Jane Dee on why being sociable matters in marketing

If you’ve never heard of Jane Dee, then most certainly you are not a wine lover.

Known as the “Belvedere girl”, Dee was the previous regional brand manager at Moët Hennessy Asia Pacific overseeing Belvedere Vodka, Grand Marnier and other wine divisions under the Moët umbrella.

We agreed to meet up at the Excelsior Lounge on a Wednesday afternoon, three months after she gave up the coveted title to head up the consumer practice division at PR firm Waggener Edstrom, one of the biggest breakthroughs in her career path.

As much as I wanted to go for some alcohol with the wine and spirit expert, it doesn’t sound like a good idea to get what we call the “Asian glow” that soon, considering it was our first meeting.

“I try not to drink during the day, not that I won’t. I always get the Asian glow and I am always the first one to get it,” she says with a chuckle in her magnetically endearing voice.

Five and a half years in the wine and spirit industry has given Dee a developed and unique insight into luxury that she finds highly beneficial to her current role.

“At this point in time, luxury to me is to have my own space to relax and do things my own way.”

Moët is one of the top wine and spirit brands which carries varieties of labels that have different personalities. Belvedere, for example, is a younger label that represents stylish and chic; whereas wine is different because it is usually associated with food.

Now at Waggener, Dee has taken up the responsibility – or what she calls the “fulfilling task” – to act as a mentor to manage staff’s expectations.

“Like when I looked after the many brands in Moët, I now also have to manage a team which has different personalities to each member. I also get to manage more varieties of luxury brands, seeing different sides of luxury, and knowing how people see luxury. It’s exciting.”

Making this major shift in her career for which she “never expected”, comes at a time when she wants to be inspired again. But she admits leaving her “favourite baby” Belvedere wasn’t easy, especially as she had become a face of the label.

“But people grow and priorities change” she shrugs.

“For the past five and a half years I was happy and proud to be a Belvedere girl, but I’ve come to a time where I think I need to make some changes. The older you get the more you want to be surrounded by people that inspire you so as to be an influencer.”

In front of the public, Dee represents a distinctive profile – a cheerful, strong and outgoing party goer who constantly shares selfies with celebrities, including Richard Branson, Pharrell Williams and her favourite Usher.

“When you’re in the wine and spirit industry you have to go out. Partying has become a lifestyle to me, it’s more than just a duty.

“It also translates to what we do in Waggener. Sometimes clients prefer to talk business over drinks. It’s very important for marketers in general to be able to socialise properly with different kinds of people.

“I’ve always wanted to meet him (Usher), I grew up to his songs. I don’t care what people think and I just went up to him and asked for a photo, when he was drinking a Moët Rosé,” she recalls when I ask about her selfie with Usher.

Building a prominent personal image, she admits, helps with her career for being a brand director, as long as “the brand resonates with your personality”.

“If, and only if, you believe in the brand you handle, it’s always good to build up a public image to associate with it.”

Being labelled as the brand face of a spirit, Dee stresses the importance of what she calls “socially responsible drinking”.

“As a responsible marketer you have to make sure you go out and meet clients, but not to get drunk. You should know when to leave before you are about to black out. Be responsible for your brand.”

The trick, for Dee, is to pretend to have vodka with sparkling water, she laughs.

Throughout her career, every single chapter of her life has exposed her to different characters.

It was never a smooth journey, particularly when she first moved into this “manic, frantic and fast-paced” city, she admits.

“When I first moved to Hong Kong in 2008, I got really frustrated as it’s a tough market to penetrate as a foreigner, and for someone who is new in town without knowing any key influencers. Without any training you have to pick up everything from scratch by yourself.”

Stage fright was one of the many things she had to tackle.

“From the very beginning I used to go on stage and start shaking and didn’t know what to do. But Moët is that kind of environment that trains people to speak publicly.”

And now, Dee is converting that part of her traumatic memory into prepping her team with confidence for live practice.

“I am now training even mid-level employees to be confident enough to pitch to clients.”