Episode 042: Crafting Successful Events to Match Successful Beers

Amanda Zivkovic

This episode is about driving traffic – butts in barstools.

Specifically, the use of events in creating a compelling reason to come and visit.

We are getting the perspective on this from two different breweries.

Amanda Zivkovic is the Associate Brand Manager at Heavy Seas in Baltimore, MD. She assists in consumer promotion, tap room events and charity initiatives among other things.

Our other guest is Amanda Martin with Walking Tree Brewery in Vero Beach, FL. Amanda is the Event Coordinator & Tasting Room Manager and one of the original team members of the Walking Tree Crew. She has been an integral part of developing the brewery as a highly sought-after event venue.

Amanda Martin

Specific Duties for Event Coordinators

Event coordinators have a huge challenge, they are the point of contact for all kinds of events ranging from private parties to block parties to nightly events. They must market, promote, and be there the day of to handle issues and engage with the community. Keeping business steady is the core at all of this, which can be difficult in towns where business can be seasonal.

When people come to the tap room space or see your beer at a festival, is your brand identity loud and clear? First impressions are lasting ones.

Stress management is one of the keys for an event coordinator. Keeping a smile during a hectic event ensures that the face of the brand keeps it cool, so even if things are falling apart, it’s the coordinator’s job to keep the ship sailing.

Event Ideas

One of the key components to a successful event is making sure that the brewery staff is excited about it. The staff needs to understand why the event is happening, so they can sell it.

Customers love knowing that they are helping out with specific causes. It helps to frame charity events, for example: “$1 of every beer you buy goes to this cause”. People connect better when they have a more specific idea of their personal contribution to these events.

Unique events work well. Heavy Seas held a Groundhog’s Day event where the beer started at $3 dollars, and they watched the movie “Groundhog’s Day” with Bill Murray on repeat. Every hour the price went up a dollar. This worked because people love Bill Murray and the theme of the event ties directly into the movie.

Promoting & Measuring

The Instagram Stories feature can be uses as an event promotion tool. To measure the success of these events of course looking at sales is one way to find out. Also, feedback from taproom staff is crucial. Looking at who came is important – was the event just composed of regulars, or were there more people there as well? Running email surveys about the events have shown what ticks people off and what will keep them coming back to future events.