Mobile marketing expert to speak at 2010 Direct to Consumer Symposium

“Within five years, mobile web traffic will surpass computer band traffic,” said mobile marketing industry leader, entrepreneur and academic Michael Becker, who will be the keynote speaker at the third annual Direct to Consumer Wine Symposium taking place at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel in Santa Rosa, California on January 19.

Becker believes that the wine industry will lose the lion’s share of its ability to engage and communicate with its audience if wineries don’t start embracing mobile now. “On certain demographics, you will have missed them completely,” he said. “Mobile is not going anywhere but, yet, it’s still a relatively new and young channel so you have the opportunity to learn and make mistakes. The time is now to start embracing mobile.”

Considered to the premier summit on direct marketing and sales, the event is sponsored by Coalition for Free Trade and Free The Grapes!, two organizations that have worked to increase the market for legal, direct to consumer wine shipments.

According to event planners, the symposium brings together the brightest wine industry minds and leaders to discuss trends and tools that can help wineries grow their direct to consumer sales. Last year’s event attracted a standing room only crowd of more than 350 attendees, a sold-out trade show as well as guests and speakers from across the United States.

Michael Becker, mobile marketing industry leader, entrepreneur and academic, who will be the keynote speaker at the third annual Direct to Consumer Wine Symposium.

During his address, Becker will give wineries advice on mobile marketing tools and strategies to build brand awareness and increase their direct to consumer sales. “Let’ talk to our consumer in the medium they are talking to themselves in,” he said, adding, “Let’s have some fun with this.”

So what is mobile marketing? It’s a set of practices to use to engage and interact with consumers through wireless devices or networks; the mobile channel is made up of many channels. “This is what makes mobile so unique. It’s both media and a channel. Mobile is the most personal, intimate and media-engaging medium that is out there. It is changing the behavior of how we communicate.”

Becker aims to give seminar attendees information to help them engage and communicate with their customers. “Once you have that communication channel open, you now have the opportunity to send relevant, timely and engaging communication to your audience. You’re going to get the framework and the language and the tools to be able to go forward to start the process of integrating mobile into your business,” he said.

Becker will also provide case studies because, as he said, “In the end, it’s all about results. Mobile is one of the most measureable channels out there.”

In 1999, Becker said he gave a talk on mobile marketing and was “literally laughed off-stage.” Today he is vice president of Mobile Strategy at iLoop Mobile, Inc. a leading mobile marketing solutions and service provider to the top brands, agencies, content publishers and enterprises worldwide. He is the Mobile Marketing Association Global and North American vice chairperson, co-chair of the MMA Academic Outreach Committee and founder and co-editor of the MMA International Journal of Mobile Marketing. In addition to his industry and volunteer roles, he has written more than 60 other articles on mobile marketing and co-authored and contributed to five books on mobile marketing.

Following Becker’s keynote address, a second keynote speaker, Nadira Hira of Fortune Magazine, will talk about what social media means to Generation Y, the largest wine-consuming population to date. Steve Gross of Wine Institute will recap recent legislative and regulatory changes to DTC shipping statutes around the country and speculate on what’s to come in 2010.

This year’s workshops will cover such topics as targeting new customers, legal ways of marketing wine in California, wine club basics and trends in DTC marketing.

Jason Eckenroth, CEO of Ship Compliant, will moderate a panel on retaining direct contact with direct consumer and wine club members. One of the panelists, Vanessa Robledo, Black Coyote Chateau president and partner, was featured in an industry roundtable on wine clubs by Lance Cutler in the September issue of Wine Business Monthly.