The Tasting Panel magazine

June 2015

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96  /  the tasting panel  /  june 2015 A s the beverage industry's largest career network, BevForce knows who's coming and who's going at the leading global beverage companies. BevForce is the only beverage industry staffing agency providing both an online job board and executive recruiting services. Visit www.bevforce.com to sign up for the Movers & Shakers newsletter or to report your job move or recent hire. Patrick Piana has been named CEO at Stoli Group USA. He had been COO at Laureate International. Steve Zielonko has been named Vice President, National Category Management at Southern Wine & Spirits. He had been the Merchandising and Trade Marketing Consulting Manager at Accenture Consumer Goods & Services. Philippe Farnier has been named CEO at Rémy Cointreau USA. He had been General Manager, Travel Retail EMEA at Parfums Christian Dior. Shannon McLaren has been named Chief Financial Officer at Crimson Wine Group. She had been Senior Corporate Controller at Wente Vineyards. Michelle Farabaugh has been named CMO at BevMo!. She had been CMO at Galls. Daniel Lyons has been named Vice President of Sales, Western Division at Guarachi Wine Partners. He had been Western Regional Sales Manager at Independent Distillers North America. Martin Geraghty has been named Regional Director of Pacific West at Founders Brewing Co. He had been VP of Sales, West at Sonoma Cider Co. Chris Hills has been named Market Manager North Texas/Oklahoma at Pernod Ricard USA. He had been Texas Portfolio and Marketing Manager at Glazer's. Adam Ursprung has been named Director of Sales, East of Selvarey Rum. He had been Director, Commercial Planning and Activation at Diageo. Beth Nowak has been named Mid-South Area Manager at Rodney Strong Vineyards. She had been Regional Manager at Pernod Ricard Wines and Champagne. Movers & Shakers The Force of the First Impression Brand Ambassadors and field-level staff (promo models, street teams, in-store demo specialists) are often the first interaction for consumers with your prod- uct. Finding the right talent to represent your brand can be a headache—difficult activation locations, multiple agencies, lack of control on the ground—so we asked Jenn Kutchinski, who heads up FieldForce, a new platform to quickly hire and mobi- lize field-level staff, to weigh in on how to optimize your talent in the field. Here's what she had to say: Industry-specific talent. Find qualified talent with existing experience working for your product vertical (e.g. wine, spirits or beer). Screen. Beyond a resumé once-over, personally screen your candidates to see if your customer will relate to them. Are they a "culture fit" for your brand? Are they a consumer or fan of your product? Will they be able to engage in conversation with your consumer? Take the time to train people. Provide brand ambassadors with in-depth materi- als about your brand, brand messaging and key product talking points. Make sure they are able to convey your messaging naturally and in a positive, respectful manner. Make field talent feel like part of the team. They may not be full-time employees, but people that feel included and proud of the brand they are represent- ing will always outperform. If possible, give them access to full-time representatives of the brand or check-in onsite during an event or demo. Encourage them to share their experience through social media. Follow-up. Your field talent has first-hand knowledge and exposure to how your consumers react to your product. From customer feedback to product performance (e.g., doesn't stay cold; best thing ever!), be sure to collect any key learning after activation not only for your education, but also as a gesture of appreciation to the talent for a job well done. Their input matters! CAREER CORNER

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