As bars and restaurants shut their doors in the wake of the pandemic, Havana Club tasked us with raising awareness of its Bar Entrepreneur Awards – a worldwide competition dedicated to celebrating the ambitious and talented bar revolutionaries who didn’t let a global crisis dampen their passion. Only in its second year, Havana Club wanted us to dial things up, putting the contest on the radar of the bar industry’s brightest sparks to drive future entries and make the brand standout amongst a sea of cocktail competitions.
With most countries in lockdown, we knew bar entrepreneurs and their teams were spending more time than ever on social media, keeping up to date with the latest news, learning from and supporting one another. With a big cash prize up for grabs and categories that recognised the industry’s un-shaken spirit, we knew Havana Club’s contest was well placed to pique the interest of those looking to reinvigorate their businesses when the world re-opened – we just had to make sure they knew about it.
This meant ensuring the Bar Entrepreneur Awards featured on the social media feeds of mixologists, baristas, managers and bar owners across the globe to build intrigue and create a following.
We partnered with some of the industry’s biggest names whose collective influence and authority stretches across the globe, including The Sprits Business, The Three Drinkers, Bar Chick and The Floating Rum Shack. We equipped them with a library of assets on each of the finalists and a watertight brief to share content in a month-long campaign leading up to the virtual final, hosted by world-renowned rum ambassador Ian Burrell.
The Tactics
Throughout the campaign we employed multiple tactics to amplify the contest. This included extending press invites to the online ceremony, strategically placed advertising, creating a digital press platform and, following the ceremony, amplifying the winner through press interviews and even a guest appearance on the popular Bring a Bottle Podcast.
