Two dynamos of the marketing industry told a group of Napa County VIPs Friday that Napa is in the crosshairs of its competitors, and creative and thoughtful promotion is the key to continuing success.

Barry Schuler, former CEO of America OnLine, said Napa is facing enormous disruption, and local residents' love-hate relationship with the wine industry could prove to be its downfall.

Although they swear they didn't compare notes, Schuler's comments bore a striking resemblance to those of marketing strategist Duane Knapp of BrandStrategy Inc.

Knapp, who is assisting in a comprehensive report on Napa County's marketing needs, urged community leaders to make Napa a one-of-a-kind destination, a place you go to feel good.

"People may forget why they came," he said, "but they'll always remember how you made them feel."

Knapp commented on the current plethora of construction underway and the poor signage guiding visitors to their destinations. It has to be more than wine he emphasized. With all 50 states now making wine, it has become a commodity. As a destination, potential visitors should think of Napa not as a place they could go, or even might go. It needs to he thought of as a place they must go, he said.

Schuler, a nine-year Napa resident since leaving AOL, helped found the Blue Oak School which he called one of two outstanding local educational institutions, New Technology High School being the other.

The rest are crumbling around us, he charged. "If we don't care about our kids, we have no core values," said Schuler.

He said people showed three powerful traits, made especially clear following Hurricane Katrina: denial, reaction instead of proaction and failure to accept responsibility.

Those factors, said Schuler, bring home the danger facing the wine business, tourism and the quality of life in Napa County. He said Napa is in a crisis mode but still has the ability to save all three, getting in several plugs to expand light rail service up and down the valley, thus taking pressure off expanding highways.

Schuler said the Napa Valley has much in common with two other famous valleys, Hollywood and Silicon Valley. "They all have geeks -- wine geeks, movie geeks and computer geeks," and their consumers all go for brand names and convenience.

Like the local Conference and Visitors Bureau, Schuler warned that Sonoma County, the Central Coast and even Australia are making direct reference to Napa in their PR campaigns. "Like Napa -- but without the attitude," "Wines as good as Napa's, but under $25," and "Napa without the traffic," are showing up in ad campaigns.

The day-long economic summit was co-hosted by the Napa County Economic Development Corporation. Along with the CVB, it has been pushing to get greater public participation in ongoing marketing efforts, and the county appears poised to commit funds raised through the recently hiked hotel tax.

Schuler even got in a good word for weddings at wineries which will be heard by the county's planning commission this week. "We can have the best of all worlds," he said, "if we care about our consumers."

"The best way to protect the future," said Schuler, "is to invent it."