A former Diageo marketer has announced the launch of the Global Bartending Talent Agency – the first agency dedicated to influential bartenders around the world.
Dan Dove – who managed a team of brand ambassadors and ran the World Class bartending competition during his 10-year stint at Diageo – spent two-and-a-half years creating the agency.
Currently with 16 clients worldwide – and a plan to increase the talent pool to 20 by the end of the year – Dove says the agency can help bartenders grow their personal brands.
It will handle bookings, contract negotiations and payments and provide a liaison between brand owners and bartenders.
“The majority of bartenders that have worked their careers in bars do not have the marketing background of working for global drinks business,” he told Drinks International. “There was always that disconnect between the two, and that’s why Global Bartending exists.
“From a brand perspective, it was very complicated to understand what a brand ambassador or bartender is worth to a business. They are often undervalued. It’s no fault of anyone specifically. It’s just because their attributes are difficult to measure. I believe with my expertise in this area we can bridge the gap on behalf of both the brands and our talent.”
Dove told Drinks Int that having a global lens gives the company oversight of what brands are paying bartenders for specific campaigns or activities.
“We are then able to see where certain bartenders sit,” he said. “There is currently a real global inconsistency on rates paid to industry talent. There was no reason why they should or shouldn’t be doing that. We are seeing disjoined websites appearing from bartenders. Some of them are great on social media, and some lack that little bit of magic.”
Dove’s team has identified around 40 different skills, ranging from public seminars and competition judging to liquid development, food and drink pairing and health and wellness.
It will initially focus on bringing bartenders into consumers’ homes via digital platforms.
“That’s the easiest and most direct route,” says Dove. “We will also deliver experiences at people’s homes on behalf of a number of luxury drink brands, using the world’s best bartending talent and executing the event with Global Bartending’s event expertise.”
Dove says his ambition is for Global Bartending to “become the most trusted source for delivering the best bartending talent across the world”.
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