Here is part II of my interview about the world of wine marketing with Michael Honig of Honig Wines and Winery in Ruterford, CA. — the heart of Napa. In this interview we cover everything from tasting rooms to women, wine and shoes.

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Not real sure how they got my email address but I recceived an html email announcement of Nike’s clean new retail site today.

I interviewed Jeff Jarvis for my Podcast last night about a range of subjects including the need for media to always be in a state of reinvention (it will go up in a couple of weeks.) Jeff’s Blog BuzzMachine is one of the top 100 Blogs in a world of 55 Million.

Jeff is well known for his comments about Dell’s service and he mentioned that if you put the word “sucks” in a Blog headline you will receive increased traffic. This is my test. I’ll report in a few days.

A few weeks ago I wrote that Chrysler had it all wrong. To paraphrase Bill Clinton’s campaign, “Its about retail stupid.” I wrote that Chrysler’s Dr. Z campaign was too cute during the cutthroat auto sales era. Advertising Age agreed and Chrysler didn’t. In fact, Chrysler doth protested a bit too much.

Well, the numbers are in. According to today’s New York Times:

“On Tuesday, Chrysler said it would cut its production schedule for the rest of the year by 16 percent because of slumping sales as a result of high gas prices. That comes on the heels of similar cuts at G.M. and Ford, which are both trying to restructure after billions of dollars in losses in the last year.”

When times are tough, go retail and drive the buyers into the store. I don’t have the numbers on this ad campaign but someone at Chrysler or their agency should be driven off the lot.

*See the post above.

A few weeks ago we were asked by Napa Valley Vintners, the trade organization for Napa’s leading wineries (270 plus to be clear), to assist them with a brand positioning and creative concept project. Needless to say, we were very pleased to able to assist the world’s leading wine region to maintain its leadership position.

While working on this program, I met Michael Honig of Honig Vinyard and Winery one of Napa Valley’s most successful Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc makers. Michael has a unique vision and a human rather than overly corporate approach to the marketing of his wines. I thought that Michael’s thoughts on the business of wine and wine marketing would make for an entertaining show. Here is part one of a two part interview. By the way, since personal recommendation is a major influencer of wines purchases, I highly recommend Honig’s Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc.

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