By Kathleen Willcox
Polly Hammond has been touting the power and potential of digital marketing for decades — well before most anyone in the wine industry had a working e-commerce site. But when she pivoted from healthcare to wine full-time, Hammond is the first to admit that she made a few mistakes at first.
“I learned so much in the first few years,” says Hammond, who launched her digitally focused wine marketing agency 5forests in 2015.
“I got my start in digital marketing in healthcare,” Hammond recalls. “But my passion was really wine. I was living in New Zealand with my husband, and a lot of our friends were winemakers. I’d have essentially working dinners with them every Friday where I’d advise them on digital strategy and how to grow their business.”
At a certain point, Hammond realized that much of her free time was being devoted to her passion, and that it was time to make a change. But transitioning from healthcare to wine wasn’t as smooth as she expected.
Hammond credits her time studying under Tim Hanni, MW, also an early adopter of digital marketing through his business Calyber LLC. Once she discovered how she could apply the digital tools she learned in healthcare marketing to the very different world of wine, her business began to take off.
Hard Skills, Soft Delivery, Great Results
Pauline Vicard, co-founder and executive director of the independent think tank dedicated to wine, Areni Global, says that while Hammond’s hard skills — efficient, data-based strategic advice — are strong, it’s often her soft skills that make working with her feel like not just a business necessity, but a pleasure.
“Polly Hammond is the rare combination of expertise and generosity,” Vicard says. “Her marketing knowledge is deep and wide, and she is equally able to build efficient and profitable brand strategies as she is to elegantly design a website or publication. But more important, her constant smile, warmth and genuine willingness to help, when coupled with her track record of success, makes her the perfect ally.”
Hammond’s allies and fans were fierce from the start. But it took her time to get the industry as a whole on board.
“Many people in the wine industry were resistant to digital marketing, until 2020 happened, and they realized they’d better have a strong e-commerce platform and digital strategy,” Hammond says. “I am incredibly lucky to have a talented team and business partner, Michael Bourne, who helps me bring everything to life.”
Hammond admits that, in addition to being passionate about providing wineries with a digital funnel for sales, she is “obsessed” with growing those sales and analyzing them.
“We look at returns on ad spends in a really direct and transparent way,” Hammond says. “I share our metrics with clients, who are required to go through an intense discovery process before we get started. We want to understand — and we want them to understand — exactly who they should be targeting so we can do it effectively.”
Historically, Hammond says they get about a $9 to $1 return on investment for ad spend.
Beyond Digital Growth
Hammond loves getting results for clients, but she thrives on making a broader impact.
“We were seeing serious hardships across the industry, especially during the pandemic,” Hammond recalls. “The world was shut down and so many wineries lacked a way to get wine to people who wanted it.”
So Hammond and her team developed a free plugin that linked wordpress websites to an e-commerce platform. Hammond hosted more than 100 unsponsored podcasts with Robert Joseph and the Italian Wine Podcast offering advice on business and commerce for wineries. 5forests developed Winestories narrative customer personas so wineries could understand who they were marketing to, and target them accordingly.
“I also wanted to ensure that digital marketing and sales didn’t impact the environment,” Hammond says. “Sustainable digital practices have always been part of our DNA at 5forests, and now I share development advice for free. We also offer free advice on digital carbon footprint audits, and we’ve teamed up with Digimatic to develop a 100% free app to plant trees with every order.”
That generosity, coupled with her effectiveness and knowledge of the wine industry, has left a lasting impression on her clients.
“Her willingness to impart emerging and best practices, coupled with an unwavering commitment to freely share her expertise has not only elevated our operations, but significantly contributed to our winery’s growth,” says Michael Franzia, co-founder of Clark Ferrea Winery and chairman of the board at Bronco Wine Co.
Hammond and 5forests want to succeed, they also want their clients to succeed — and the industry to succeed. That shouldn’t be rare, but it is.
“Polly Hammond dares to speak truth in an industry that often hides behind fake-fame and self promotion,” says Rebecca Hopkins, founder of A Balanced Glass, a global forum connecting wine pros committed to mindfulness and moderation. “And she does it all with kindness, thoughtfulness and a get-it-done attitude.”
After a year of serious climate and sales challenges across the world of wine, it is inspiring to see Hammond out there in the digital trenches getting positive results — kindly and sustainably.
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Kathleen Willcox
Kathleen Willcox writes about wine, food and culture from her home in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. She is keenly interested in sustainability issues, and the business of making ethical drinks and food. Her work appears regularly in Wine Searcher, Wine Enthusiast, Liquor.com and many other publications. Kathleen also co-authored a book called Hudson Valley Wine: A History of Taste & Terroir, which was published in 2017. Follow her wine explorations on Instagram at @kathleenwillcox
