Watershed, the Experts in Natural Food and Beverage
From lamb and honey to beer, wine, teas and yogurt, see how Watershed turns consumers into believers. Our particular expertise is in helping regional brands make the leap into the national scene.
With only three weeks of lead time, Watershed handled media relations for First Light Foods, an all-natural venison from New Zealand launch in 30 Whole Foods Markets in the Eastern United States. Watershed arranged meetings with The New York Times, The Boston Globe and Intermezzo. Walter Nicholls wrote a front page story for The Washington Post, which was syndicated to 200 newspapers.
Springfield Creamery, maker of Nancy's Yogurt, turned to Watershed for a public relations solution that would help them compete better and expand market share to other regions. Our strategy and efforts resulted in a feature story in the Sunday Travel Section of the Seattle Times, a nationwide Splendid Table segment, and a Health Magazine story, just to name a few. Since working with Watershed, Springfield Creamery has experienced a dramatic increase in overall sales and continues to grow East coast market share.
Deschutes Brewery in Bend, a regional Oregon company with a 20-year history, had a devoted craft beer following, but struggled to stand out within the larger craft beer segment on a national level. Consumers rarely associated its flagship beers, Mirror Pond Pale Ale and Black Butte Porter with the overall brand family. Media coverage was not on par with competitors, especially in beverage trade publications. Watershed provided a list of VIP freelance writers and editorial contacts who received samples of new beer releases. We drafted press materials highlighting Deschutes' role as an industry leader in food and beer pairings, and positioned them as a family of beers including not just the flagship beers, but also innovative brews like The Abyss and Hop Trip. The brewery is now recognized as a leader in the burgeoning beer and food pairing niche with media coverage in Food & Wine, Beer NW, Associated Press, CNN, Men's Journal, Draft Magazine, Imbibe, National Geographic Traveler, and a front-page feature in the Oregonian.
"We had never had an outside PR firm before Watershed and I have to admit, going into the relationship, we had a degree of skepticism about the process and the value. Watershed's strategic approach to media relations and creative ideas contributed to double-digit growth for two consecutive years at the Brewery.
At Deschutes, we've always believed that by focusing on making outstanding quality beer, that the stories and national media attention would naturally follow. Now we recognize the value of working with experts who bring media savvy and coveted relationships to the mix. "
Gary Fish, Founder, Deschutes
"Watershed has the ability to find the kernels of what is most interesting about a company or a project, and then to be able to convey that and to build on that, rather than to hand somebody what you think should be their story or their message. There is a lot of expertise that they brought to understanding how to get our message out, how to budget, what's important and what's not."
Christian Krogstad, Co-owner, House Spirits Distillery
"I think she (Lisa) takes the time to go beyond the surface of the question. Well, why are you asking this or what do you want to achieve with this, and that then gets us thinking about what is our goal here, what is our objective? She is also helpful in that she does not beat around the bush and if you do come up with a horrible idea, she will be the first to let you know. That kind of quality control is very useful."
Reuel Fish, Principal, Urban Wineworks & Bishop Creek Cellars
