WordonTheStreetwith ouramazingteamof BrandAmbassadors IndustryInterviews: JoeStokoe&DanilNevsky. Howtocreateameaningful collaboration THECOLLABORATIONISSUE GEMBAinAustralia, France&UK TheCollabWishlist: TheWorld'sTop 20Bars
Consultant, The Blend Global
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Manager, The Blend Global ROOTS Editor & Writer
Rebekkah Dooley
ROOTS
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Meimi Sánchez
Senior Manager, The Blend Global ROOTS Editor & Writer
Collaboration is key in building strong stakeholder relationships which allows organisations, teams and individual employees to support each other and thrive! And it all starts with building, fostering and cultivating an inclusive, collaborative environment. In this edition we wanted to understand how this is applied to the trade within our industry so we know better how to set up our brands for success !
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ROOTS Chief Editor
Danil Nevsky Joe Stokoe
Globe wanderer and founder of Indie Bartender, Danil has over 15 years of experience in the industry. From bartender to consultant, Danil is among the Top 100 Most Influential in hospitality. Ambitious, unfiltered & always interested in pushing the limit, his main goal is to provide independent meaningful marketing solutions for spirit brands and empower the bartenders worldwide through highly followed seminars and open source solutions.
In 2002 Joe moved to London looking for opportunities. Although bartending wasn't his career plan, he started at the iconic Milk & Honey alongside industry legends. Constantly learning and enjoying what the hospitality industry had to offer he never left it. From Trailer Happiness to The Box and other acclaimed venues, he finally launched his successful consulting and event company Heads Hearts and Tails ten years later, in 2012.
Q: WHAT HAS CHANGED IN YOUR APPROACH TO BRAND COLLABORATIONS FROM WHEN
WERE A BARTENDER TO NOW BEING A CONSULTANT?
JOE: Bartending collaborations were more of a short-term decision, influenced by the creation of a new menu or a cocktail competition. As consultants, we are more concerned about the longevity of the partnership and how we can both benefit each other. We are mindful that we can’t work with everyone and competitive brands may be a conflict of interest.
DANIL: Bartenders & brands are part of a whole also known as the bar industry. BAs are ex bartenders, brand managers are ex BAs, and even certain brand owners started their journey originally in a bar. There’s no such thing as back then & back now. It’s just a constant flow of ever-changing time. What has changed isn’t in my approach but simply the times have changed as well as the investments and accountability. During my time as a bartender (2008 2016), my entire brand collaboration came in the form of free stock, training, competitions, brand trips, and Bar Shows. Today, I call myself an ‘Independent Bartender’ a term inspired by Indie Music & the desire to have ‘freedom’ of creativity in the bar industry. I treat myself as a brand. My company is my ‘brand manager’ & I write a brand plan for myself annually with KPIs & a full budget. Then I simply finance it. My approach hasn’t changed. Just like when I was learning how to bartend. Learn the recipes, learn the terminology & practice. The recipes are now KPIs, the terminology is knowing that it means Key Performance Indicators & the practice is setting them & executing them to achieve them.
YOU
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