20 years ago, without a high school
diploma, a degree, a business plan, or even a comparable product, 17-year old
GT Dave created a unique category with his fermented Kombucha tea, invented a
profitable new market segment, and did it without ever purchasing an ad
(Foster, 2015). Some seasoned
professionals may argue that the now 36-year old GT would do well to alter his
public relation strategies, especially considering the rise of competitors in
the marketplace. Some may question if GT Dave’s public relations strategy is
naïve? Or the work of genius? This paper serves to argue that it is exactly the
personal vision and genius of GT Dave that have created a highly envied niche
market for Kombucha, and that his continued public relations strategy of
letting the GT Dave Kombucha brand speak for itself will serve him well in the
future, with both his devoted followers and new Kombucha converts.
When it comes to defining a public relations
campaign, Cameron, Wilcox, Reber, & Shin (2008) state:
Many people fail to understand that public relations is a process involving numerous subtle and far-reaching aspects beyond media coverage. It includes research and analysis, policy formation, programming, communication, and feedback from numerous publics. (p. 4)
