes peek at Mystery Shopping. This session will offer a candid dialog among real life mystery shoppers and wineries who have hired secret shoppers. Gain first-hand experience on why they are hired, how they score, and how to optimize an engagement to train staff to sell more wine, convert wine club sales and better connect with guests. Have you considered leveraging mystery shopping? If you are trying to decide, or have used these services and want to get the most out of the feedback, this is the discussion for you.
Intended Audience: Tasting Room and DTC Managers from wineries of all sizes.
Moderator: Laura Larson, Founder, Virtual Vines DTC Sales & Marketing Consulting
Panelists: Alice Hunter, DTC Manager, Miramar Estate; Vanessa Sternick, Director of Client Services, VingDirect; Jennifer Warrington, “The Glue,” WISE Academy
Does Your Tour & Tasting Program Compete in the Experience Economy
The “Experience Economy” is the emerging trend of consumers increasing spending on “experiences” instead of “things”. This change in consumer behavior has direct application to the in-person winery customer experience and ultimately your bottom line (DTC sales). In this session, attendees will learn how to use data and a “checklist” to plan their tour’s logistics; how to design their customer experience- from online to in-person; how to use Search Engine Marketing and Media Relations to market the tour and differentiate it from the competition; and finally how to use this opportunity to increase wine club sign-ups and online sales.
Intended Audience: Marketing Managers, Tasting Room Managers, GMs and Owners of small-to-medium sized independent or family wineries.
Speaker: Dave Moser, Vice President, Direct to Consumer, Terravant Wine Company
Often, the website is the first controlled interaction a potential customer will have with your winery. Consider it your virtual tasting room – how do you curate your content and lead them through their journey? This panel will discuss how different tactics on the web can help you achieve your goals. Whether it be higher online sales, more visitation or greater brand exposure, these experts will lean in and share advice to get you on the right path.
Intended Audience: DTC Managers interested in learning more about web operations; Digital/e-commerce managers seeking updated best practices.
Moderator: Amelia Nanez, Hahn Family Wines
Panelists: Taylor Eason, Cork & Fork Digital Media; Martial Chaput, President, Newtimer Marketing
For more information about the DTC Wine Symposium, visit: http://dtcwinesymposium.com/program/
Author: Sandra Hess, founder, DTC Wine Workshops