Amaro Montenegro

Challenge

Amaro Montenegro is an established Italian brand that has become a favorite of the hospitality industry. When the brand learned of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry that had shown them such support, they knew that they needed to do something to help.

First, they made an immediate monetary donation to the USBG Bartender Emergency Assistance Program in the amount of $10,000. To qualify, applications would need to be reviewed before grants would be awarded. Recognizing that out-of-work individuals needed help immediately, Amaro Montenegro sought a plan to make an additional monetary impact in real time.

Insights

Typically, when brands run campaigns, they may hire influencers to raise awareness and amplify the reach of their message; these influencers are selected for their influence and/or the content that they produce. Influencers are paid for their involvement, content and influence. Historically, spirit brands have been hesitant to enter into paid partnerships or endorsements with working bartenders due to favoritism concerns in our three-tier system.

In March, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the shutdown of bars and restaurants nationwide. In April, Business Insider estimated that 8 million restaurant workers are now unemployed as a result of the pandemic.

With an astounding number of the workforce unemployed, these former hospitality employees are now eligible to partner with spirit brands. As a result, beverage alcohol companies have a unique opportunity to hire non-working bartenders as influencers, for which payment can be made directly to the individual.

Solution

Amaro Montenegro hired Ford Media Lab to ideate and implement a campaign designed to raise awareness for the USBG Bartender Emergency Assistance Program while directly supporting members of the trade community in real time.

The Campaign: For every use of the hashtag #MonteForGood, Amaro Montenegro pledged to donate $5 to the USBG Bartender Emergency Assistance Program.

The Mechanism: FML captured a striking image of iconic Amaro Montenegro glasses for use in the campaign, and a landing page was created to house the terms, offer more information, and provide resources to those affected. Additionally, the campaign image was available as a free download in various sizes for sharing across social media platforms.

The Influencers: To promote the charitable initiative, 200 non-working trade would be hired to share the image and a call to action to encourage others to share. As compensation, each trade influencer would receive $200, paid within 48 hours of posting. The influencers were not selected by the brand; influencers would nominate each other to spread the reach nationwide to those in need.

Results

3,600+ shares and hashtag uses of #MonteForGood to raise awareness and support for the hospitality industry, generating a participatory charitable donation in the amount of $18,000.
In total, $28,000 in charitable donations awarded by Amaro Montenegro to the USBG Bartender Emergency Assistance Program.
$40,000 paid directly to 200 non-working trade members across 29 states (including Puerto Rico), with a combined Instagram following of 240,000+ and an estimated hyper-targeted reach of 86,000+ people with a $.47 cost per goodwill result.