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DIGITAL MARKETING & COMMUNICATION

reaction to what I say. I’m always looking for
feedback loops.
Maybe my definition of smoke needs to
have another layer behind it, maybe in order
to truly get to a smoke and fire process you
must be self-aware, honest, and hold yourself
accountable.
Most people do things on autopilot because
they assume that if there’s a meeting in their
calendar they must do it (especially these days
on these virtual meetings).
The next time you’re in a meeting pay atten-

MONETARIZING VISIONS
Drinks giant Constellation Brands has acqui-
red Gary Vaynerchuk’s direct to consumer
company, Empathy Wines, less than a year
after it was founded.
Hoping to grow its digital footprint, Constel-
lation Brands, which owns the Robert Monda-
vi, or Kim Crawford wine brands, bought Em-
pathy Wines for an undisclosed sum.
tion to your senses. If within the first 13 se- The direct to consumer e-commerce plat-
conds you feel that the meeting you’re in form was founded by New York-based entre-
doesn’t meet the needs of what you’re try- preneur Gary Vaynerchuk and business part-
ing to accomplish (smoke), change it (fire). ners Jon Troutman and Nate Scherotter last
Focus on your intuition and natural talent. year. Keen to disrupt the traditional wine distri-
Work on the things you’re not naturally good bution model by cutting out the middleman,
at. I think many people are in smoke mode and the trio bypass distributor and retail chan-
blame other people for not starting a fire. In nels and work directly with sustainable grape
life, maybe before halftime, you have to start growers to produce their own range of wines.
the fire. Among the producers Empathy works with
Please, live for happiness, eliminate regret, are Shannon Ranch Vineyards in Lake County,
try to choose optimism and love. Go for it; you Bokisch Vineyards and Mettler Family Viney-
fear things that don’t exist. ards in Lodi, and Marietta Cellars in Sonoma.
Don’t conform to doing something that Empathy sold 15,000 cases of wine last year
doesn’t make you happy. and amassed over 2,000 subscribers. Keen to
STOP DEBATING. offer good value, the majority of its wines cost
START MAKING! around US$20 a bottle.
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