Be Your Own Influencer
January 29, 2025
1:00 pm - 2:15 pm
Be Your Own Influencer
GWI (formerly Global Web Index) has found that Instagram and TikTok lead brand discovery – far outstripping TV or search engines. But it can be challenging to build a social media audience. As Harvard Business Review points out, ‘…social media has transformed how culture works, in a way that weakens certain branding techniques. It has united once-isolated communities into influential crowd cultures. Crowd cultures are very prolific cultural innovators. Their members produce their own content—so well that companies simply can’t compete…While they diminish the impact of branded content, crowd cultures grease the wheels for an alternative approach, cultural branding.’
In this session we’re bringing together leaders in the wine industry who have found success on social media by sharing their values, prioritizing education and utilizing their teams to connect with people.
We will explore:
- Deciding what your brand represents
- Consistently pushing a message that aligns with your values (and avoiding inconsistencies!)
- How to utilize your team
- How to create value and education driven content on the fly
Share This Page
Moderator
Amanda McCrossin
Organization:
SOMMVIVANT, Pennsylvania
Amanda McCrossin is a certified sommelier, wine personality, podcast host, and wine-focused content creator on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. With over 500k followers across platforms, Amanda has been called “one of the most influential creators” in the wine community creating wine-focused, relatable content to help consumers via her @sommvivant channels.
A 10+ year veteran in the industry, Amanda spent the majority of her career as a sommelier in NYC and California. Perhaps most notably, Amanda helmed the wine list at PRESS Restaurant in Napa Valley as both sommelier and wine director, overseeing the world’s largest, deepest restaurant collection of all Napa Valley wines in the world thusly earning her reputation as an expert on the region. She has been featured by Food & Wine Magazine, Decanter, Food Network, San Francisco Chronicle, on the cover of SOMM Journal and Wine Enthusiast who named her a Wine Star nominee for ‘Sommelier of the Year.’
Today, in addition to her career as a wine content creator and host of the Wine Access Unfiltered Podcast, Amanda is a contributor at Wine Enthusiast and regularly sought out for media appearances and speaking engagements around the world including the Aspen Food & Wine Classic, Premiere Napa Valley, World of Pinot Noir, and Wine2Wine in Verona, Italy.
Speakers
Samantha Cole-Johnson
Organization:
JancisRobinson.com, Oregon
Samantha Cole-Johnson is the Senior Editor US for JancisRobinson.com and the host of the site’s popular ‘Wine News in 5’ podcast.
Prior to her current post she worked as a cellar rat – publishing her exploits on JancisRobinson.com – while freelancing for Guildsomm, SevenFifty Daily, and Wine & Spirits Magazine. She is the Oregon contributor to the fifth edition of The Oxford Companion to Wine and Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book. When not writing or speaking, Sam can be found teaching WSET Level 3 and Diploma classes at The Wine & Spirit Archive in Portland, Oregon.
You can find her on Instagram @samanthacolejohnson.
Damian Doffo
Organization:
Doffo Winery, California
Damian is the 39-year-old son of Marcelo Doffo, who purchased the land and planted vines in 1994, and wasted no time involving the whole family in the business, including Damian and his sisters Brigitte and Samantha. Damian has been the winemaker for 12 years, and also became CEO five years ago. In the early days of winemaking in the backyard, Damian would help out by washing bottles for 10 cents apiece. That was long ago, and thanks to his father’s mentoring he has since developed into a promising winemaker.
Jason Haas
Organization:
Tablas Creek Vineyard, California
Jason Haas is the second-generation proprietor of Tablas Creek, serving in the dual roles of Partner and General Manager. In his two decades at the winery his family founded in partnership with the Perrins of Chateau de Beaucastel, Jason has overseen the business, production, sales and marketing.
In addition to his work at Tablas Creek, Jason has led the boards of directors of both the Rhone Rangers and the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance and is a board member of Free the Grapes and WineAmerica. His writing has been published in Wine Business Monthly, Wines & Vines, Decanter, Wine Industry Network and Wine Searcher. His photography has appeared in Wine Spectator, Forbes, the Washington Post, and Wine Enthusiast. He is principal author of the Tablas Creek blog, an eight-time finalist and two-time winner for the Wine Blog Award’s “Best Wine Blog”.
In recognition of his contributions to the Paso Robles wine community, he was voted by his peers 2015 Paso Robles Wine Country Wine Industry Person of the Year and 2017 San Luis Obispo County Wine Industry Person of the Year. In 2022 he was named a Food & Wine Magazine Drinks Innovator of the Year and in 2024 he was nominated by the Wine Enthusiast for the “Wine Person of the Year” Wine Star Award.
Marcus Marquez
Organization:
Brasswood, California
Marcus Marquez has been on all sides of the food, wine and hospitality industry in the Napa Valley and Northern California. His secret is to never lose the joy of watching people experience something new. He has co-created Michelin-recommended restaurants and an award winning winery, launched and represented wine brands, and developed wine and food menus for wine brands and for colleagues. Giving back for generations to come has been part of his game plan.