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!

U.S. Drinks Conference Expands Educational Offerings at WSWA

For anyone who will be attending the annual WSWA Convention & Exposition in April, we look forward to seeing you at this new educational track offering brought to you by the U.S. Drinks Conference. You can read more about USDC as well on Steve Raye's BATChat blog, where he recapped much of the 2010 conference, or by reading the press release below. Cheers!

Partnership Launched to Expand Educational Offerings at WSWA Convention & Exposition

U.S. Drinks Conference focuses on providing WSWA attendees with practical information to be successful in the U.S. beverage alcohol market.

Washington D.C. (March 8, 2011)—The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) has incorporated a newly expanded educational track to its upcoming 68th Annual Convention & Exposition April 10-13, 2011, in Orlando. The U.S. Drinks Conference (USDC), established in 2007 by Brand Action Team, MHW, Ltd., and Next Level Marketing, will be coordinating the business-related programs at this year’s convention. In 2012, USDC in its entirety will be co-located with WSWA at their convention in Las Vegas.

The USDC has established a reputation for providing practical information that suppliers and distributors can use to introduce and grow brands in the U.S. market. The four programs that USDC will host are slated to feature industry experts and veteran influencers offering key takeaways that attending wholesalers and wine and spirit suppliers can put to work right away.

Sessions will be offered on Tuesday, April 12 from 12:30 - 4:30 p.m. in a multi-track format and will include:

· Social Media as a Marketing Tool

Attendees will hear a panel discuss how suppliers and on- and off-premise wholesalers are leveraging social media to make sales happen.

· How Brand Ambassadors Can Add Value

Suppliers may be paying for them, however, distributors can also benefit from the power of this dynamic resource to engage consumers at the point of purchase.

· Brand Builders: Case Histories of Successful Brand Launches, Expansions and Initiatives

Tune in for a summary “distillation” of the latest industry trends, from the retail, on- and off-premise and consumer perspective.

· Navigating Brand Entry: Understanding the Three-tier system.

Perfect for attendees who are new to market, this seminar will cover the basics of control versus open states and how to navigate the complexities of the unique three-tier system.

“Aligning our convention with WSWA allows us to reach a much broader audience,” said Steve Raye, Managing Partner of Avon, CT-based Brand Action Team, one of the organizers the USDC. “WSWA attracts 2,000 attendees; people who most benefit from the type of information that we provide at the USDC, along with those people implementing practical information on the front lines.”

“We are thrilled to collaborate with USDC to bring added value and commercial substance to our convention program,” WSWA President and CEO Craig Wolf said. “Our goal is to continuously improve the convention and introduce new and interesting elements for the attendees, and the business-related sessions offered this year do just that,” Wolf added.

The partnership between WSWA and USDC efficiently brings new elements to the traditional WSWA convention programming. Noted Raye, “Our partners in USDC, John Beaudette, Mike Ginley and Jeff Grindrod, all agree that there is a tremendous need to provide practical information that wholesalers and suppliers can use to increase sales and margins in this rapidly changing marketplace.”

Raye concluded, “Attendees have the opportunities offered by being at the WSWA convention and, simultaneously, have access to the information from USDC. They fit together very nicely.”

WSWA has also established a special one-day fee of $325 for individuals who want to attend the sessions, but are not able to attend the entire convention. Visit www.wswa2011.org for registration information.