Off the back of our recent Barfly Musings release on Bartender Communities, it occurred to me to think about the topic a little more widely in terms of their role, scope and value.
You can watch the 3-minute Musing film here. The role of a bartending community is to bind them together professionally in ways that are useful both practically and emotionally. They network, share, personally develop and foster friendships that go beyond their commercial lives. Brands are welcome facilitators of these communities in return for being favoured and more likely to be advocated in one way or another.
That’s a straightforward and understood exchange and the value for brand owners that take the time and effort to promote bartender communities is evident in the premium cocktail forward estate internationally.
What if the scope was significantly broadened in size to include bartenders from within the more mainstream estate?
Think of it as a form of scaled activation. The brands that seek to engage bartenders may change, of course, and the messaging would be different, naturally. The actual means of engagement would need to change to something less personalised and individually targeted towards a more universal approach. The sheer scale of trying to create a community of bartenders across mid-market on trade accounts may be off-putting to all but the biggest of brands but the rewards could be significant once they are established as a true “friend of the trade”. Mutual benefit is the start point.
The value to bartenders at any skill or outlet level would be broadly similar. To genuinely add value, and stimulate change among participants, it’s important to ask the question of any brand-led activity “what’s in it for them?”. It may seem obvious but many brand activations overlook this simple question and expect the trade to switch brand allegiances for no real or meaningful reward.
There are 6 broad reward levers to consider for bartenders when designing programs of activity that involve them:
- Cash / income boost
- Make job easier / quicker
- Make them feel valued and appreciated
- Transferrable skills development
- Education and knowledge
- SWAG and simple merchandise
These can be adapted for trade management and consumers. They apply as much to the bartending communities of the world’s best bars as they do they do to dive bars, pubs, and casual restaurants on high streets and highways all over. Furthermore, pull numerous levers and the benefits go up, for all parties.
Setting up a bartending community doesn’t have to be an act of altruism; it shouldn’t be in fact. Bartending communities could provide the framework for developing brand advantage and personal gain at the same time and may well be worth considering beyond the scope of the cocktail driven community.
Written by: Matt Coles, Strategy Director