Influence without the influencers

The medium is not the message. Influencers are good. But influence is better. Here's how to get it, and what real influence looks like.

Dr. Gerald Feigen - professional proctologist and amateur ventriloquist¹ - used to tell a joke about a tailor who went to see the Pope. After the audience with His Holiness a friend asked him "What was he like?" The tailor replied, “a 41 regular."

Abraham Maslow (he of the Hierarchy of Needs) had an aphorism that said much the same thing: "to the man with the hammer, everything looks like a nail".

The modern wine business has a similarly blinkered world view. To the wine vendor with a bottle, the answer seems to be social media influence. And with it a social media influencer.

In last week's Wine Marketing Masterclass we delved into influencers. Who they are (hard to tell). What effect they have (sometimes quite a lot). What they cost (not as much as you think). And how to work them (it's more complicated than you think).

This week we're going to ask if it's possible to have influence without the influencers. Or can we achieve something even better than influence? Fame.

When will I... will I be famous?

²Ultimately winemakers and retailers ask influencers to make their wine famous. And that’s absolutely what they should to. As the ad man Bob Hoffman wrote:

“I believe the most probable driver of brand success - and the central principle of communication that we advertisers can control - is fame. Not brand meaning, or relationship building, or brand purpose or any of the other fantasies that you advertising and marketing industry has concocted... If I was the CEO of your company - or if I was your client - I'd call you into my office and give you a three word brief: 'Make us famous'“.

(V)influencers are... sometimes... a way to make your wine famous. But they're not the only way. And they might not be the best way. So how about we go the other way, and look at what it means to be a famous wine or wine company, and if there are other - better - ways to go about it.

On the way we'll meet Posh Spice, Beethoven, and your mum. As well as some of the smartest minds in marketing. That and the occasional gags are what makes a premium subscription to the Substack worthwhile.