Ep. 1473 Jacki Strum | Masterclass US Wine Market With Juliana Colangelo

Since twenty seventeen, the Italian One podcast has exploded and expects to hit six million listens by the end of July twenty twenty three. We're celebrating this success by recognizing those who have shared the journey with us and giving them the opportunity to contribute to the on success of the shows. By buying a paper copy of the Italian wine unplugged two point o or making a donation to help the ongoing running costs, members of the international Italian wine community will be given the chance to nominate future guests and even enter a price draw to have lunch with Stevie Kim and Professor Atigioshenza. To find out more, visit us at Italian wine podcast dot com. Welcome to Mastercross US Market with me, Juliana Colangelo. This show has been designed to demystify the US market for Italian wineries through interviews of experts in sales and distribution, social media, communications, and so much more. We will quiz each of our esteemed guests at the end of each episode to solidify the lessons that we've learned. So sharpen your pencils, get out your notebooks, and join us each week to learn more about the US market. Hello. Welcome to Masterclass US wine market. Today, I'm thrilled to welcome Jacqueline Strom to the Italian wine podcast. Jacqueline or Jackie was named the president and publisher of wine enthusiasts media in two thousand and twenty one. She leads all media teams at the company, including editorial advertising, public relations, events, and the tasting department. Raise in the wine and spirits industry, Jackie has worked professionally in the space for nearly twenty years. Previously, Jackie held PR and digital media roles for global brands at Hunter Public Relations, Mission Media, and Urban Daddy. She's also the founder of thirstiness. Jackie graduated from George Washington University and completed an advanced degree with distinction with the w set. Welcome to the show, Jackie. It's so great to have you here today. Thanks for having me, Juliana. I'm so excited to be with you, and this is, I think, the third time in a month. I'm so lucky. Know, I was just gonna say we've been seeing a lot of each other. I love it. Yeah. So, Jackie, today, we're gonna talk all about the evolving nature of why media. We've got a lot to cover. But before we dive in, tell us a little bit more about your journey at wine enthusiasts and your role today as president and publisher. Sure. Thanks so much, Julianna. So, obviously, you're just my bio, but a little bit more about the background of the business. Wine enthusiasts was founded in the late seventies by my parents, the commerce side, the catalog, because my dad noticed that there was a lot of people who were interested in wine, but they didn't have access to it because they didn't really have the tools to enjoy it. And so my mom and my dad out of their attic in Westchester, New York, late seventies created a little catalog that grew to the business it is today and in the late eighties created the media division. So the DNA of the business is really all around accessibility and making sure that people have access to wine and understand wine and never really feel embarrassed. And that brand ethos is something that's really strong with us today. And it's actually a really interesting moment to chat because we just officially combined the media side and the commerce division into one and unified the businesses, but I'll get into that a little bit later. What you might know us best for on the media division is our tasting department. We rate and review twenty five thousand wines a year blind, but we also cover food trends, wine news. And so I work alongside my sister manages the commerce division I mentioned, the original business, or I like to say the mothership, and I, handle the publishing and editorial division, the media company. So that's all the editors, journalists, tasting, advertising PR events, etcetera. And so we were kind of in tandem together to take on the next generation of the business. Amazing. So much going on and we're excited to dive in and learn a little bit more about that unification of the two businesses because I think that's so critical to our conversation for today's master class about the evolution of wine media. So for today's episode, our three key takeaways with Jackie are gonna be number one. What is the wine consumer looking for today in wine media? Number two, what kind of content is performing best on line enthusiasts? And then finally number three, what is the future? I mean, there's a lot changing now, but we know there's more changes to come. So I always get to look forward also. So, Jack, just to get started talk to us a little bit about the recent changes at wine enthusiasts and that unification of the commerce and content side and what that means for the business. Sure. So it's been a really interesting couple of years at wine enthusiasts. We had a lot of change kind of coming off the heels of COVID. Both businesses had a tremendous amount of success during the pandemic, and whether that's, you know, I'm not saying that the pandemic was a good thing, but for many of us, especially in the wine industry, we noticed a lot of trend shifts, and for us that mean a big growth in our business. And so with that growth, we kinda decided to talk about our strategy for the next five years. One thing that we noticed was that in our strategy work, a lot of people only knew us for one or the other, the catalog or the magazine, and we realized these are the same person. So we should kind of bring these people together into the same ecosystem. And that's what we've been working on for over a year. I really have to give the credits to my sister, Erica, who's been spearheading this project. And we relaunched the company's website under one name, wine enthusiasts dot com, to bring content and commerce together into one. Got it. Okay. Yeah. I mean, that makes a lot of sense. Like you said, you're talking to the same consumer, but one consumer is looking towards you for commerce and purchasing wine accessories and then the other for content and looking towards wine enthusiasts for reviews and scores and articles and you've got a great podcast as well with wine enthusiasts. So it makes so much sense in the world to to bring those two together. So how is it going so far? Yeah. Well, so far, I'm really thrilled that though I'm crossing both my fingers and toes today that the website launched with quite a bit of success. We figured combining them would you know, double the traffic, but it has done more than that so far. So we're very thrilled. And the fact that the site's live and functioning, anyone who's done a tech launch knows that that is a very precarious move. I'm frankly personally over the moon about it. But I I do wanna mention that while it's exciting for us, it is a big trend in media overall, and, we've been doing content in commerce since before it was cool, if you will. And now everyone's doing it. So we just figured if this is the new normal the way people interact with media and their retail shops today, let's do it ourselves. It clearly makes sense for us. And then on the other end, on our internal team, we made a lot of changes that I think are probably really relevant to your listeners for Italy. And we brought on two reviewers, used to only have one historically to taste Italy in, Jeff Porter and Danielle Callegari because Italy's such an important market to us, and we felt we weren't serving it enough and having only one main reviewer. And now we're placing more Italian wine than ever, and we have our Italy issue coming out on July seventeenth or August September issue. So we're very excited about the progress we've made with that region. Yeah. We love to hear it. We love Jeff, and we've love getting to know Danielle. So that's great to see that White enthusiasts investing in Italy. And you were at Midaly this year. Was that your first time? It was not my first time, but I loved it just as much as I did the year before. And just like anything, once you're a little more familiar, you can start to see little pockets of industry that you didn't get to discover the year before, pockets of Corona, I haven't seen. It is such a pleasure that trade show, and I learn so much every year. It's just an endless sea of wine to learn about in Italy. Kind of it's kind of humbling. It really is. Humbling is a great word for it. There's it's pretty endless as well. So tell us a little bit more. I like to get down to some of the basics in in the podcast so that our listeners really, like, truly understand the concept. So content and commerce just talk to us about what that means, the trends you're seeing in media generally, but also more specifically what that means for wine enthusiasts. Sure. So overall in media, media means something very different now than it did. Maybe ten, maybe even five years ago, where we're kind of reacting to how people consume information. It's just constantly evolving. For us, we're really trying to be where the consumer is, and that now is not just in a print a publication that arrives at your doorstep, although we do still invest in that and have that medium. It's online, it's social media, it's audio, it's video. And because of that, and all those things kind of apply to both businesses, we're making that content for both. We're just trying to make one total brand experience so that people know they can trust us for purchases and for ratings all in the same kind of universe. Italian wine podcast. Part of the Mamojamosha family. Mhmm. So they're not having to go to different avenues for their purchase and then their content. It's all combined in one. Yeah. And as long as we can maintain our ethical standard across our journalistic capabilities, which I feel that we have, and same goes for our blind tasting. I think it's just a new way to interact with our consumers to have both. And really, if you are somebody who's into wine, you're gonna know that the people who are tasting twenty five thousand ones here probably know a thing or two about wine glasses, and they probably know a thing or two about how to store that line. And we can sometimes test some of our new products with our tasters when they're in the office once in a while. We certainly open a lot of wine in the office and we can press every corkscrew that comes through. So it really is kind of a a symbiotic relationship between the to. And, yeah, we feel like if we're working with consumers to make sure that it's a trusted brand, then they'll come back to us more and more. One of my favorite new mediums actually is SMS or texting because we have this really unique position in media where a lot of media companies are tacking on commerce, like New York Times as Wirecutter, Fox has a more affiliate method of getting information, but we've always had a commerce business. It's actually the original business. So because of that, our media business benefits from the data, I'd like to say the most rich database in wine industry of people who are purchasing from us. We know their names, their location, their purchasing preferences, often their cell phone numbers, and that means that they're comfortable getting close to us in so many ways. So texting is one of my favorite ways that we've been interacting with customers more. They have to opt in, of course. Nobody wants a text from someone they didn't ask to text them. So we're texting them sales and programs, and we're also texting them new articles or a top one hundred list or new ratings that are released And that's kind of a really intimate relationship that we're really thrilled our consumers are open to having with us. It just speaks to the strength of the brand. Very cool. And I imagine the text communication is also one way in which you're reaching a a new consumer, a younger consumer, since we do everything on our phones. Right? So talk to us a little bit more about how wine enthusiasts is reaching newer consumers. We know that that's an ongoing conversation for the wine industry at large. How do we get the younger consumers drinking? How do we get you know, millennials and not engine z, how do we get them involved in wine and interested in wine? So what are some ways in which you're tackling that challenge? Sure. Yeah. I mean, I think that's about all everyone in the wine industry is trying to fight. Right? How do we make sure we're getting people interested in wine from a young age and continue to stay interested? And that's something that's really ingrained in our brand since accessibility is how we built this business. And I think that's what people wanna see younger generations that don't wanna be talk down to. They don't wanna be condescended to. They want you to answer their questions, honestly, and openly without making them feel embarrassed. One of the things that's really helpful is thinking about what people Google and just writing articles around that. So if you think about how you Google. It's almost like a secret diary. Right? Like, you're googling the questions you're embarrassed to ask somebody. Alright. That's a good way to think about it. Mhmm. Yeah. So, like, if you were to look at people's Google history, it'd probably be things that you're like, they don't know where Mississippi is, like, things that you you think that they should know, And one thing that we noticed was getting searched for often is how to hold a wine glass. And that is a search term that we can obviously perfectly answer, and it has been one of our most successful articles to date this year. Because it's just why shouldn't we just open the door wider and make sure that we're answering every question? And why should we make people feel bad for having to ask that question? So if they're asking the question, they're clearly interested. Let's make sure that they're comfortable asking it. And that they're getting the information from an authentic expert, which we feel that we are representing. So those are the kinds of things we're using to bring customers in on digital. And then we're also looking at new social platforms. TikTok, we've been investing in a lot in the last two years. We officially reached five thousand this year, followers, thanks, which we feel pretty proud of. And I know it's a new medium for a lot of people, and historically, it wasn't majority over twenty one. So it's been a little precarious for some brands to invest in. But for us, because we don't sell wine, we were there kinda early and often. And I think it took us about a year to go from zero to five thousand. And that's just a ton of video work and following the style of algorithm and trying to follow trends. And in addition, I think audio is a really big initiative for us. We've already had our podcast, as you mentioned, Juliana, for many years, our kind of classic style about stories and trends in the wine industry, But our new VP of content, Derek Kapur, who's actually a media expert, not exactly a wine expert, which we love about her, because she said let's open the door wider again and do a podcast all about wine, but from a cultural perspective. And we created this podcast called Vinfamous, all about wine primes and scandals in the wine industry, and it has just been a runaway success in terms of listens and downloads because it doesn't always have to be an inside baseball if you will conversation. Can be opened up wider to pop culture, history. Those are the things that the new consumers wanna learn about. Makes them feel welcome. Yeah. No. That's a great point. And I love what you said earlier too about the how to content and bringing in more content that teaches the consumer how to enjoy wine. I think that's such perfect content for TikTok as well. Right? There's so many demonstrated videos. I mean, I know myself, I look at TikTok for recipes or how, you know, I've gotten great cleaning tips on TikTok. So I love the how to content as a way to bring people into the category or like you said, not make them feel intimidated about how to enjoy wine, but make it easier for them to get into the world of wine. So I I love that. And I think that's a good takeaway for our listeners too is when thinking about how to communicate around your wines, like, not just about the wine itself, but really thinking about how does it fit into the lifestyle of the end consumer? How do they enjoy it? What do they drink it with? You know, and even down to the basics? Like, how do they open it? And what kind of glass should they use? So I love that So the content is moving in that direction. That's exciting. And I do have to mention Pat ourselves on the back that we actually won a brand experience award recently, the twenty twenty three brand experience award to celebrate, our retail business finding the rules of interaction engagement and loyalty because of this combination of content and commerce, that convergence. So it just speaks to how this new method of doing media can bring in the new consumer and gonna recognize for it, which is really a nice thing. Thank you. Congratulations. That's awesome. And, you know, you spoke about texts. You spoke about TikTok. We talked about how to style content. What's performing would you say the best right now with wide enthusiasts? Whether it's the format, the topic. Is there anything we didn't touch on already? Well, it totally depends on the medium. So what we've done in the last few years is every single piece of touch point we have with the consumer, we've evolved it to really fit that niche. And so one of my favorite examples is actually print. John Capone is our managing editor of print, joined us a couple years ago, and he's done an incredible job of reformatting that medium to be more of, like, a modern luxury coffee table book. It's less how it used to be more similar to the content we had on the web. Now it's like you wanna sit in an armchair and just relax and read a beautiful essay about a historical wine story you never heard about, or maybe some native yeasts that you didn't think about when you were, last visiting Turkey or something like, like, all the different ways in which you can look at wine from maybe a slightly more advanced perspective. We kinda think that that's more of our luxury, more ingrained, why knowledgeable reader, but it's somebody who really appreciates it and wants to sit down and enjoy, a wine publication that I think is just more gorgeous than it's ever been. And our art director's actually been with us for almost twenty years. So we still have a lot of the same staff, but we've just continued to evolve and push our team, Marco Torelli's our art director. And I just can't believe how amazing publication looks today. It's really modernized to fit what I think print means today, which is something very different than it meant ten years ago, let alone twenty years ago. So that's probably my favorite medium that we've evolved. And beyond that digital, as we discussed, it doesn't just have to be for beginners. We can put everything on there because there's endless amount of web pages, but I do think that it's a great platform to test new beginner content and bring new people in through Google search and through social platforms. Another thing that I've loved that we've done a lot of on social media are infographics, which I think, again, are a great beginner tool. They just start quick and dirty pairing guide, essentially, and we try to keep them kinda like pithy and light. But because of that, they get such a controversial reaction. It's kind of engagement because Yeah. Everyone has an opinion. I mean, that's what's great about social media. You get people who have been in the industry for thirty years, and they've been winemakers at different places across across the globe and they're like, hey, I would pair it differently, you know. And then you have people who are just sending Halloween wine pairings to their friends and think it's funny. And, like, both are valuable. And the fact that we can have both of those people existing in our universe, I think is very exciting. Even if the commentary can get a little controversial at times. That's kind of how social media is built. Exactly. I know I saw the Vanderpump rules pairing, and I'm not a Vanderpump rules person, but a lot of my friends are. And I I was scamming that to a bunch of them and Those are fun, like you said. They're quick and dirty, but they talk about one in from the pop culture lens, which we talked about earlier too, as being a really good way to get new consumers into the category. I wanna see a Peloton instructors and wine. Are you pitching a story You it would be a great one actually. It's a really good idea. I'm just I'm, like, Peloton obsessed and actually ran into a couple of the instructors at a recent white event, which was so cool. So there's some good tie ins there. So, you know, just something to took away for a future infographic. Oh, there's actually a very big, you might know this wine Peloton, like, riding for wine community. That we Pelotonos. Yeah. Yeah. We've tapped into a little bit or tried to. But that's a great idea. The Vanderpump one, again, was very controversial, but it put so much traction. And Lisa Vanderpump herself actually posted it, which I was really thrilled about. So I think it's that kind of stuff where it's like let's not lift our pinkies and be snobby about anything. Let's just talk about whining the way that's open and comfortable. Like, we don't wanna make anyone feel uncomfortable about what they wanna drink or how they wanna talk about it. We're just happy they're talking about it. Yeah. And if we look at trends and spirits and we know that in the spirits space. We've seen a lot of growth, especially in tequila, and you look at brands like Casamigos and George Clooney. I mean, there is power in pop culture and celebrity whether we, you know, we wanna admit it or not, but there is power there in driving consumer demand and traction. So let's not, you know, fight against that. There's so many people, in celebrities in wine that are making wine labels or just love wine, right? And and let's use them as additional gatekeepers to to help us reach new audiences. That's that's what I believe at least. Yeah. So let's talk a little bit in the future. You know, things are evolving quickly. As we know, COVID brought a lot of changes and maybe push our industry forward digitally in a lot of ways. Now we have janitor of AI and chatgy PT and all these new tools that are being incorporated? What do you see as the future of wine media? Well, similar to any other media company, a media company is not really what it used to be. It doesn't mean I'm gonna write an article, print it out, and then mail it to you. It means I'm a brand, I'm a voice. I'm a, you know, a cultural phenomenon. It means much more than it used to be. So I think it's taking media out of its former box and looking at it more as like an ecosystem like we were talking about. And what are the what are the ways that I can reach new audiences with this brand, with this trusted brand that still fits in our universe. So to me, events have been one of the biggest growth areas for us, and I know for lots of other media companies right now, and for wine, it makes perfect sense, of course, because you wanna taste the product. So how do we throw wine events that are a little bit different than they were historically? We just did one called SIP of South America that we're actually planning to bring to Italy next year, but I'll do in the US, but do as an Italian style next year with a focus there where it had a trade tasting during the day, but the consumer event was just so much more fun than sometimes they can typically be. A lot of those walk around tastings, they kind of start to run together because they become very similar. But how do we make, like, food a key component? How do we make live music a key component? How do we bring that culture to life that feels like a transported experience where it's a little less stuffy, a little more, like, bringing the fun and the joy to wine, especially for the consumer. And so that's one of the things that I've seen just grow exponentially as events and experiences. I'm sure a little bit is a backlash to COVID. But I do think they're here to stay. Yeah. Just just going out and, exploring more. I do think they're here to stay in some capacity. But for me, one of the things that I've learned a lot is how we can service our clients after being at Provine in Italy. Is one of the biggest complaints is getting into the state still. So as a wine media brand in our niche, one of the things that we are excited to relaunch was our imported connection division. So we offer unimported wines opportunity to get a score, with a different tasting panel so that they can have more access to the US market. Because I always tell my friends we're not in the wine industry. It's kinda like you're an actor looking for an agent in Hollywood, and you need that, like, breakthrough moment. And so if we can give them a rating that helps them break through the clutter, and get imported into the United States, we wanna be able to give them access to that. So importer connection has been a big focus for us and that we relaunched this year to show that, like, how do we become a service to the wine partners that we work with as a media brand? That's beyond a typical media brand. That's great. And I think a lot of our listeners will find a lot of value in that because we know that it is quite a challenge just getting into the market. So That's huge. And I think what you said about experiences and events and the future of a media brand really encompassing more than the content, but also the experience. There's a huge opportunity there for Italy in my opinion. I mean, Americans love Italian culture and food and travel. I know this summer, the projected numbers for travel in Europe and Italy, especially are extremely high and, you know, you're probably gonna be fighting the crowds in Rome and the major cities. So we have this love affair with Italy that can be translated to more experiential wine events in the US. I think there's a huge opportunity there. Yeah. I hope so. And I believe it too. I think there's something about Italy and Italian wine that's just so romantic. I actually wrote about this in my publisher's letter, and it's kind of intoxicating to the American consumer because it's such a different lifestyle and mindset than ours. It's kind of what we wish we could be like, but we're not. We're just so go go go go go. It's kind of impossible to imagine, especially as a New Yorker, but, it's the kind of thing that you keep coming back to. I know all my friends are so jealous. I have to do it really for work at least once a year. And they should be because it's it's incredible. There's so much to discover. Can you give us any sneak peeks into that July issue or just in general trends in Italian wine content at wine enthusiasts that the editors are really excited about or that you've seen perform particularly well on digital channels, you know, what are people gravitating towards with Italian wine? Sure. Well, I think one one of my favorite articles is all about Lamrusco, which I'm a massive fan of, and I think it's one of those wines that does not get enough attention considering how likable it is. Like, if for lack of a better term, it's just so likable, so food friendly, so fun, And and it can be geeky. I mean, Jeff Porter really opened my eyes to some fascinating Lamb Bruce that I never tried before, and he does a whole feature on it, how it's, one of the it's it's not new, but it feels like new all over again with its popularity. And then we do have a very interesting story about pizza pairings, and we asked our whole staff to say their recommended pizza. And it's just incredible how no matter who you ask, we hear totally different slice. Everybody has their own opinion on what's the best. And, obviously, America and New York especially is no shortage of pizzerias, but the way that food is a great entry for wine, it's just such a perfect metaphor for Italy. So food and using that as a gateway is one of the big things we talk about in this issue. But the issue overall is just fantastic. I can't wait to get your hands on it. Yeah. We can't wait to see it. And Lynn Bruceco, that's exciting. I mean, you trends in sparkling wine don't seem to be slowing down. So that makes sense for that to be the next category that we start diving into more and getting more consumers interested in. And like you said, it's such a great, great wine. There's so many variations, so food friendly. Perfect for summer. Yeah. So great. Well, we can't wait to see that that next issue. Jackie, as we wind down, we have to make sure we have time for our rapid fire quiz, which we do at the end of every episode. So if you can do your best to answer these questions in one sentence or less, please, question number one, what is the wine consumer looking for today in wine media? The wine consumer today I believe is looking for useful content from brands they can trust, in a way that's accessible, maybe irreverent, and fun that makes them feel like they just want more and more. And I really feel our new website brings together both content and commerce in a way that will keep them on the website and keeps them learning and keeps them engaged in white. K. Awesome. Question number two. What kind of content is performing best right now on one enthusiast? Let's say on digital because I know you have different different platforms. Okay. Yeah. I was going to say my number one thing would say depends on the platform completely. On digital, I would say it's beginner content, things that really help to answer those burning questions that people have. And on social, it's really anything that's highly visual or easy to share, something that's snackable and shareable. Reels are super important to us, same for TikTok. Anything introductory. We just did a video with slick wines. That was all about how to order wine in a restaurant. Again, sounds super simple. That as a video or as a infographic or as an article will always perform well because it helps answer that burning question. Right. Like you said, that Google diary, I liked that that comparison earlier. Okay. And then finally, what is the future of wine media? The future of wine media is the future of all media. It's looking at yourself as a brand as an experience as how you can bring value to your readers and to your clients beyond what you've traditionally done, whether that's creating new experiences for them, new services for them, or exciting new content that they didn't realize they needed. It's all about creating and continuing to nurture that brand ecosystem to empower your universe and your audience. Amazing. Okay. Well, thank you, Jackie so much for being here today. Learn so much from your answers and so many great insights into one enthusiast and what's going on right now with the publication. And, we're so excited for the Italy issue coming up soon. I'm sure so many of our listeners are already following you in wine enthusiasts, but just in case, how can our listeners connect with you in wine enthusiasts? Sure. So my Instagram handle is at jackie strum, g a c k I s t r u m. Wine enthusiasts on the other hand is on all social platforms. Our handle is always at wine enthusiasts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok Pinterest, and LinkedIn, which is one of my favorite platforms. Please follow and engage with us. We'd love to hear from you. And our newly relaunched website is one enthusiasts dot com. Fantastic. Alright. Thanks so much for being here today, Jackie. Great to have you. Thank you, Juliana. It was so much fun. Thank you for joining me today. Stay tuned each week for new episodes of Master Class US wine market with me, Juliana Colangelo. I remember if you enjoyed today's show, hit the like and follow buttons wherever you get your podcasts.