By Madison Alworth
Vinepair wants to be the premier source for all things booze, and since the website's founding in 2014, it has advised millennials on what and where to drink, as well as how to mix the latest concoctions.
"Eater already existed for the food world. So we figured why not create Vinepair for the drinks world," said Adam Teeter, co-founder and CEO of Vinepair.
"Millennials are looking for content that is informative and teaches them something," Teeter said in an interview Monday with Cheddar.
Vinepair includes editorial articles and sponsored content and sells merchandise online. But in Teeter's view, all content is created equal, even the sponsored pieces.
"We see some sponsored content perform as well, if not better, than some of our editorial content," he said. "It gets the same treatment, it goes to our homepage. It gets tested on social, just like all of our other content."
He may have a point: according to a recent study by the McCarthy Group, a brand strategy firm, 84 percent of millennials don't like traditional marketingーand many don't trust it.
The strategy may be working. Vinepair, with an audience of 24 million, says it's on track to generate $1.5 million in ad revenue this year. In Teeter's mind, it's all about the data.
"We are hyper-focused on data. I think that's also why we've grown so quickly. In that regard, we're focused on making sure the sponsored content performs well too, but it's not getting a ton more exposure than any of our normal content would get."
As for the "drink of the summer", Teeter thinks one liqueur in particular can claim victory.
"You could say Campari has had a huge success with pushing the Aperol Spritz."
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