Gary Finnan and his company DNA Marketecture use a process called "creative marketecture" to help wineries and other businesses strengthen their operations and marketing. The process involves analyzing different elements of a business called "orbits" including wines, guest experience, sales, facilities, and marketing. Finnan and his team identify imbalances and ways to reconnect elements. Recently, Finnan partnered with David Schuemann and Erica Valentine to form DNA Marketecture, applying their collaborative approach to brand strategy and design. Their goal is to define the "essence" of a business and create exceptional guest experiences that build customer loyalty.

1. BUSINESS LEADERS OF THE NORTH BAY
MAY 2010 $4.95
INSIDE: CLOVER STORNETTA
CONSULTING WINEMAKERS
DNA MARKETECTURE • BIOMARIN
WOMEN IN MANUFACTURING
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2. (L to R) David Schuemann, Erica Valentine and Gary Finnan talk marketecture at Donatello Winery in Healdsburg. [Duncan Garrett Photography]
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3. Gary Finnan
and his DNA
Marketecture
collaborators bring
business goals and
client expectations
together to create an
impressive reality.
By Barry Dugan
O
n the second floor of a renovated
Victorian on Windsor River Road,
Gary Finnan sits at a rectangular table
in a tidy attic office. An intricate series of
diagrams, organized as a sort of Byzantine flow
chart, covers one side of the slanted ceiling,
replete with arrows and notations.
At the heart of the intricate design is the
centerpiece of Finnan’s GFC (Gary Finnan
Creative) Marketecture brainchild. Looking like a
molecular diagram a scientist might use in
unlocking the secrets of a particular strand of
DNA, the symmetrical, eight-spoked icon
represents the genetic metaphor Finnan uses to
describe his approach with his clients in the
destination and wine industries.
Inside the cozy office, two colleagues are
working, undistracted by Finnan’s animated and
nonstop explanation of the birth and evolution of
“creative marketecture,” a term he uses to
describe a process he and his core of consultants
use to strengthen a business’ weak links and bring
its structure back into balance.
In conventional terms, he helps wineries and
destination businesses focus on strategic essence,
marketing, organizational development, guest
experience, operations and business management.
Finnan’s approach, however, is anything but
conventional. “We’re all about changing the
paradigm of the wine business,” he says. “We’re
trying to bring people together to understand the
opportunities in the collaborative process.”
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4. Defining needs
“We have a core group, a collective brain trust,” Finnan explains. to end, including concept, strategy, finance, development, design
These “marketects” are the catalyst for the fusion of marketing and construction services. Whether it’s redesigning a tasting room
and architecture: “We connect the seemingly unconnected.” or developing a five-year master plan and winery expansion, the
The Marketecture team includes designers, artists, builders, emphasis is always on the guest experience—which, he points out,
architects, winery consultants, restaurateurs, organizational has become the key to success in the direct consumer market.
development specialists and sales and marketing experts. These Creating a guest experience that matches expectations is often the
independent business people collaborate with Finnan on a project- missing link.
by-project basis. “We’re a one-stop creative solution,” says Finnan. “So many people come up with a message, but they don’t
“It’s that collective brain trust that makes us unique. We bring the define the physical space,” says Finnan. “You put a message out
right people to the table.” there, and people will show up expecting certain things. The
The creative marketecture process starts with the integration of message sets the expectation; it’s the promise you make in your
the six core areas: vision, human, creative, eco, money and buzz. marketing material. You have to fulfill that promise when they
Vision: A planning process is essential to turn up in your environment. We’re just
developing strategies and initiatives. connecting the dots—the message, the
Marketecture includes these four product, the people and the place.”
mantras: Imagine it. Crave it. Create Finnan has designed a number of
it. Share it. tasting rooms in Healdsburg,
Human: What does the bus including (while he was CEO
look like and who’s on it? at Kyoob Design Group) the
“The organizational La Crema Winery tasting
development of your room that was developed
business is a critical with minimal retail and
element and also the high technology, using
most overlooked,” plasma screens and a
according to the kiosk to tell the story.
company’s literature. For C. Donatiello
This process helps Winery, Finnan
match the right people teamed with architect
with the right skills Kenneth Munson to
and ensures the create a home for the
organization has the brand that occupies the
optimal structure. site of the previous
Creative: During the Belvedere Winery. The
planning process, the renovation included every
desired guest experience is aspect of the winery and
mapped out and an exceptional created a “Sonoma Provincial”
personal interaction between environment, which includes a
guest and host is created. Increased VIP Guild Room with private wine
direct sales are a result of an lockers and hidden plasma screens
exceptional, memorable, “buzz-worthy” behind vintage mirrors.
experience that translates to a loyal following and
repeat visits. Sweet success
Eco: There’s considerable value in addressing the sustainability Finnan’s client list also includes Dry Creek Vineyard, Franciscan
of your business. Eco marketecture addresses issues that provide Estates, Jordan Vineyard & Winery, Seghesio Family Vineyards,
savings and marketability, such as solar innovation, sustainable Cakebread Cellars and Prairie Berry Winery in South Dakota.
growing practices and technologies to reduce a business’ carbon And though many in the wine industry have Finnan and his team
footprint. to thank for their successful branding and enhanced guest
Money: Budgets are developed and implemented, key experience, they aren’t the only businesses to benefit from his
performance indicators are established by department heads and unique approach. He’s also worked with financial institutions
staff is trained. (Exchange Bank, Redwood Credit Union, HP Credit Union) and
Buzz: Even with a rapid social media strategy in place, a brand the Les Mars luxury hotel in Healdsburg.
still needs to be defined and an identity established to create buzz. In 2003, Finnan was instrumental in helping Michael Powell
PR and marketing plans need to outline strategies and target design the first Powell’s Sweet Shoppe in Windsor and later
audiences defined. managed the expansion to franchise 17 more stores (including the
Powell’s store Finnan owns in Healdsburg).
Meeting expectations The days working with Powell were well before the evolution
It’s not all talk and process. Finnan takes a project from beginning from Gary Finnan Creative to “marketecture,” but Finnan’s
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5. background as a designer of interior architecture and destination balances strategic positioning with evocative design to establish an
environments was very much the driving force behind the unique emotional and cognitive connection between consumer and the
experience that defines the Powell’s franchise. “When I wanted to brand,” Schuemann explains. “Beyond the external tangible
open the first Powell’s, I was brand new to retail,” says Michael attributes of a product lies an intangible attribute, which we call the
Powell. “I came to Gary and his team looking for a full-service ‘brand essence.’ We’re building brand essence from the core out.”
solution, from concept to implementation, and the Windsor Valentine has extensive marketing experience in the wine
Powell’s Sweet Shoppe was the result.” industry. “Our partnership brings together a creative and strategic
Powell credits Finnan and his team for helping him realize that, suite of resources that can guide a start-up winery toward a
“planning is essential, and that all aspects of a business are successful business launch, reinvigorate existing brands or serve as
connected. They took my vision for a destination retail store and an extension of a company’s brand management team,” she says.
turned it into a brick and mortar reality.” “DNA Marketecture embodies all of the attributes I’ve always
Perhaps the highest compliment a client can pay a consultant looked for in creative and strategic marketing agencies—a deep
is that the final product was true to the original vision. “Gary understanding of the wine category, extensive experience in brand
and his team offered creative solutions and a commitment to see development and customer experience, and a passionate desire to
the project through, even get their hands dirty if needed. [They] over-deliver on service.”
worked and thought through problems, keeping my vision in Through the marketecture concept, Finnan is attempting to
the forefront while creating the infrastructure to make it all redefine the bottom line for the wine industry—literally and
work. Then we all worked together to duplicate it 17 more figuratively—and it starts with a radical shift in thinking for those
times,” says Powell. accustomed to a conventional, profit-and-loss approach to
Credit was also given to the team that Finnan compiled to achieving success. Some who’ve been in the industry for years may
make the Powell vision a reality. “We all learned a lot in have no choice but to find a new way.
developing something unique like Powell’s, and our success is In the wine industry today, “It’s not business as usual,” says
partially due to the team Gary put in place to support our Finnan. “It’s an ‘adapt or die’ situation. With some clients, the
development,” says Powell. “Our 18th store was a lot easier than question is, ‘How do we reposition you?’ Because if they don’t
our first.” expose their brand to get part of the direct-to-consumer market
share, they’re going to be dinosaurs.”
Redefining the approach Finnan spent many years as a designer before breaking into the
In his quest to challenge the paradigm of conventional marketing, wine industry niche his company
Finnan and his colleagues posed the question: How do we now occupies. A native of
combine marketing and architecture? “We thought we were really Scotland, the 45-year-old Finnan
clever and came up with ‘marketecture,’” he remembers…only to moved with his family to Rhodesia
discover they weren’t the first ones to coin the phrase. The term is at the age of 10, and he lived in
officially defined as new computer architecture that’s being South Africa during his formative
marketed aggressively despite the fact it doesn’t yet exist as a years. He started a design firm in
finished product. “We’ve taken that and put a more positive spin Johannesburg, South Africa, in
on it,” says Finnan. “We use it to define the perspective of 1989, called Belgeddes Design,
combining message and place, which evolved into ‘Connecting that specialized in destination
message, product, people and place.’” projects and moved to California
Not one to ignore his own advice, Finnan’s business model with his wife and two children in
undergoes constant revamping. He recently partnered with 1999. He started the Kyoob
designer David Schuemann (owner and creative director of CF Design Group in 2001 (and sold it David Schuemann is owner and
creative director of CF Napa
Napa Brand Design) and Erica Valentine (formerly marketing in 2006), designing high-end Brand Design.
director at Constellation Wines) to form the newest iteration of commercial interior architecture [Duncan Garrett Photography]
creative marketecture. The company’s revised name—“DNA projects (with a focus on
Marketecture: The essence of your business”—better describes the destination environments), including several projects for wineries.
collaborative approach. That’s when he discovered an element of the wine industry he’d
Schuemann’s firm specializes in applying an integrated never thought much about.
approach to brand strategy and design across a wide range of “I’d never looked at it, as an industry, from a destination point
mediums for the wine, beer and spirits industries. His latest of view before moving to California,” says Finnan.
marketing permutation, the DNA (Developing New Avenues) That realization led him to focus on the wine industry and,
process, fits nicely with Finnan’s Marketecture. “We realized we specifically, on helping winery owners create a unique guest
had a lot of synergy between our processes,” says Schuemann. experience by offering an environment that focuses on the place, its
“We saw an opportunity to create a hybrid that could address a story, and on showcasing the essential nature of the business: terroir,
brand across all the facets of a business.” production, education and the responsible enjoyment of wine.
That synergy is evident in the way each describes their latest “The wine industry encompasses every facet of business, from
marketing strategy, using a creative and intuitive approach to hone real estate to product development and events,” says Finnan. “It’s
in on the nature of a product or business. “Our DNA process one of the few industries where the customer comes to the factory.
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6. That’s what’s cool about it. It’s a very unusual animal. The DNA process can take as much as two to three months,
“I can’t get away from the fact that I’m a designer,” he says. “I while designing a new winery can entail a two- to five-year
like the strategy of bringing two things together, the message and process. “People seem willing to embrace marketecture,” says
the place. That’s where we’re different [from other strategic Finnan. “It seems to have hit a chord. It’s an umbrella we can
companies]. We bring the message and the place together.” put over a whole bunch of services. It ties a bunch of
But Finnan doesn’t want to be limited by the label of disciplines together.
“designer,” either. “I’m proof that your DNA can change,” he says. Christopher Huber of Cakebread Cellars in Napa, who
“I like to think of myself as being a catalyst for creating new recently started working with Finnan, says, “I like his creativity
business strategies. We design experiences.” and curiosity to challenge paradigms; he digs in to see things from
a fresh perspective.”
A balancing act Another idea that fascinates Finnan is how to monetize social
There’s no shortage of metaphors in Finnan’s lexicon to describe media. “People sitting at home behind their computer can’t have
the process his team uses to plan a destination environment. The an experience. They have to go into a place to have an
diagram could be a molecule, or the orbits emanating from its experience,” he says. “You have to attract someone into a place
center could be petals on a flower. But his current favorite is the and provide the experience you promise. This new social media is
DNA metaphor. a social contract with exponential potential. The guys who’re
The diagram used to illustrate the process of discovery is a getting it realize that they can get the social media out there,
circular form with wine at the center (“Wine is always at the which is all message, but they have to provide the experience to
center”) and eight oval-shaped ideas orbiting around that center: back it up. The experience has to be there. You monetize social
wines, vineyard, guest experience, sales, guest environment, media by fulfilling the promise in a real experience.”
facility, business process and marketing. Each of the orbits is Finnan and his fellow marketects are frequent speakers at
explored during “the DNA process.” national seminars and are organizing workshops to spread the
“It’s a discovery process,” he explains. “We have to figure out message. The most recent seminar, titled “Leaving Money on the
how to get the wheel back in balance. Constructing or Tasting Room Bar in 2010,” took place in Santa Rosa last
deconstructing a strand of DNA of any of these elements will help December and attracted about 180 attendees after a brief, three-
us to create or rebuild [the entire structure]. week social media promotion blitz.
“Often, the winemaker might not have any connection at all to Also in the works is a book, Wine Wisdom Marketecture, a
the direct-to-consumer experience, or the vineyards and collection of information on the wine industry that doesn’t
sustainable practices might not have any connection to the currently exist in one location. “The idea behind it is that there’s
business office. We’ll go through all this wisdom out there, but is anybody distilling it down to
the DNA process and find things make it accessible?” says Finnan.
that are out of balance, out of The question itself goes a long way in describing the DNA
sync. Maybe marketing is selling Marketecture concept, the aim of which is to distill a business
the story, but the guest experience down to its essence and make it accessible to potential customers.
doesn’t exist. Our job is to bring it In answer to his own query, Finnan offers, “Our hindsight is [our
all into balance.” clients’] foresight.” ■
The rebalancing may involve
retraining staff, getting a handle on
finances, repositioning the brand or
even expanding or constructing a
facility. Some clients simply need
the guest experience enhanced, Former Constellation Wines
marketing director Erica
while others require a top-to- Valentine is a partner in www.DNAMarketecture.com
bottom overhaul. DNA Marketecture.
“We’re looking for hidden assets
[Duncan Garrett Photography]
707.239.5240 / 707.975.9761
they aren’t exploring,” says Finnan. “It may be they’re underutilizing gary@DNAMarketecture.com
their space, they don’t have any guest programs, or they’re not telling
a piece of their story.” It’s during the DNA process that many of
these deficiencies are revealed.
Finnan’s clients can range from long-established, family- 3566 Airway Dr.
owned wineries to someone who decided to build a winery but Santa Rosa, CA 95403
skipped the step of writing a business plan. A new market 707-575-8282
segment he’s exploring, though, is equity funds that are 707-546-7368
acquiring (or being given back) distressed wineries as owners
default due to the current economy. “A lot of investors are —REPRINT—
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how to manage,” he says. “So what do you do with it? Either northbaybiz.com Pages 34–40
put it in mothballs, sell it or nurture it.”
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