What Do Public Relations and Winemaking Have in Common?

I recently had the pleasure of spending a week in the epic Northern California wine country, exploring both Napa and Sonoma counties. As I swirled, sipped, and savored, I also realized how much public relations has in common with winemaking.

First, neither happens overnight. Effective public relations requires research, planning, message development, and strategy over time. Similarly, winemaking is a painstaking, years-long process that involves research on climate and soil, development of crops, a strategy on how to harvest, make, barrel, and age the juice.

Second, there is an investment involved. We all know the saying that “you get what you pay for.” Be prepared to make a financial investment and time commitment to both.

Third, experience counts. Good winemakers did not start out that way. They are good at what they do because they’ve spent years honing their craft, learning from mistakes, and building up a good team around them. In PR, we often get asked about “the time” it takes to get wins. In both instances, you are paying for the 10-30 years of experience we have in the industry and the resulting connections, ideas, vision, and strategy we can do as a result, not just time.

Fourth, no one does it alone. While one winemaker’s name may be on the bottle, there are farmers, harvesters, laborers, consultants, creatives, sales teams, and hospitality members who collectively make wine a success. In PR, we could never do it all alone.

And finally, both wine and PR need to have stories…and assets to support them. In winemaking, this could be the journey from soil to bottle, or even the artwork on the bottle itself. In PR, we need stories behind brands as well as assets including hi-res imagery, podcasts, and video.

Has your brand aged like fine wine without the world drinking it in? Let us help you get noticed.