At Balzac Communications, we work hard to connect with our clients and deliver the results they want. After all, having strong client and media relationships is what public relations is all about. That’s why initial face-to-face meetings with potential new clients are so valuable. It’s the opportunity for us to listen to them speak about their goals and tell us who they are. We ask questions and probe for the stories that will resonate with the media. With Tony Arcudi, we helped him overcome a few challenges.
Tony Arcudi with Arcudi Winery first approached us in early March with a very straightforward objective– he had an up-and-coming business trip to Los Angeles and was wondering if we could set up any one-on-one meetings with media who were based in that market. He was savvy enough to realize that articles touting his wine could turn into sales and help create a name for him that he hadn’t yet been able to achieve.
Before we c
ould get started, we needed to hear his story. As communication experts for the leading wine agency in the country, it’s our job to sell our clients. What makes him unique? What would make him fascinating to a wine writer? Why would a writer want to focus on Tony? After a few initial face-to-face meetings with Tony, we realized that his journey to get to where he is today, working as a winemaker in California, was the heart of the story. Not only was his story incredible, his humble and likeable personality made it even more captivating. We discovered that he had an innate ability to really connect with people. We were excited, and we knew others would be too!
The next task was creating the communications materials we would need to tell his story and then reach out to our target list of writers to gauge their interest. Once complete, it didn’t take long to hear back from writers who were interested in meeting with Tony. We secured meetings with Anthony Dias Blue with The Tasting Panel, Cori Solomon with Los Angeles Examiner, Shawn Burger with Wandering Wino and Jay Selman with Grape Radio, a James Beard Award-Winning Audio and Video program that discusses wine related topics that are broadcast over the Internet. And we prepped Tony with key talking points so he felt confident to meet the writers directly.
Three months later, Tony has new ways to talk to his customers. He is leveraging the following press articles that appeared in Los Angeles Examiner.com and Shawn Burgert’s Wandering Wino Blog, the audio interview that appeared in Grape Radio and the high score of 96 points that appeared in The Tasting Panel through his social media channels, in his monthly newsletter and through other wine industry conversations. The additional third party endorsements not only validate his wine, but they give him ammunition as he gets ready to launch the next vintage of 2013 Arcudi Cabernet Sauvignon.
His success continues: coming up, sommeliers will be reading about Tony’s story in an upcoming issue of Somm Journal.
