Thought Leaders and Subject Matter Experts from Within and Outside Wine Industry Slated to Speak
Napa, CA, September 26, 2016 – The Steering Committee for the 10th annual Direct to Consumer Wine Symposium is pleased to announce the speaker lineup for the 2017 summit taking place January 11-12, 2017 at the Hilton Concord Hotel. www.dtcwinesymposium.com
“We have such a phenomenal lineup of speakers this year, we have had no choice but to expand programming over two days. In conjunction with our workshops and curated sponsor sessions, 2017 will feature new, interactive round-table discussions, and the return of our popular town hall series,” said Stephanie Friedman, 2017 chair and director of consumer sales and marketing for Gary Farrell Winery. “Workshop chair, Laila Subaie, along with Ingrid Cheng and Meghen Ainsworth have done a masterful job identifying relevant topics and skilled speakers,” she added.
Day 1 and Day 2 Workshop Sessions
Leveraging Metrics: What, Where, When and How?
How can you leverage data for success? This session explores best practices for how and when to collect, analyze and use this information for sales, marketing, club retention, business development, forecasting and more. You will learn how to plan and implement data collection strategies, and how to translate these strategies into actionable intelligence.
Moderator: Damien WIlson, Hamel Family Chair – Wine Business, Sonoma State University
Panelists: Christian Mullen, General Manager of Chatterbox Wine Marketing; Tammy Boatright, President of VingDIRECT; Clark Terry, Marketing Director of Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant; Mike Bellaran, Finance & Accounting Manager for Gary Farrell Winery.
Creating the DTC Dream Team – and Keeping Them!
Are you fostering longevity and retention to avoid the pitfalls of turnover? Are you teaching skills and inspiring a ‘strategic mind’ within your team? Gain insight how to select successful candidates, develop a succession plan, keep key players in place, and manage through turnover.
Moderator: Meghan Ainsworth, Operations Manager at MissingLink Networks
Panelists: Aniysa Fritz, Proprietor of Lynmar Estate; Osmar Rivera, Human Resources Manager for Sonoma-Cutrer; Richard Richardson, CEO & General Manager of Turley Wine Cellars
Reservations Revealed: An Investigative Discussion?
Our panel will put on their detective hats and discuss the hot topic of reservation programs. Which work well? How do you integrate one into your consumer experience? How do you ensure information is secure? We will discuss case studies from both established reservation programs and hybrid appointment models.
Moderator: Laila Subaie, DTC Business Development & Memberships Manager at Miner Family Winery
Panelists: Meg Barkley, Director of Hospitality at Clif Family Winery; Sandra Hess, Founder of DTC Wine Workshops; Jenny Childers, Director of Sales & Marketing at Sullivan Family Vineyards
Private Client Sales – The Art of White Glove Customer Service
Customer service is the new marketing. Whether it’s as broad as a tailored phone campaign or as exclusive as having a dedicated winery representative, how do wineries of all sizes execute against this lucrative opportunity? Hear from pros both inside and outside the wine industry for actionable tips to make this important process part of your everyday routine.
Moderator: Alf Nucifora, Chairman & Founder of the Luxury Marketing Council San Francisco
Panelists: Jonathan Henson of Blackbird Vineyards; Chris O’Connell, Allocations Manager for Repris Wines & Pangloss Cellars; Dave Dobrow, VP of Business Development at Copper Peak Logistics
Enhancing Your Digital Marketing Efforts
Learn about basic (and some free!) tools to help grow your online presence and professionalism, scalable to your digital comfort level and resources. Find out what SEO and SEM stand for, why (and which) response rates are important, what Google analytics and AdWords are, and how these tools and others can help you efficiently expand your digital landscape.
Moderator: Ingrid Cheng, Digital & Consumer Relations Manager at Rombauer Vineyards
Panelists: Chris Denny, Founder & President of The Engine is Red; Alexandra Evans, Digital Marketing Manager at Domaine Chandon; Ron Scharman, CEO of Astra Digital Marketing
DTC Beyond California: What’s Happening with the “Other 10%”
Take a deep dive into the DTC universe outside California. Learn how wineries like yours are solving regulatory, legal and marketing challenges. Some of the issues are the same in CA; some are not. In either case, we can share ideas on navigating the ever-changing regulatory landscape, establishing and maintaining your customer base online, measuring the ROI of a newly-opened DTC state.
Moderator: Michael Kaiser, WineAmerica
Panelists: Meaghan Frank, Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery; additional panelists to be named.
Register Today
Online registration is available at http://dtcwinesymposium.com/register/. Early Bird pricing is $495 for a 2-day pass, $175 for Day 1 only, or $370 for Day 2 only. If more than one person from your organization attends, each additional 2-day ticket is only $465, a $30 savings. Visit www.dtcwinesymposium.com for additional program and speaker updates.
About the Direct to Consumer Wine Symposium
The wine industry’s national summit on direct marketing and sales is presented by and is a fundraiser for Free the Grapes! After 9 years, the event has raised more than $1 million for the PR campaign of Free the Grapes’ and the legal work of the Coalition for Free Trade, which “retired” in 2014. These two groups have worked closely with industry representatives and regional associations to streamline onerous regulations and increase the number of legal shipping states from 17 to 44, which represent nearly 94% of the US population. The DTC Wine Symposium is the primary fundraiser for Free the Grapes! www.freethegrapes.org www.dtcwinesymposium.com
