Paso Robles Wine PR

Our small-but-mighty, comprehensive marketing agency is on the hunt—for YOU!

If you are a visionary of viral campaigns, an innovator of internet marketing, a guru of graphic design and a have a burning desire to become a wizard of web development, we want to offer you the fun, collaborative environment in which to hone your craft, feed your creativity and build your empire—that’s right, our employees are not just employees; they’re motivated by the opportunity to make partner one day. 

If this sounds like music to your ears, read the full job description below and tell us why you’re a marketing mover and shaker! We look forward to being wowed, and toasting to our next Paso Robles “A-Team” member.

Here’s to YOU!

Job Title: Graphics/Web Development

Headline: Paso Robles Ad Agency

A comprehensive marketing powerhouse in Paso Robles, we are on the lookout for a graphic designer/web developer superpower that can join our team of marketing masters and mavens and help inject some real verve and creativity into the art of modern advertising and marketing.

A part-time, in-house position (24 – 30 hrs/wk, with room to grow and climb, even up to becoming a partner!), this opportunity is perfect for candidates that are well-versed in all forms of marketing material design: logos, websites, flash ads, graphic design collateral (brochures, flyers, business cards, etc.), advertising, email marketing newsletters, social media platforms, and more.

Our Super Hero Candidate:

- is a team player that can jump in and fit in with our tight-knit group of professionals

- is highly motivated to achieve slam dunks for the team and home runs for our clients (working well under deadlines is a must, victory dance skills a plus!)

- has a strong administrative “head” on his or her shoulders (organization and time management are essential)

- is a stellar communicator (both verbal and written)

- knows the Microsoft Office Suite like the back of his or her hand (i.e. Word, some Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint on a PC)

Essential Super Powers:

- Possess a keen eye for balance, whitespace, and overall clean designs

- Experience developing and updating websites in Dreamweaver (or HTML), also updating CMS websites

-Experience with email marketing platforms and online software (i.e. Constant Contact)

-Experience with social media strategy (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Flickr, YouTube)

-Experience in preparing art files for print (i.e. Prepress, Production work)

-Solid computer and software skills (i.e. fluency in Adobe Creative Suite – Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop and Flash) on a PC

Bonus Skills:

-         Ability to create flash banners

-         Video editing skills

-         Fluency in CSS & Javascript

Ready to Move and Shake? Give us a jingle at 805-239-4443 (AR & Co. PR & Marketing, 612 12th Street, Suite 206, Paso Robles, CA 93446) to obtain the email address for submitting your résumé.

The LA Times recently reported that wine prices are rising in restaurants, due in part to increased demand (they say from a younger market) and decreased supply.

Where does this leave the local wine label?

The trend suggests a few things for Paso Robles wineries:

1. More people are ordering wine in restaurants. This means it may be time to look into expanding your sales to restaurants or beefing up your partnership with distributors that have the sway to get you into those growing sectors (fine dining and family dining wine prices are growing the most, as reported by the article).
2. There is less supply of wine internationally, due in part to shrinking production in France and Italy, according to this LA Times article from last October. Perhaps this suggests an opportunity for more California wines to make the list at restaurants that have snubbed them for European labels in the past.
3. On a local scale, this might be a good time to partner with local restaurants to capitalize on the growing interest in dining with wine. Work together to cross-promote by offering:
   1. Promotional pairing nights at the restaurant, followed by catered tasting events at winery pick-up parties.
   2. Hand out postcards at the winery advertising “no-corkage fees” for your wine at your partner restaurant.
   3. Offer local restaurants a reduced price on large orders of your wine, showing how your particular wine can take the place of the pricier Italian or French version. Consumers will like the “Local” angle, and restaurants will appreciate the improved margin.

Get more bright ideas on how to play to the growing, younger segment of wine appreciators by contacting wine-wise AR & Company PR & Marketing in the heart of Paso Robles wine country.

A recent NPR story about wines from New Jersey brought up some interesting points for winemakers everywhere.

The challenge the story introduced was that of the serious winemaker who happens to be located in a region not taken seriously for its wine. To counteract this problem, the story’s heroes have taken a few meaningful steps:

1. They requested a unique designation (the Outer Coastal Plain), so that consumers might be intrigued by their AVA, rather than dissuaded by it. This also served to unite them as a coalition, which, in the future might work together to market the region as a destination.
2. They invested in the kind of wine they’d like to be known for. Currently, the majority of winemakers in Jersey make a sweet, accessible dessert wine. But while that pays their bills, they have taken steps toward making finer wines that will build their reputation among the wine community.

Most winemakers may not have the challenges these New Jersey brands face, but all can learn important lessons from their efforts.

Perhaps your wine label is known for its super-friendly fruit-forward Zinfandel or easy-drinking Merlot, in which case you could invest funds and acreage in developing a more esoteric varietal or blend that perhaps won’t be your big seller, but could just be your big break into snatching up publicity, esteem or mystique for your winery.

Or perhaps your wine region stands in the shadow of big names like Napa. In this case, consider banding together with similar wineries in your area to develop a designation, a tasting “trail” or a micro-AVA and developing a marketing campaign around that new name.

For more ideas on how to make your wine stand out, contact a wine-wise PR & marketing agency like AR & Company in the heart of Paso Robles wine country.

Danny Glover launches charitable wine label

Actor Danny Glover, best known for his roles in Lethal Weapon beside Mel Gibson, has teamed up with a wine producer to launch a wine label called African Passion.

According to TheDrinksBusiness.com article, ten percent of the $10 per bottle wine’s proceeds benefit the TransAfrica Forum, an advocacy group for African education and human rights. The partnership will also work to educate the public about wines from South Africa.

The project is a great reminder that charitable causes can be their own capitalist catalysts. What is a cause close to your winery’s heart? Consider donating a percentage of next vintage’s proceeds to the cause and using the public relations opportunity to improve awareness about your winery.

After all, the more you toot your own horn, the more proceeds generated for your charity.

Want to learn how to turn a charitable donation into a profitable publicity campaign? Contact the PR pros at AR & Co. PR & Marketing.

“Organic” is the new buzz word for getting a buzz on.

According to the USDA, the 2011 survey by the Organic Trade Association shows that organic beverages took up a nearly 12 percent slice of the sales growth in the entire organic food sales pie. And leading the organic liquid movement is organic wine, which is now keeping pace with conventional wine purchases.

Why does your winery or vineyard care? Perhaps making the leap to Organic could help your brand make the leap to a higher revenue bracket.

This article about the topic of organic wine points out that, as more people look for organic food, it’s only a matter of time before they demand more options in organic wine to pair with it.

But an even better reason to dump pesticides is that the market is getting smarter and more suspicious about wine. Before long, it is going to demand the facts about exact ingredients, and when it does, do you want to report a chemical cocktail?

As Lee Schneider’s Huffington Post piece says, “Check your wine label. It won’t list any of these chemicals, which might be swimming around in your wineglass: ammonium phosphate, diammonium phosphate, Benzoic acid, Carbohydrase (alpha-amylase, beta-amylase, glucoamylase, amyglucosidase), copper sulfate, potassium permanganate, sulfuric acid, defoaming agents like polyoxyethylene 40 monostearate, silicon dioxide, dimethylpolysiloxane, sorbitanmonostearate, glycerol mono-oleate and glyceryl dioleate, malic acid, tartaric acid, and even edible gelatin. Yum! That’s just the start – there are about 200 chemicals on the list. All of these additives have a purpose, believed to be legitimate by those who produce wine in industrial quantities.”

It takes some major red-tape work to get the holy “O” trademark on the label (grapes and wine must be certified, no sulfites can be added), but in the end, your bottle may stand out from among the majority of labels offering no such reassurance about contents or contaminants.

Going Organic? Seek the advice of a wine-wise marketing agency like AR & Co. PR & Marketing for help jumping through the hoops and making the most of an organic certification in your marketing strategy.

With New Year’s Eve just behind us, many have fresh memories in mind of popping the cork of the champagne bottle to ring in the New Year. But one new wine trend could help your sparkling wine stand out on the shelf—whether for next New Year’s or for everyday celebrations.

Wine in a Can? Why Not?

That’s right, one of the hottest out-of-the-box marketing tactics in the wine world involves breaking out of the bottle and putting bubbly in a good old aluminum can. Brands like Francis Ford Coppola have jumped on the wagon with their Sofia Mini, the effervescent Sofia Blanc de Blancs sold in a “stylish pink 187 mililiter can” and also available as a four-pack in decorative pink box. And according to a Harpers Wine & Spirit Trades Review article, Accolade Wine’s canned sparkling wines are “really resonating” with their customers and consumers.

Canned Wine Can-Do’s:

1.      Stand out. Make your sparkling sparkle at the store by being different.

2.      Broaden Appeal. Fit wine into a larger market sector that includes more casual affairs like barbecues, picnics, pool parties, and other outdoor events.

3.      Save for Later. Whereas you might bring just one bottle of wine to a small party thinking you may not finish two, the canned option allows people to buy more wine and not worry about wasting or dealing with an “open container.”

4.      Unbreakable. Gone are the days of shattered stemware. Cans offer a sturdiness and safety that easily translates to party, travel, and poolside situations.

5.      Save Space. Make room in the fridge for food by storing compact cans instead of burdensome bottles.

6.      Reduce Loss. Cut out risks from corked or otherwise tainted and spoiled wine by storing in a safely sealed, air-tight and opaque can.

Can you do the Can-Can? Seek the advice of a wine-wise marketing agency like AR & Co. PR & Marketing to begin strategizing, designing and putting your canned wine to market.

Last month, Amazon.com launched its anticipated Amazon Wine online wine store, offering online shoppers over 1,000 wines that range in price from $5- $200 (Fort Worth Business Press), shipping for $10. Due to regulations in some states, wines can only be shipped to 12 states, of which California is one.

So, with the holidays upon us and shopping in full swing, what does the new wine e-tailer mean for brick and mortar wineries?

If you are one of the 37 wineries in Paso Robles, California that is listed as a winery option on the site, this means that your winery now enjoys the wide exposure of Amazon.com. The convenient shopping experience offered at the site (details, reviews and ordering in one place) offers a great value to consumers. However, the site also charges participating wineries $40 per month, plus a 15% fee on each purchase, according to the Fort Worth Business Press.

For wineries not yet participating, the new e-tailer represents a significant competing force on the online marketplace. Amazon.com is a household name, trusted and designed for speedy online ordering and delivery, thus it’s likely that many consumers will latch on to the new store. However, it lacks the personalized, branded shopping experience of your own winery website.

For these reasons, I think it makes sense to look at Amazon Wine as a gateway retailer, much like how a 99 cent song purchase on iTunes often leads a consumer to purchasing an entire album: consumers near and far who are not familiar with your winery may discover one of your wines through the site and later become a loyal consumer, wine club member and may even show up in your tasting room one day, all thanks to Amazon Wine.

If you’re not ready to make the leap, it may make sense to try to offer some of the conveniences of Amazon through your own online store, i.e. low-price shipping, notes and third-party reviews on the site and easy-to-understand information on how and where consumers can ship their purchases.

A marketing agency such as AR & Co. PR & Marketing can walk you through the respective benefits and costs of joining or declining a program like Amazon Wine, and also help you discover creative ways to boost your own e-commerce site’s traffic through search engine marketing, Facebook ads, pay per click and more. Contact us today and take advantage of the busy online shopping season!