Alcademics.com

Working With Beverage Bloggers: DOs and DON'Ts

The other day I gave a talk on social media at the WSWA convention in Orlando. The audience was mostly distributors, brand owners, and PR professionals.

We had five people on the panel and just an hour to to talk, so naturally I was the last one to speak and we were already over our allotted time in the room. I had to make it fast so I condensed a ten-minute talk into about three minutes, which is longer than it will take you to read the rough outline of my talk below.

Working With Cocktail Bloggers: DOs and DON'Ts

DON'Ts

1. Don't call, unless you are asked to call. 
2. Don't send packages without your information or sell sheet. Mystery booze is nice but won't help you get press.
3. Don't treat every blogger the same. The National Enquirer isn’t the same as Cat Fancy; it's the same way with blogs. Different bloggers publish different sorts of content- one person may review your blueberry vodka, another may publish recipes with it, and another might write an industry trend piece about the rise in berry flavors. Familiarize yourself with the top blogs and pitch accordingly.
4. Don't think a blogger is obligated to write about your product just because you sent a sample or a recipe. Instead of following-up with “When will you be posting?”  try: “I hope you enjoyed the sample. Is there anything I can provide you with?” (Also, bloggers aren't obliged to respond to emails- we're busy too.)
5. Don't block access to information. If a blogger has a question that only the master distiller can answer, do your best to get that answer. Be a conduit for information, not a roadblock.

DOs

1. Do create shareable content and shareable media, and give it away. Shareable content includes brand histories, tasting notes, distillery profile, and especially recipes. (And hire somebody to create good new recipes.) Shareable media includes photos (bottle shots, cocktail pictures, party shots from events, cell phone snaps from bar visits), videos (How-to-make cocktail videos, distillery virtual tour, live tasting with distiller), and projects (send out tools to help bloggers build their own content: a comparative tasting kit, home blending exercise, cocktail ingredients, bar tools,  punch bowls, etc.)
2. Do Provide Incentives and Rewards. These include Samples: send large size ones and send them often. Someone reviewed your product positively? Send even more! Admission: to press events, parties, out for drinks with the brand ambassador, etc. Bloggers don't get as much love as traditional journalists, so a little bit of love goes a long way. Money: Some blogs charge for spirit reviews, recipe development, and of course ads, but you can also hire bloggers to cover events, to photograph cocktails, or to be the party photographer. Fame: If a blogger posts something about your brand, use your own social media tools to retweet, post on Facebook. etc. to drive traffic to the blog. The blogger gets more hits and the brand gets more attention. It's a win-win. 

I focused on just my top tips. I welcome your additional suggestions in the comments.

To see the slides from all speakers for this presentation, follow this link. Mine are last.

Speaking on Social Media at the WSWA April 12

I'll be speaking on a social media panel at the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America annual Convention on April 12. 

Last year I also attended the convention. I learned what the WSWA is and what goes on at the convention, with some notes about the strengths and weaknesses of the three-tier system. I also looked at how the convention is changing and plans for the future. 

Here's the tentative title and info:

Social Media Marketing:  It’s Not an Option, It's Mandatory

 Forget the theory and the lectures, this hard-hitting panel will give attendees the street smart perspective on social media marketing.  Whether you’re a supplier, wholesaler or retailer, social media marketing must be an integral part of your marketing strategy,  The panel will provide the straight scoop on:

-What does success look like?

-Case histories with lessons learned that you can leverage right now.

- What are the wrong ways to use Facebook and Twitter, and how do you handle temperamental bloggers?

-Why  social media marketing needs to be a core strategy- the liquid in marketing’s bottle and not the label slapped on top.

- Should your distiller be tweeting?

The panel was assembled and will be moderated by Steve Raye of Brand Action Team. Also on the panel are Alyssa Rapp of Bottlenotes.com, Kit Codik of Liquor.com, Camper English of Alcademics.com (hey, that's me!), and Vincenza Kelly of ItalTrade/Vino 2011.

This should be interesting because Steve Raye is a social media marketing consultant, Alyssa and Kit do websites but interact with brands throwing large and small events, relatively, Vincenza coordinated the social media aspect of an event from the front end, and I'm a blogger and journalist. We have different needs from brands and their social media marketing, and thus will have different perspectives on what brands need to do to be more effective in the socia media space. 

I'm looking forward to it, and if you're attending the WSWA in Orlando this April I hope you'll join us there. 

Alcademics is Influential

According to a recent study by eCairn, Alcademics.com is the most influential English-language spirits blog and the third most influential alcohol blog entirely. Cool!

eCairn Conversation is a software tool for measuring influencers and conversations in social media. This allows brands to identify the separate online communities, look at what they're talking about, and see where they're located. This information/software can be purchased by marketing companies looking to reach bloggers and other blatherers on the web.

I don't know what set of metrics they use to measure influence. It's certainly not pageviews alone as I don't win in that race, and I'm sure other companies use different formulas to measure the same thing with different results. We can't say that this is the end-all-be-all of influence measurement, but an additional one. 

And like like Oscars or the Tales of the Cocktail Spirits Awards, winning doesn't necessarily mean you're actually the best, but it sure feels nice.

Here's how they described their study:

Tagging along with previous analysis of social media Tribes and Influencers (here, here and there), we looked this time at the socialcohol ecosystem .

Even if the wine & alcohol industry is highly restricted and social media has its set of challenges, matters like beer, wine and liquor generate quite a bit of conversations from the virtual streets.

Here, we pulled 200 influencers from our existing communities of English speaking influencers (~1500 for wine, ~1000 for beers and ~500 for liquor) to create our own cocktail of the tops.

And here are their results. (Formatting pasted from Brookston Beer Bulletin's website. Thanks to Steve Raye of Brand Action Team for pointing me to the posting.)

Top 20 Alcohol Blogs

1. Brookston Beer Bulletin (Beer)
2. Good Grape: A Wine Blog Manifesto (Wine)
3. Alcademics.com (Liquor)
4. Eric Asimov’s The Pour: NY Times (Wine)
5. Seen Through a Glass (Beer)
6. Pencil and Spoon (Beer)
7. The Beer Nut (Beer)
8. Catavino (Wine)
9. Art of Drink (Liquor)
10. Drink With The Wench (Beer)
11. Wine Spectator (Wine)
12. Mutineer Magazine (Wine*) [Listed as a wine blog, but Mutineer also covers beer and spirits.]
13. Trader Tiki’s Exotic Syrups, Bitters and Spirits (Liquor)
14. RumDood (Liquor)
15. AlaWine (Wine)
16. Good Wine Under $20 (Wine)
17. Wannabe Wino Wine Blog (Wine)
18. The Pegu Blog (Liquor)
19. Through The Walla Walla Grape Vine™ (Wine)
20. Palate Press (Wine)

Jay Brooks has some additional analysis on his site and I think shares the same sentiments.

Big Changes, Slow Changes

Usually in cocktail writing we think in terms of microtrends: the latest techniques (barrel aging cocktails, fat-washing), the latest categories (mezcal, pisco), popular flavors or ingredients (falernum, smoke), and the latest bar themes (high-volume cocktail bars, tiki).

We don't talk too much about the macro-trends. In my latest post for FineCooking.com, I discuss one of the biggest macro-trends: that cocktails are getting better in general, with fresh ingredients, respect for the classics, and more knowledgeable bartenders.

Also, there's a recipe for the Sage 75 from the Vesper Bar at the new Cosmopolitan in Vegas.

Big in Germany

I try to link to all my writing available online, but you really only see two-thirds or so of it. And even if you could see it all, most of us couldn't read it because it's in German.

I am a regular contributor to Mixology magazine, based in Berlin, and for this magazine I write these insanely long stories usually about a single cocktail.

I've written 2000 words about eggnog, 2500 on the Blood and Sand, and 4000 words on the Mai Tai.

All of it gets translated into German so when I see the print version I can't read it but I like to look at the pictures. 

One picture that I particularly enjoyed seeing was this cover illustration for my eggnog story.

 

I don't know if I've ever had the cover image before, so that's pretty awesome. (Update: Realized I've had it twice before- sweet!)

I shall now use this ego boost to get me through my next story, which is 2500 words on the Caipirinha, due tomorrow.

 

Cocktails and Italian Spirits

Last week I spoke on a panel in New York for the Vino 2011 convention. The event mostly focuses on Italian wines, but this year they also offered a cocktail seminar.

The seminar was called “Renaissance of the Cocktail in America: Top Spirit Professionals Assess the Role and Opportunities for Italian Spirit.” The panel was moderated by Francesco LaFranconi and the other panelists were Anthony Dias Blue,  Lamberto Vallarino Gancia, Paolo Domeneghetti, and Tad Carducci.

I figure I may as well share my answers with people who couldn't attend the seminar.

Question 1: As one of the industry’s most credited spirits’ blogger and writer, what fascinates you the most about Italian liquors (Spirits, Amari, Aperitifs and Liqueurs) and which category provides you the most opportunities to write your stories/articles?

Prettymuch what I do for a living is identify and report on trends in cocktails and spirits, most of which are generated by progressive bartenders at the nation's top bars. So I'm most interested in what they're interested in.

Category-wise, we see the most action in amari and aperitifs as bartenders are playing with bitter modifiers, better vermouths/vermouth substitutes, and low-alcohol cocktails.

But across all categories there are other flavor trends into which different Italian spirits can fit.

• Extreme spirits. The most bitter, the most raw, the highest-proof, the funkiest, most challenging spirits are all the rage. Think: Smith & Cross, mezcal, Islay scotch, barrel-strength everything.
• Flavorful white spirits. Think: genever, pisco, cachaca, agricole rhum. Why not grappa too?

Question Two: When did you start noticing interest (among bartenders and mixologists) in the US for Italian liquors (Spirits, Amari, Aperitifs and Liqueurs) and cocktails made with them?

Back in the early 2000s when classic cocktails started their comeback. Back then it was all about making the most authentic Negroni, Aviation, Hemmingway Daiquiri, etc. These drinks need their original Italian ingredients like Campari, maraschino liqueur, vermouths, etc.

Now, even though we're still in the classic cocktail craze, it's more about spin-offs of classics: variations of the Manhattan using various amari, spin-offs of the Bamboo with other fortified wines, Negronis switching out everything for something else, and so on.

Question Three: Which Italian liquors (Spirits, Amari, Aperitifs and Liqueurs) categories do you believe are the most favorite by the American palate these days, and which are not fully embraced yet (what would you suggest to do about it)?

Now we're talking about consumers, and I don't think most consumers are in love with any of these spirit categories at all. That said, they all have their place in cocktails, which consumers love indeed. Italian (and any) spirit owners should think about their spirits as ingredients in popular cocktail formats and sell to the cocktail. Right now, consumers are especially interested in drinks they can make at home that they've tried out. Some top examples are:

• Anything that mixes with ginger beer in a Buck/Dark & Stormy format.
• Cocktails with baking spice flavor- allspice, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg. Many tiki drinks would fall into this category.
• Aromatic herbs like mint, basil, cilantro, lemon verbena, etc. These can be used both in the Gimlet and Mojito format.
• Anything coffee - cold or in the future, hot. With the fresh-roasted, slow-drop coffee phase that's sweeping  the nation, perhaps the grappa producers could work on a deluxe version of Cafe Correcto.
• Anything floral in the wake of St. Germain, or with strongly floral aromas.
• Any liqueur that can be mixed with sparkling wine.  

I even tried to look like I know what I'm talking about wearing a suit and tie (and an expression that says "I'm up in your seminar, dropping knowledge.") But you know, since it was in a room full of Italians, my wardrobe probably fooled no one.

Choosing Seminars for the Manhattan Cocktail Classic

For the second year of the Manhattan Cocktail Classic, they are having people vote on which seminars they'd like to see.

I hope the ones I've proposed are of interest, as I'd like to come to New York this May. To vote, simply go to this page and select a minimum of 5 and not more than 30 seminars you're interested in. You get one vote per email and you must do so before February 16th.

(Shortcut: Search for "Camper" and click those three first.)

My proposed talk topics are below:

23. Tequila is the New Vodka, Tequila is the New Scotch
with Camper English

Tequila is one of the fastest-growing spirit categories in America, with a slew of new brands hitting store shelves each month. But is the tequila becoming the new vodka: over-saturated with expensive designer bottles, celebrity sponsorships and flavorless imitation brands that are all made at the same few distilleries? Or is the 100-percent agave category more like scotch whisky, showcasing innovation in ingredient sourcing and processing, barrel finishing and distillation technology while working within the rigid framework of government regulations? Join this lively debate moderated by journalist Camper English in which we discuss the rapidly-changing tequila category and all the hope and hype that comes with growth.

24. The Reluctant Blogger: Using Social Media for People Who'd Rather Not
with Camper English

This session will focus on the fastest and easiest tools and formats of blogging and other social media for people who are technically challenged or reluctantly dipping their toes into the new century: writers who want to promote their work, brands and brand ambassadors who want to share news (and not rely on expensive designers to make small site changes), PR agencies who want to share their clients' placements, bartenders who want to promote themselves, and bars who want to keep their calendars current and customers updated. In this fast-moving era, everyone should have a website and no website should be static.

In this fast-paced session, blogger/journalist Camper English will review the top blog hosts and platforms (WordPress, TypePad, SquareSpace, Tumblr, etc. and whether or not to just use Facebook for everything) to compare set-up and ease-of-use, describe effective strategies for getting content online quickly, and choosing the right platform for different content: links, scans/photos, videos, events, and text. Then we'll look at the best tools for other social media (FourSquare, Ping, TweetDeck, etc.) the best practices for using Facebook, Twitter and your blog to avoid excessive cross-posting, and discuss how to use social media with only your cell phone on the subway. Participants should leave with a clear plan of action based on their individual content needs, budgets, and goals.

25. Terroir in Spirits
with Camper English

Terroir, a.k.a. "sense of place", is a term for how the the soil, geography and climate of a particular place contribute unique qualities to the crops grown on/in it. In wine this concept is well understood. In spirits, though much more processing is done to the raw ingredients, terroir can sometimes show through to the final product. In this seminar we'll discuss terroir in spirits generally and look deeper specifically at tequila, cognac/armagnac, French and Brazilian rums, and scotch whisky with experts in each on the panel. Attendees will learn about (and taste) terroir in spirits to come away with an understanding of the concept generally and qualities of terroir specific to different spirit categories.

2010: The Year That Was

Looking back through my 2010 calendar, the year's theme was HUSTLE.

In 2010 I visited 23 distilleries, bodegas, and blending houses. 

I traveled to Vegas twice, New York twice, Guatemala, New Zealand, Scotland twice, New Orleans, Spain, Germany, Portland, Kentucky, and Mexico twice. 

I had stories published for the first time in Wired, Penthouse, Executive Travel, 7x7, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, Mixology, and Tasting Table.

I continued to have articles published in the San Francisco Chronicle, Tasting Panel, Beverage Media, Caviar Affair, SilverKris, and Fine Cooking.

On top of all that, I blogged here on Alcademics almost every day of the year.

No wonder I'm exhausted, but what a year!