I believe that all this matters, make sense when connected to all the chain. However, using the commercial lenses, where is the added value for the brand? How you can measure it? Sales results for the wineries? Experience feedback's? Consumer expectation level's?…Can Social Wine Brand work on this? How differently from “traditional” branding/marketing/communication ?

On other hand, Social Media can create a gap between the traditional channels, this might mean some disagreements on decisions of where and how to go among producers, wine retailers and re-sellers.
I'm quite positive that results can drive into a huge difference on attitude.

Generating and adding value is one part, tuning the brand and the product/package/brochure for a specific market place is another one, making money from sales is even another kind of business.
On this last one, the “old man” knows it very well, emotionally free his decisions are very accurate and intuitive, where, no social, no marketing, no advertising takes influence. Anyone thinking other side, might found himself profoundly wrong, greatest decisions, are made with low data resources, mainly based on intuition, not on rationality nor even logic.

Some wineries maybe comfortable with their channel's, and they don't consider to change, unless change come to them

My point of view is that Social Media is not talking about, is yes managing the communication, the motivation, acting like a change agent without direct influence and intervention, measuring the atmosphere around the discussion, doing a proper talking negotiation and delivering positive inputs over the crowd.
Just like the TAO.

Experience, still a great shot!

Oh, and brochures, packaging, labelling and words will still to be an important part of the “job”.

In my vision, none marketeer will put their product values only in “trust”, to me, it represents a big risk. Someone that have a bad day tasting a good juice, can mixture feelings from his day and express words of it, about the wine, and this, will be like an infection, it spreads very fast, within seconds, the social brand can drop vertically, then, solutions? Any one know? I know. It's the end of the line. Cleaver managers know that re-start, it's always more expensive than finish and start another one, just re-heating food.

Any totally different thoughts, would be very positive.
By the way, i'm not even close to certainty about what i wrote, came from my imagination and observation, because if it have been from my experience, it would not be applicable here, considering that each case is a separated universe of things.

All the best and wishes for a great summer time to all of you.
warm regards
Bartolomeu

I believe that all this matters, make sense when connected to all the chain. However, using the commercial lenses, where is the added value for the brand? How you can measure it? Sales results for the wineries? Experience feedback's? Consumer expectation level's?…Can Social Wine Brand work on this? How differently from “traditional” branding/marketing/communication ?

On other hand, Social Media can create a gap between the traditional channels, this might mean some disagreements on decisions of where and how to go among producers, wine retailers and re-sellers.
I'm quite positive that results can drive into a huge difference on attitude.

Generating and adding value is one part, tuning the brand and the product/package/brochure for a specific market place is another one, making money from sales is even another kind of business.
On this last one, the “old man” knows it very well, emotionally free his decisions are very accurate and intuitive, where, no social, no marketing, no advertising takes influence. Anyone thinking other side, might found himself profoundly wrong, greatest decisions, are made with low data resources, mainly based on intuition, not on rationality nor even logic.

Some wineries maybe comfortable with their channel's, and they don't consider to change, unless change come to them

My point of view is that Social Media is not talking about, is yes managing the communication, the motivation, acting like a change agent without direct influence and intervention, measuring the atmosphere around the discussion, doing a proper talking negotiation and delivering positive inputs over the crowd.
Just like the TAO.

Experience, still a great shot!

Oh, and brochures, packaging, labelling and words will still to be an important part of the “job”.

In my vision, none marketeer will put their product values only in “trust”, to me, it represents a big risk. Someone that have a bad day tasting a good juice, can mixture feelings from his day and express words of it, about the wine, and this, will be like an infection, it spreads very fast, within seconds, the social brand can drop vertically, then, solutions? Any one know? I know. It's the end of the line. Cleaver managers know that re-start, it's always more expensive than finish and start another one, just re-heating food.

Any totally different thoughts, would be very positive.
By the way, i'm not even close to certainty about what i wrote, came from my imagination and observation, because if it have been from my experience, it would not be applicable here, considering that each case is a separated universe of things.

All the best and wishes for a great summer time to all of you.
warm regards
Bartolomeu

I think Per picked me up on a lack of clarity so i am attempting to address that now with a follow-up post looking at this from the perspective of wine writers. I hope it will be up this afternoon (after careful scrutiny from Ryan and Gabriella I hope)

A very nice post, it was very interesting to read yr explanations, as I also had some doubts, but now everything'c clear!!
I'd be very glad to join you in Lisbona (workshop as well) to listen at you all, as the subject you've choosen for this year is really an innovative one and related to my thesis as well (unfortunately postponed to 16th July), would it be possible to participate?
Thks, enjoy yr day, bye Stefy:-))

First, this conference is a collaborative effort, so my view is one amongst many. If participants agree on going in a different direction, then that is where we are likely to go.

Second, I apologise if this is the impression you got. This is not intended to be just about wineries using social media, but it IS about a process that naturally STARTS with wineries – particularly when it comes to a conversation that involves wineries.

I did not have the time to explore ALL options around the Social Wine Brand in one post. I realise that maybe I have not done enough to explain the role and opportunities for wine bloggers, but I promise to address that in the next instalment. I also have to look at wine retailing, but branding is a process that involves everyone, particularly now.

I would take issue with one thing you say;
“I had thought of the EWBC as a meeting place for bloggers writing about wine out of passion and interest (not as a marketing tool)”

This is a conference for ALL bloggers. I have always maintained that wine blogging is not all about journalism or wine critique, it covers a broad range of interests, all the way up the chain from production, to retail and beyond to consumer feedback. Many of those attending will be both wine producers and retailers, so they too have things to learn from the discussion. One cannot ignore this, and there are lots of bloggers hoping to make a living out of the practice, so we must look at the value chain and where, therefore, there are monetisation opportunities.

I think a conference that ONLY appealed to wine lovers and not to the practicalities of the broader wine business might be little more than a fun tasting event. If wine blogging is to be taken seriously, then we must be prepared to look beyond pure “passion” for wine, and look seriously at where we can add value.

I hope this makes sense and still appeals to you. I'm more than happy to continue the process of trying to define, and clarify, the overall theme of the conference, and I'm still prepared to accept that I may need to change my own views.

Thank you so much for getting so involved at this early stage.

Interestingly, this changes quite a lot what I thought the EWBC was (mainly) about.

This, if I understand it correctly, places the EWBC squarely in the camp of the wineries and winemakers trying to use social media as a tool to sell their wines.

The other angle is what I originally thought the EWBC intended to focus on: wine blogging from the perspective of the blogging wine journalist/writer (professional or not), or the “citizen journalist” with an interest in wine, or simply the amateur (=non-professional) wine lover wanting to share his passion in social media.

I had thought of the EWBC as a meeting place for bloggers writing about wine out of passion and interest (not as a marketing tool); an occasion to discuss how best to do that using social media, exchange ideas, best practices etc etc. – generally, discussing things from a wine lover or wine writer or wine journalist perspective.

I now understand, unless I misunderstand the post, that the conference is more focused on how wineries and wine producers can “use” social media to get their message out so that they sell their wines more effectively in the web 2.0 age. – A winery marketing conference in the Web 2.0 world. I’m not sure it really “[applies] to all bloggers, no matter what their role or interest was”, or perhaps I don’t see how.

Indeed different, and perhaps a tad less interesting to me personally.