US Drinks Conference Debut Partnership with WSWA Wows SRO Crowd

We’re just back from a whirlwind few days at the WSWA in Orlando where we inaugurated the link up of USDC with WSWA. For those of you unfamiliar with it, the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America is the big daddy of wine and spirit trade conventions in the U.S.

After four years of flying solo with the U.S. Drinks Conference, we were thrilled to be asked to provide the educational sessions for this year’s WSWA, with plans to co-locate the two conferences in full next year in Las Vegas.

We weren’t sure what to expect in terms of attendance and were kind of worried since we didn’t have that much advance time to promote it. But we were blown away by the response. The crowd started pouring in for the first session on Social Media, and it became pretty clear pretty quickly we were a bit conservative….Cindy Nachman-Senders and the folks from WSWA did some fancy footwork and found a fast extra 50 seats. We ended up with a standing room only crowd and had to turn people away at the door. The next three sessions were also packed filling up the extra seats.

We led off with a focus on Social Media Marketing with me as moderator and a panel of (in pic l. to r.) Kit Codik of Liquor.com, Vincenza Kelly from the Italian Trade Commission, Alyssa Rapp of Bottlenotes,Steve Raye of Brand Action Team and Camper English of Alcademics. They did a great job of putting into context what this whole SMM beast is all about.

The key takeaway was the importance of engagement, transparency, authenticity and commitment…not just talking the talk, but walking the walk.

Jeff Grindrod moderated the Brand Builders session with Chris Catterton of Bogle Vineyards, Norm Bonchick of Van Gogh Vodka and Dave Stringfellow of Beacon Beverage Imports. The big advice there was for small brands…start small, stay focused and don’t expand too quickly. Distributors have their eyes on what’s going on and they’ll recognize a successful brand. It’ll be much easier to expand when you’ve proved the concept, and then can leverage the middle tier for growth.For larger companies there's no silver bullet. Just as each brand has a unique USP, each has to determine the right strategy whether it be flavor extensions galore, or sticking to a core set of skus.

MHW Ltd. prexy John Beaudette piloted the “Navigating Brand Entry: Understanding the Three-Tier System” session with panelists Bill Earle of NABI, Charlie Merinoff of Charmer Sunbelt Group, Vince O’Brien of Nixon Peabody and Jim Squeo of NABCA. They pointed out the critical need for offshore suppliers to have an experienced pilot to guide them through the apparently Byzantine rules and regulations that comprise the American drinks market.

Mike Ginley of Next Level Marketing played solo cleanup with a deep dive on maximizing the value of a Brand Ambassador team. Brand Ambassadors (aka Market Managers) are a critical component to a new brand launch. They can help prime the pump and supply the account-level time and attention that can results in real brand traction.

T-Minus Four Days Until WSWA 2011

WSWA is prepared to kick off its annual exposition and convention for the wholesalers of the beverage alcohol industry this weekend in Orlando, Florida. Are you going to be there?

About a month ago, we informed you of some new educational programming that we are excited to see WSWA feature this year as part of a new collaboration between WSWA and the U.S. Drinks Conference. However, there is a plethora of other amazing content offered up by WSWA including: a wine and spirits tasting competition, opening night reception, exhibition floor featuring new brands, among other products, a mixology competition, keynote speaker presentations and a presentation of the Sidney Frank Award to Bill Samuels, President, Maker’s Mark Distillery. You can click on the images below to be taken to a PDF of the entire WSWA schedule.


Although I personally won't be in attendance at this year's convention, I am sure that I will be following along while online, thanks in part to the tremendous efforts from WSWA to tweet and blog up-to-the-minute coverage throughout the conference. If you will be amidst all the action in Orlando, WSWA is encouraging that you participate virtually as well by tweeting photos and commentary of the conference using the hash tag #WSWAConvention.

As a team, we are anxiously awaiting the start of WSWA and are looking forward to seeing all the familiar - and new! - faces take over the Sunshine State. Stay tuned on Drinks For The House as well for more WSWA action as it unfolds this Saturday.

Cheers!

Where did October go?

Goodness gracious, how is it already the end of October? I'm supposed to be thinking about Halloween and clever costumes but it has been nothing but an idea sitting on the back burner.

October was quite busy with BAT hosting the 4th Annual US Drinks Conference in New York City, and then I was traveling to Portland for Drink.Write 2010 and Portland Cocktail Week. While I have plenty to share about my time actually spent in Portland, this morning I wanted to share with you the adventure I had in my travels back to Connecticut.

My PDX > BDL flight apparently needed to result in a layover in Dallas/Fort Worth (because it makes total sense to fly south to head back up north!), and that first leg of my journey was quite a wild ride. It was as if I was at Disneyland on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, with all the sharp twists and turns, but add in a slew giant dips that raise your stomach...this was no longer a kiddie adventure! We manage to land in Dallas and upon reaching the gates, we all discover all flights leaving DFW are delayed or, worse, canceled, and that there has been a tornado warning in the great Dallas area all morning. WTF!? I just flew through a tornado!? While the bumpy ride was enough to make the novice flier sick, I was pale in the face thinking about the bottles of Mandarine Napoleon I had laying (or, at this point, I'm thinking shaking) under the plane. Did they survive? No one would let me have access to my luggage after being grounded for 24 hours, so I had no idea.

My luggage was waiting for me upon my arrival to BDL. I opened the box and - gasp - all the liquor survived!

Now, I know what a wild ride that flight was from inside the cabin so I can only imagine what it was like underneath the plane... So surely, I'm now convinced that the strength and spirit of Napoleon Bonaparte himself protected the alcohol in my travels. What a miracle!

OK - so now I'm talking about the spirit of a dead Emperor? Huh? Yes, this blog post is finally coming full circle as we talk about Halloween! Why don't you go and visit my monthly column at Bar None Drinks and read about toasting to the spirit of Napoleon? I promise it won't disappoint. :)

And check back in here at D4TH soon - there will be much much more about my adventures in Portland where I got to spend time with great bloggers, bartenders, and industry folk and had a plethora of fantastic spirits, cocktails, and yes, even a glass of Gruener Veltliner.

Cheers!
SJ