David Feldt Proud father. Entrepreneur. Builder. Catalyst. Accelerator. Guide.

From the Sublime to the Insanely Ridiculous

At dinner last night the first thing the waitress asked us was the question that has become so derigeur: Still or Sparkling? This got me thinking about the evolution of that most basic and fundamental life-sustaining substance - H20 - and its marketing ascendence. Bottled water has become part of our pop culture - it has evolved from a symbol of health to European sophistication (remember Perrier in the 70s? Evian in the 80s? Fiji Water?) to spirituality (Madonna and Britney only drink Kabbalah Water) to the ultimate expression of our Hip-Hop Age - Bling!

Yes, you read that correctly! Bling (with real Swarovski crystals) is now encrusted into the water we drink. Check out the $35-a-bottle Bling H20, conceived in Hollywood (where else?), bottled in Dandridge, Tennessee and now being marketed online and by the current stars of the day. "It's Bling, baby," Jamie Foxx says as he holds out the blinged-out bottle. "It's all about image in Hollywood, and this is the water to drink if you want to look sexy."

CNN captured the essence of Bling H20 in a recent article entitled "5 signs you have too much money ... and not as much sense."

In this Paradox-of-Choice world in which we live, there are thousands of brands of bottled water available to satisfy all of our needs. Which one tickles your fancy? Personally, give me Badoit any day of the week.

David Feldt

Showcasing the new Nikon D80 Digital SLR

Here's a wonderful storytelling site showcasing the new D80 Nikon Digital SLR camera.

Remember Joe Holmes' photography at Joe's NYC I wrote about a few weeks ago? He is one of several exceptional photographers featured on this site.

Grab a Heineken

Wine as a catalyst for a conversation

The blogosphere has been buzzing for almost two years about Stormhoek, a South African winery that is using blogs and bloggers as its global marketing channel.

Hugh Macleod from Gapingvoid.com fame started the ball rolling in Europe with a post entitled "Wine Blogger's Freebie" back in May 2005.  One hundred free bottles of Stormhoek were sent to regular bloggers on his website and they were asked to blog their comments and experiences with the wine. (Track the progress of his Wiki).  An example of the caliber of blogger who has helped promote the Stormhoek brand is Jamie Goode, a UK-based wine writer who is highly regarded and has published in Decanter, The World of Fine Wine, Wine International and Harpers Wine and Spirit.  

Macleod, Stormhoek CEO, Jason Korman, Goode and hundreds of others have turned Stormhoek into a global brand by engaging in a dialogue with blogging consumers on their own terms.  There is no traditional advertising speak here - Macleod and Korman have used wine as a catalyst for a conversation, first in Europe and now in the US.

Stormhoek has over 297,000 Google links, over 2,000 posts on Technorati and the stormhoek.com website (itself a blog) has more traffic than any other wine producers' website in the world.

So, is this all just Web 2.o-hype? I'll let the market answer that.

Sales growth has been incredible. In less than two years it has grown annual sales to the UK to  100,000 cases (12 x 750ml) and now accounts for 17% of all South African wine sold in the UK in the over-£5 category.

The Stormhoek Pinotage 2005 has won The KWV International Trophy for Pinotage for the best Pinotage at the 2006 International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC), held recently in London.

Stormhoek is now moving its focus to the US and in the last six months alone Stormhoek has achieved over 2,500 retail listings in the USA.

And, no, I haven't received a free bottle of Stormhoek.

David Feldt

P. S. Check out the collection of Stormhoek wine bottle labels designed by Hugh Macleod.