Calcaire, Wild Horse, Smith & Hook Brand Ambassador

ABOUT STRATEGIC GROUP

Strategic Group is a full-scale marketing agency specializing in experiential programming and sales support initiatives. For more than two decades, we’ve built a reputation for engaging our clients’ retail customers and influencing their hard-to-penetrate consumer base.

In this role, the Calcaire, Wild Horse & Smith & Hook Brand Ambassador will serve as the dedicated brand resource and in-market authority on behalf of Calcaire, Wild Horse and Smith & Hook in the Dallas, TX market.

They will own a target account list across the Dallas market, securing placements with the trade and building consumer demand across all three brands. This is a full-time, in-market hire responsible for the account list, the trade relationships and the entire activation calendar, including recruiting, training and managing a Brand Advocate sampling team who execute consumer-facing events to the Ambassador’s direction and brief.

Qualified candidates will be credible across three distinct brand identities — Calcaire’s coastal Chardonnay precision, Wild Horse’s Central Coast Pinot Noir, and Smith & Hook’s Paso Robles Cabernet and Hahn family ranch heritage — and will have the commercial acumen and trade relationships to secure placements while directing a support team on consumer trial and sampling.

The Calcaire, Wild Horse & Smith & Hook Brand Ambassador shall be responsible for the following:

• Own and manage a target account list across the Dallas market.
• Secure and maintain by-the-glass and menu placements across Calcaire, Wild Horse and Smith & Hook, serving as the primary point of contact for wine directors, sommeliers, general managers and buyers.
• Lead all trade education and staff training sessions across all three brands, ensuring on-premise staff can confidently describe and sell each brand.
• Recruit, hire, train, manage and develop a Brand Advocate sampling team to execute on-premise sampling, by-the-glass trial events, and community, club and western-equity activations to the Ambassador’s brief and calendar.
• Build, implement and own the full activation calendar — trade education, sampling and trial, winemaker dinners, and community, club and western events — balancing account coverage with event execution across all three brands.
• Develop and maintain relationships with key market stakeholders, including the local trade community, distributor partners and the GALLO Dallas sales team.
• Act as a valued partner and consultant to key accounts, using judgment and market knowledge to prioritize account and brand focus.
• Support development of POS and trade tool materials, with GALLO approval, including brand- specific assets for Calcaire, Wild Horse and Smith & Hook.
• Adhere to and manage T&E and activation budgets across all three brands.
• Coordinate with Strategic Group’s existing La Marca and Whitehaven Dallas team to confirm shared-account overlap and sampling support logistics.
• Complete regular quantitative and qualitative reporting, including account visit tracking, activation recaps and competitive brand observations.
• Participate in debriefs after activations to capture strengths and opportunities.
• Maintain satisfactory attendance, to include timeliness.
• Responsible for understanding and complying with applicable quality and safety regulatory considerations.
• Accountable for the work of the Brand Advocate sampling team and responsible for ensuring their understanding of and compliance with brand standards.

• Intrapreneurship is entrepreneurship in an established company: behaviors that include thinking boldly, taking appropriate risks, learning from mistakes, showing initiative, and encouraging and reinforcing innovation.
• Ownership refers to behaviors that include setting high expectations, driving candid discussion, and holding self and others accountable.

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, or adjacent field and five-plus years of on-premise experience, restaurant-specific — sommelier, wine director or supplier ambassador background; OR…