Polly Hammond

As the Founder and CEO of 5forests, I bridge the gap between strategy and execution in the wine, beer, and spirits industry, driving innovation through wine tech solutions. I spend my days not only consulting, writing, and speaking about impactful trends but also rolling up my sleeves to implement effective digital marketing solutions for our clients.

My academic journey began at the University of Southern California, where I earned degrees in International Relations and French. This foundation sparked a deep and abiding love for Behavioral Economics, fueling my fascination with the myriad reasons consumers engage with brands. (Heads up, I'm a big fan of pop culture and good stories, so any meeting is sure to have at least one Star Wars reference thrown in.)

In my quest to help businesses connect authentically with their audience, I developed the Customer Stories narrative persona framework—a tool for articulating customer personas through storytelling. This framework helps wine brands understand and communicate with their customers on a deeper level.

Over the past few years, I've had the privilege to present at Wine2Wine, the World Bulk Wine Exhibition & Conference, Oregon Wine Symposium, Moldovan Competitiveness Project Digital Workshops, OenoCo International Wine Economic Forum, Wine Media Conferences, NZ Winegrowers Covid Digital Series, and more. I've developed and implemented over 40 hours of intensive marketing workshops for regional associations, produced over 100 podcasts, overseen digital strategies for dozens of brands, and launched Earth First Ecommerce—all while still managing to knit a few rows here and there.

What started as a small studio with a big idea—"maybe we can make a difference"—5forests has grown into a globally recognized, award-winning digital marketing agency. Today, over 700 wineries use our innovative wine tech solutions to deliver direct-to-consumer experiences to their customers. I am proud to lead a talented team dedicated to both strategizing and executing innovative solutions for some of the world's top wine, beer, and spirits companies.

If you're looking for a marketing partner who can unlock your business potential through both strategic insight and hands-on implementation, or a presenter who adds value without self-promotion, I'd love to connect.