Beam Suntory identified a need to improve its approach to activating brands in the on-premise. Fundamentally there was a requirement to better educate their insight and marketing teams around the world about the unique dynamics of the on-premise environment, to then enable them to make better commercial decisions.

Barfly was brought on to lead that re-education, through a five-city Deep Dive and Consumer Intercept package in London, Barcelona, Moscow, Sydney and Tokyo. Hours of filmed street-level interviews with bartenders, bar owners and consumers were condensed into twenty stand-alone chapters, each providing filmed learning with accompanying conclusions, recommendations and creative thought-starters on each subject.

Topics covered how to secure bartender recommendations, winning in drinks menus, developing optimal advocacy programmes, creating commercial point of sale strategies and how to craft dynamic drinks strategies, amongst many others.

The excellence guide is now a mainstay of the business’ global approach to the on-premise, leveraged around the world in all of its key markets.