Bringing A Digital Lens to Wine Industry
About ten years ago, as I plunged into the wine industry, I needed education about wine marketing.
I knew what wine I loved to drink – but had zero involvement in the industry except as a consumer. My passion for wines consisted of Amarones, Barolos and Super Tuscans from Italy, lovely Pinots from Oregon, and the classic Napa cabs– but I knew little about the wine business and marketing.
So, I asked my friend and co-worker Don Huffman, a native of the northern California wine region who I should talk to first, to help learn what I need to know.
Don said,
“Start by connecting with Paul Mabray. He seems to know all the important marketing stuff, the most curious people and is a sort of pied piper of all things digital in the valley.”
Don was right.
Paul was like the digital wizard of wine, a true trailblazer. So off I went to connect with Paul in the Emerald City – well, in Yountville, California.
Napa Boy
Paul Mabray grew up in Napa, and I suspect there has always been cabernet, not blood running through his veins.
Growing up as a middle-class kid in Napa isn’t like most communities. Unless you have a last name like Mondavi or Grgich, you had a different type of childhood.
With four kids in the house, a prized possession for Paul and his siblings would have been a branded Ocean Pacific or Town & Country t-shirt. Paul’s last name wasn’t on a winery label.
But as a young boy, Paul had something most kids did not have – access to technology.
His Dad was an electronic engineer working for Verifone, and his mom was a pathologist and became a histologist. They were both deeply engaged in data, technology, and science.
Paul casually shared with me that he learned BASIC coding language in the third grade. In third grade, I learned state’s capitals.
He grabbed this digital thread to fulfill his curiosity to stitch together a future. That thirst for learning became part of his ethos.
Like a pair of cool Ray-Bans, Paul had a new digital lens to see the world.
Because of his Dad’s work, Paul had computers earlier than most of his friends. He got to test them while other kids were riding skateboards, bikes, or shooting hoops.
And, he had access to the Internet before everyone he knew to give him an on-ramp to the superhighway of data before his friends could drive.
Legend versus Community
The latest technology became part of Paul’s education.
And, as he was emerging into adulthood, his early aspirations were focusing on becoming a writer or a director. He wondered, “how can I get my name in lights and be known for something creative and essential?”
But as he started to learn about the wine that surrounded him, he realized no one was truly transformative in the industry since Mondavi.
He saw an opportunity to pull that technology thread and connect it into the wine world from the magic of 1’s and 0’s.
Since most of the industry leaders were older, an opportunity presented itself.
His aspirations turned from being “about me” to becoming “about the community.”
What if I could do something helpful for the wine community that surrounds me? Paul noticed the threads of digital colliding with every business he observed except the wine world. The wine industry was being left behind in embracing digital commerce.
So, becoming a legend, took a backseat to a far greater passion – helping the wine community by becoming a change agent for the right reasons.
He could become a pied piper of progress.
As Paul observed the headwinds coming toward the industry, he thought he could serve and bring a new approach to a sector that had ignored digital transformation.
Digital Acumen
Paul Mabray has been a powerful change agent in the wine industry for over twenty years. He began his career working in traditional three-tier sales and marketing with Napa Ale Works and later innovating direct-to-consumer sales and marketing models with Niebaum Coppola.
Since then, he has been at the forefront of all significant digital trends for the wine industry.
He worked with WineShopper.com, Wine.com and made his mark founding two of the only four B2B successes in wine: WineDirect which was the first e-commerce SaaS for wineries to help them sell online and he raised $15.6M and then VinTank (self-funded) which became the largest software company in the world for wine with 1400 paying customers and was instrumental in bringing social media to wineries.
Paul was CEO of both those companies for 7 years each.
He is considered the wine industry’s foremost futurist and thought leader, harnessing the power and potential of digital tools and methodologies to move the industry into the future.
Future-Proofing Wine
In 2019, Paul continued his pathway toward thought leadership. He spoke at several global wine conferences about the urgency to future proof of the wine industry. He was leading the clarion call to recognize how broken the tasting room model had become.
Considering Covid-19, this was a prescient prescription for the industry to heed.
In his speeches, he discussed the success of wine tours throughout Napa, creating a remarkable apathy from many wineries about becoming digital. Wineries didn’t develop this next-generation channel online and were slow to change and pivot. Just like print newspapers, wineries didn’t embrace the digital tsunami coming their way.
Although foot traffic through tasting rooms was declining, profits were going up. Still, the industry didn’t adequately resource the tasting room associates with an investment in training or technology. All the signs pointed toward online, but most wineries could not find the on-ramp.
Technical Debt
Paul explained to me some programming jargon. He said in technology, you need to invest in keeping up, or you will build up what he called technical debt. It is like a manufacturing plant that does not accrue for future investment in equipment that is depreciation.
A website that is updated every three years accrues technical debt. One day you will have to invest heavily to fix it and get it up to date. The same is true for social media, e-commerce, and other online platforms.
You must be investing in keeping content fresh and your technology current, or you will end up paying a significant expense in the future.
CEO at Emetry
Today Paul is CEO at Emetry. They market bespoke tools for wineries, putting the service back into to SAAS model.
He and his team of digital dancers rip data out of winery systems and provides prescriptive insights. The data helps guide what marketing interventions are necessary.
With the wineries data and Emetry’s efforts, marketers can now leverage data science and analysis to enhance revenue and provide targeted marketing messaging.
Marketing Startup Wisdom from the Digital Wine Wizard
I asked Paul what he has learned on his entrepreneurial journey. He offered these sips of insights for startups.
- Be a thought leader. Give ideas and guidance to an industry at large, so you build credibility and reputation. Say what is on everyone’s mind, but no one wants to exclaim.
- Success comes more from saying NO than YES. Focus matters. Every industry is complicated enough, so you need to be an expert to clients in their industry. Be something remarkable to someone you serve.
- Partner with smart wineries because this is a fast follower industry. Pick your customers wisely.
- The black swan event of Covid exposed what was already there. Covid has accelerated the need and push to get online faster, better, and smarter. Always be mindful that the unexpected is coming to threaten your existence.
Last Call
I asked Paul, who looks to for inspiration.
“Nike is 40% DTC and an 80% digital company. They have an incredible direct connection with consumers, not just for revenue but for insight, ideas, and inspiration.”
He also admires Kara Goldin at HINT water.
“$180 mm, 40% DTC. She uses DTC data to leverage getting new points of distribution. Her sales team can go to Publix and tell them that around their stores, consumers love these three varieties. You need to stock them. Or she’ll use her direct connections to test new flavors and products and get almost instant feedback. Talk about closing the loop!
Of all the wine marketing education I have gotten from Paul about the wine world, his public social media about his family is pure delight.
I love watching him celebrate his family. He has a playful and delightful relationship with his kids India, Finn, Dryden, and Brooklyn. It is pure joy to observe.
And, he is married to Angelica de Vere Mabray, the CEO at an exceptional winery known as The Donum Estate. She is a remarkably accomplish wine leader too helping to spark joy in the larger wine community.
I am so happy to have met Paul and to have a digital front row seat to learn from him, to watch him flourish, and especially to watch him provoke the wine industry.
Paul provided me with invaluable insights to guide the development of The Wine Marketing Exchange that along with my Nomacorc colleagues, we developed as a gift to the wine marketing professionals in the industry.
I guess it is true, there is no place like Napa.
And, Paul is truly the digital wizard of wine.
Need help with your marketing challenges?
I can help. You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Our initial conversation is free. You talk, I listen. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com or call me. 919 720 0995. Visit my website at www.themarketingsage.com Let’s explore working together today.
