Toddy Tapper x TASCHEN, or The case For Pop-up Events
A little over two weeks ago, a good bar friend sent me this short video collage of the Toddy Tapper Bar here in Cologne. The content: Nicely designed promotional images for a Toddy Tapper x TASCHEN event, underpinned with matching, casual hip hop music, short (also quick to make) and stylish. It just doesn't seem as formal as some of the more elaborate, nighttime bar events with hype statements that immediately instill certain expectations, the 4pm start time conveying relaxed day-drinking. A topic recurring more and more in the mainstream media, being a good match for the even bigger Low-ABV hype.
My first reaction to the message from my friend: Wait a minute, a classy designed flagship store, bright and full of exciting coffee table books (of which there are clearly too many in my house), plus casual drinks from one of my favorite bars in town? Who got their hands on my belated Christmas wish list? And shortly thereafter: Finally a little bit of what you see much more often in the States, Paris or London with spontaneous, smaller collaborations and happenings.
But let's take half a step back, for those who don't know: What is TASCHEN? TASCHEN is a Cologne-based publishing house that is internationally known for its large-format coffee table books, i.e. large-format volumes covering the fields of art, culture, design, architecture and more. At the same time they are also popular because of their mini-volumes as a low-priced substitute at 15 Euro, as well as TASCHEN often found in corresponding bookstores with its smaller, narrow art volumes always focused on exactly one topic.
Its books can be found in large, high-priced department stores, concept stores, etc. all over the world, from NYC & Paris to East Asia. This publisher has opened a timelessly designed flagship store here in its hometown at the end of 2016 in a central location, on Neumarkt. In this location, same as their online shop, exactly two sales take place annually (summer/winter). TASCHEN employees who knew the Toddy Tapper approached the bar's owner, Indika Silva, and asked if there was any interest in combining a small event with one of the much-visited sale events. And so it happened, that on February 1st, on the first day of the big sale event, you could enter the store in the city and think to yourself, in my case: great books, good atmosphere and music, every second person already with a high-quality drink in their hand in the afternoon... that is what I've always imagined comes after the light, once the bell tolls.
The Toddy Tapper, a more than special bar with Asian (especially Sri Lanka, India, etc.) focus, will get its own full review on this page very soon. Here we will first state why all that you can see in the pictures makes sense and is promising:
It can be that simple. Of course, there is endless potential with the possible effort you want to put in, in the best case it should be scaled depending on the potential number of interested visitors. But it doesn't have to be that way, especially for smaller bars or a first try. Thanks to Covid, most bars now have bottled cocktails en masse anyway, so you don't necessarily need the special/signature event creations with a lot of creative investmen, that you're otherwise often familiar with. The Toddy Tapper, for example, already has a liquid library of over 20 bottled drinks and will soon be launching its own online store for this purpose. It's enough to bring a bunch of those fancy bottles for your first small scale events, solid glasses, preferably a nice looking but not too work-intensive decoration, pre-made and shelf-stable by the dozen in a few hours, as in the case of this event, and the most "conversational" staff member(s). Ideally, for 70-80% of the customers, this is already better than anything they've ever had in mixed drinks before and interest is piqued.
The synergy of similar customer groups. Once this interest has been aroused, the next step is of course to start the conversations. Depending on the location, this should not be too difficult, because the overlap with other hobbies and interests promises to be high. Similar to the selection criteria for social media advertising, "Who do you want to target, what interests should already be stated in the profile?" Foodies, friends of art and culture, people who also spend more on other consumer goods of good quality, be it fashion, design objects, etc. Such groups of people will directly have a lower threshold for interest in high-quality bars, but may not have actively visited them yet (or simply stayed with the first one).
Promotion twofold. Not only can you inspire the numerous visitors and drink testers of the event day or days to visit you bar. Even those who are still unsure about a first visit to a top bar or perhaps find no equally interested person to accompany them, can now supply themselves with the bottled drinks for home use, simpler and cheaper, with their favorite cocktails from that particular day.
The ideal in a modern metropolis: an important art exhibition in one of the major museums premieres? Pop-up bar with quickly printed special labels for their bottled cocktails. A cool, new concept store with fashion, design objects and/or interior is opening? Pop-up bar, followed by a direct placement of the bottles at the location, as virtually no concept store now doesn't have some alcohol in the form of gin, liqueurs or pre-mixed drinks. A high-quality department store celebrates a jubilee or other large event... I think the idea comes through.
Of course, the call or this "request" of a simple bar nerd is not only directed at the bars themselves, the interest of course must be expressed in most cases by those very locations, stores, etc. But bars (here in Germany) can implement and advertise a better way of easy contact for this than right now. These days financially intensive "full package" catering is advertised in most cases, often of course by bars, which would have no more interest in such "smaller" projects. For all others: Online, as well as on site in the bar, make it clear that you are open to cooperations, individually can also work on a small scale, especially if the chemistry with the interested locations is right.
Conclusion: Here's to more and more spontaneous bar pop-up events in new locations!
