Telling The Story of Paso Robles

We are proud to see our words in action on the new tourism web site for the City of Paso Robles at www.travelpaso.com.

We designed the site’s content to communicate and reinforce the city’s message of “Authentic California.” In doing so, we aimed to establish a distinctive voice for Paso Robles, one that echoes the region’s own unique balance of upscale appeal and rural small-town charm.

Following is a sampling of how we achieved this goal:

“In Spanish, our name means ‘Pass of the Oaks,’ a tribute to the rolling hills and majestic oaks that captivated our pioneers. Today, these oaks are joined by vineyards, olive orchards, farms and ranches that inspire our local cuisine and culture…Brimming with good taste yet always down to earth, Paso Robles is pleased to be in your plans. We look forward to showing you around.”

We also tapped into what sets the Paso Robles wine country apart:

“Paso Robles isn’t just another wine country. It’s a winemaking frontier where cutting-edge wines meet old fashioned hospitality. Here, it’s not uncommon to meet the winemaker in the tasting room. The term “family-owned winery” is a way of life in Paso Robles, not a marketing gimmick. Traffic jams? We’ve never had one.”

And:

“In local wine circles, you’ll hear very little about what’s been done but a lot about what can be done. Pushing the envelope is a way of life in our vineyards and cellars. This is what makes Paso Robles wines so compelling.”

It is an honor to help tell the story of this exciting destination, and an opportunity for us to say once again: if you would like help telling your story in a way that stands out and gets results, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

We are proud to see our words in action on the new tourism web site for the City of Paso Robles at www.travelpaso.com.

We designed the site’s content to communicate and reinforce the city’s message of “Authentic California.” In doing so, we aimed to establish a distinctive voice for Paso Robles, one that echoes the region’s own unique balance of upscale appeal and rural small-town charm.

Following is a sampling of how we achieved this goal:

“In Spanish, our name means ‘Pass of the Oaks,’ a tribute to the rolling hills and majestic oaks that captivated our pioneers. Today, these oaks are joined by vineyards, olive orchards, farms and ranches that inspire our local cuisine and culture…Brimming with good taste yet always down to earth, Paso Robles is pleased to be in your plans. We look forward to showing you around.”

We also tapped into what sets the Paso Robles wine country apart:

“Paso Robles isn’t just another wine country. It’s a winemaking frontier where cutting-edge wines meet old fashioned hospitality. Here, it’s not uncommon to meet the winemaker in the tasting room. The term ‘family-owned winery’ is a way of life in Paso Robles, not a marketing gimmick. Traffic jams? We’ve never had one.”

And:

“In local wine circles, you’ll hear very little about what’s been done but a lot about what can be done. Pushing the envelope is a way of life in our vineyards and cellars. This is what makes Paso Robles wines so compelling.”

It is an honor to help tell the story of this exciting destination, and an opportunity for us to say once again: if you would like help telling your story in a way that stands out and gets results, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

The Intensifying Importance of Brand Clarity

In an excellent article in a recent issue of Wines & Vines, Leslie Berglund makes the following astute observation: “Wineries that have a fuzzy, confused or inconsistent brand message will find selling their wines more difficult than it needs to be.”

She adds, “I have seen many frontline winery salespeople who are well versed in the technical aspects of the wines they are representing, but who rarely get around to telling the real differentiating brand story that resonates with the consumer.”

So have we. The lack of a clear storyline is a major yet common sales impediment for many wineries. These wineries invest considerable time and resources in grapes, barrels, packaging, web site design and human resources, but often fail to perform due diligence when it comes to developing a strategic message that stands out from the crowd.

This is why, when people ask us what we do at Mooncatcher, we tell them that we are storytellers. A lot of our services could be called “pre-marketing” services, because they are foundational. They are what you should do before you invest in costly marketing materials, such as labels, brochures, media kits and web sites.

The need for a clear and compelling brand story is only intensifying as more and more brands compete for the consumer’s attention amid a challenging economic climate.

The good news is that it’s never too late to get your story straight. Please let us know if you would like help in telling a winning brand story.

The Importance of First-Class Content

In a recent blog entry, wine writer Steve Heimoff revisits an article he penned in 1997 about the emergence of the internet and winery web sites.

Here’s what he writes, contrasting his 12-year-old observations with the present day:

I quoted the then-PR manager of St. Clement to explain why her winery had rushed to set up a Web page. “We didn’t have a goal,” she explained. “We just knew we had to be a part of it.” From there, I quoted Peter Granoff, an original founder of Virtual Vineyards (which went belly up; it’s now morphed into wine.com). “Most wineries are still caught up in the Web for its own sake and are struggling to find out what to do.”

Peter, or that PR manager, could say precisely the same things today! It’s amazing that, as far as we’ve come, most California wineries remain well behind the digital curve and don’t seem to know what to do with the Internet, including social media (which didn’t exist in 1997). True, most wineries have a website. But most of them are boring, unfriendly, and not even up-to-date with new vintages (which you’d think would be easy to do with a computer). Wineries should be leading other businesses in forging ahead on the Internet, not dawdling behind.

Heimoff’s conclusion is open to debate, but he does make a compelling point.

On that note, we believe that there are two fronts that need to be optimized for a winning web presence: technology and content.

Our line of business is content, or what we call storytelling. The story is the delivery vehicle of your message, be it the larger message that defines your brand, or the smaller messages that communicate your special events or new product releases. Even a 140-character Tweet is a story, albeit a short story.

This brings up the question: Why would you invest a year’s worth (or more) of careful labor and tens of thousands of dollars to put a wine in the bottle (or bring some other product to market), only to wing it in matters of telling the product’s story? That’s a good question, but we see it all the time.

Before you charge forward with your next web site upgrade, or new web site, ask yourself: Do I have a clear strategy for communicating my message and telling my story? Does the caliber of my content match the quality of my product? What can I do to take my content to the next level, to generate more impact and more sales?

Of course, we’re always happy to help you find the right answers to these questions.

New Ancient Peaks Web Site

We are excited to see our words in action on the new Ancient Peaks Winery web site at www.ancientpeaks.com. 

Our goal was to help tell the Ancient Peaks story in an engaging manner while clearly and strategically articulating the winery’s numerous unique selling points. 

Other work that we have performed for Ancient Peaks includes wine fact sheets, wine label content, media kit and press releases.

The 10-Second Test

One thing to watch out for on Super Bowl Sunday (besides the Steelers’ vaunted defense) is the anticipated one-second advertisement from Miller Brewing Company.

In fact, you don’t have to wait, as Miller has created an entire web site dedicated to the one-second ad campaign at www.1secondad.com, where you can watch a series of outtakes featuring the loud but charming High Life beer delivery guy.

Miller isn’t the first company to conduct Super Bowl micro-advertising, but it is the first to create a serious buzz around the concept. The brilliance of the one-second ad campaign isn’t the ad itself, but the fact that people are talking about it well in advance of the game.

By mocking the exorbitant costs of Super Bowl advertising, Miller has not only scored some timely points in light of the current economic downturn, but has also generated considerably more brand exposure than a traditional 30-second ad by virtue of the publicity surrounding the stunt.

The one-second ad is also timely from a marketing communications perspective. With the advent of Twitter and other rapid-fire communication tools, the pressure to say more, and to say it faster, is intensifying.

So what if you had to make a one-second ad? Scratch that…Make it a 10-second ad. Can you summarize the heart and soul of your business, including what makes your product different and better, in 10 seconds?

If not,  it’s time to get to work on refining your marketing message and, if necessary, your business plan. As attention spans get shorter, the marketing noise is getting louder. Brand clarity will be your Kryptonite in this changing communications landscape.

Wine Marketing for Ancient Peaks

We are excited to be working with one of the Paso Robles wine country’s most exciting new wineries, Ancient Peaks Winery.

Our initial work consisted of helping Ancient Peaks develop a branding strategy that captured the winery’s unique selling points. We then implemented this strategy throughout a suite of marketing content, including a web site, brochure, back labels, product fact sheets, press kit and other marketing collateral.

We are also conducting a media relations program to generate positive editorial exposure for Ancient Peaks. So far, so good, as the winery’s 2006 Zinfandel was just rated 93 points by the Wine Spectator!