The evolution of the 2020 ambassador: Georgie Mann, Bacardi Martini

Never did we imagine a time when brand ambassadors would be grounded and kept out of the bars they frequent. When coronavirus set the bar industry (and the world) on fire, brand ambassadors, like their bar industry brethren, had to come up with new ways to stay relevant. We all want to be here on the flipside of this, so how does that look? In our September issue, we asked nine of our industry’s brand ambassadors to talk about how their lives have changed since coronavirus.

We are going to run each interview separately over the coming days but here is the first of our 2020 brand ambassador interviews with Georgie Mann from Bacardi Martini.

Georgie Mann – Brand Ambassador, Bacardi Martini

This year has thrown a massive curve ball at everyone in our industry, and the world; how have brand ambassadors maintained their relevance?
We adapted and went digital. That looked different for every BA but we all had the same goal of helping the industry we care for. We hosted #RAISEYOURSPIRITS sessions delivering a variety of content including updates on the current situation with an expert in the field assisting – such as a financial analyst to dissect government support packages. We also purchased vouchers from venues around the country and gifted them to hospo. Bacardi Daiquiri Day Speed Comp challenged bartenders to their Bacardi knowledge with prize packs handed out to those successful into Round 2 where bartenders were then challenged to show us what the Bacardi hashtag of #DoWhatMovesYou means to them. The content was so bloody good! Now in Lockdown 2.0 I’m about to kick off a virtual whisky club ‘Whisky without the Risk-y’ for Melbourne and Tasmanian bartenders. Posting out samples and bringing together a community once a week to chat and enjoy some tasty drams.

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Georgie hosting a Grey Goose face-to-face event in 2019

In your role specifically, what do you miss the most about life before COVID?
I miss being on the road. Being stuck in my kitchen-office takes its toll! I don’t think I’ve ever had this much order in my life or allowed myself to slow down like this which has been nice… but now give me back the 6am flights, the back-to-back events, the daiquiris and the good times.

It has been said that this pandemic will change the hospitality industry forever. Do you agree with this or not? Explain.
As much as I’m over hearing ‘New-Normal’ and ‘Covid-Normal’ I do agree… businesses from both sides of the industry need to be more agile to survive and eventually thrive. Regulations on licenses will be one to watch also to see if take away can continue – we might see this becoming standard in a venue’s offering.

What are your hopes for 2021?
Martinis, daiquiris, champagne, oysters, and a healthy agile industry. We had some really exciting things planned for 2020 and I can’t wait to bring these to life next year.