As lead for Washington’s digital storytelling efforts, Bretty developed a narrative framework with, around, and for the 1000+ licensed winemakers and 400+ grape growers in the industry.
Working with key stakeholders, committees, and constituents, Bretty built the brand’s voice and set of story anchors, which guided the commission’s statewide campaigns, collateral, and digital programs, earning the commission and the industry national awards and recognition.
Story Anchors
In 2019, Bretty spent 9 months working with industry leaders to craft Washington Wine’s 8 story anchors.
This organized, informed, and empowered the industry to unite around shared traits, while helping individual wineries find the right words for their own unique stories. The state’s story anchors became the bedrock of the region’s editorial calendar, and one of the anchors was used by the marketing team on their featured collateral, a 100K print run of a pocket map.
Digital Applications
Bretty led the launch of Washington Wine’s new website, which won a national award in 2022 for its innovative approach to storytelling.
He built digital programs, interview series, podcasts, and tourism apps that were featured in national magazines. Breaking Ground, for example — a bilingual storytelling platform that elevated the voices of the farming community — was featured in Forbes for being the first farmer-focused storytelling program in the country.
Collaborative Results
As a data-driven storyteller, Bretty’s work for Washington Wine proves the potential for collective impact.
By creating in-roads for conversation with WA Wine’s thousands of constituents, Bretty was able to help the region stand out.
During his time working for the industry, he published 1,885 stories, seeing:
434%
increase in impressions
103%
increase in engagements
651%
increase in profile actions
and his efforts helped their organic following transform with: