Most craft beverage companies, no matter their size or model, recognize the importance of marketing, but too many ignore a high impact strategy: earned media. In this webinar, Virginia SBDC Craft Beverage Assistance program manager Chris Van Orden will ask Lisa Archer, Editor and Publisher of Edible Blue Ridge, about her experience working with the craft beverage sector, the media’s process for sourcing stories on local producers, and what makes a good subject.
SPEAKER: Lisa Archer is the editor and publisher of Edible Blue Ridge, a quarterly magazine dedicated to celebrating Central & Southwestern Virginia’s unique regional food scene, with a focus on our many farms, orchards, wineries, farmers markets, specialty shops, eateries, food artisans and home cooks. Edible Blue Ridge distributes 10,000 copies of each issue through more than 200 select grocers, restaurants and retailers across their territory.
Lisa holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Hollins University, and has worked in the food and beverage industry for over 18 years. In addition to working for a three-Michelin-star restaurant, and as a master sommelier’s assistant, Lisa has also managed a specialty grocery store, started her own ice cream sandwich business and even spent time as an affineur and sales rep for a cheese cave in Brooklyn. She co-hosts Outside the Box, a monthly informational meetup group for small business owners in the greater Roanoke area. When she’s not at work, you can find her hiking one of the local trails or pulling weeds in her ever-expanding garden.
