Is areallygoodejob.com a really goode idea?

I think it’s great that Jackson Family Wines is entering the Internet marketing game and getting lots of PR for doing so.

But, I think that ultimately social media is best at connecting people to people.  So, when the blogger that KJ hires leaves after 6 months the blogger take their social network friends and followers with them.  Will KJ use this opportunity to connect potential customers to Muryphy Goode’s winemaker, to Jess Jackson, or to someone else at the company?

I think that this is the reason why Stormhoek failed–because it was a fun marketing guy behind the scenes that everybody wanted to be friends with, not the Stormhoek winemaker or someone in the Stormhoek family (is there a Stormhoek family?).  This is also why it is so important for family wineries to embrace social media and to start getting connected with not just millennials, but anyone and everyone on twitter, facebook, or the next thing.  Family wineries know how to have fun–put your fun content into a blog and people will want to have fun with you, follow you, and you won’t need to advertise (as much) in the Wine Spectator!

One more prediction while I’m at it–it’s going to be tougher for portfolio wine companies to benefit from social media.  A lot of wine companies created too many brands too fast (like GM), which was fine when times were good because it prevented the rise of other big competitors; but, now that times are bad, companies with meaningless brands are going to see these brands fall.  The meaningful wine brands of tomorrow are going to be created by companies like Crushpad and people like Vaynerchuk and the Pinotblogger–not by companies that have already gone public.  Family wineries have people who can forge meaningful connections with their customers too.  Now back to KJ.

Bloggers are also fun to follow because they are free to voice their own opinions.  Will a blogger working for KJ really be free to voice their own opinions?

I think that KJ should hire a fresh face to the wine blogger world–someone like a Sonoma State Wine Business Program graduate, not an Internet phenom or an already accomplished wine blogger.  Dirty is my second choice.  I hope your Skymiles were well spent!  @Sharayray you let me know who to follow once their chosen!

Q1: Who will KJ hire?  Tough call!

Q2: How will KJ monitor/control the blogger?

Q3: Who will the characters be in this soap opera?

Q4: How will it all end?  I guess we’ll have to watch to see–but isn’t that the point of a soap opera?

Oh, and big ups to @capstem for letting me know about his company CapStem after seeing my previous post!