One thing I love about what we do in this show is that we continue to explore new and interesting angles of the bourbon world. And one that always gets overlooked is the role of public relations. All major corporations have contracts with PR firms where it's their responsibility to get eyeballs on every new release, get butts in seats at events, and make some kind of commotion about their whiskey. To explore this topic, I've invited Dave Karrakur on the show. He's an industry veteran who has done PR his entire career at places like Sega and Campari but has now ventured off on his own with Raptor Communications. We talk about the stress that PR feels when it comes time to put out a new release, how to get it in front of the right audience and get words in articles like Forbes, and how do you response to a client when something just completely flops.
00:00-Introduction and the Role of PR in the Bourbon Industry06:28-Exploring a New Angle: Public Relations in the Bourbon World10:26-Guest's Background in PR and the Drinks Business18:55-The Need for PR and Creating a Compelling Narrative25:25-Navigating the Changing Media Landscape31:39-Rising Above the Clutter: Detail and Engagement32:35-Building Whiskey Brands through PR34:02-Measuring the Impact of PR35:00-The Value of Third-Party Endorsements37:16-Building Relationships with Journalists and Influencers39:32-Navigating Social Media Platforms for Whiskey Marketing44:11-Distribution Challenges and On-Shelf Presence46:04-Strategies for Sending Samples to Reviewers48:55-Maintaining a Cadence of PR Activities50:17-Dealing with Negative Reviews55:03-The Complex and Stressful Nature of Whiskey PRSupport this podcast on Patreon
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