Whisky “Travellers”

When our family started in the licensed trade well over 70 years ago, one of the weekly events was the visit to our pubs from the various whisky company “travellers”. In today’s parlance I am referring to “B.D.E.’s”, which stands for “Business Development Executives” – or “Sales Reps.”, to use a more widely known title.

Back in the day, the whisky travellers were encouraged by their bosses to spend quality time with the publican when they called on them. They invariably discussed local and national news at length, got to know about their family, maybe enjoyed a smoke together and of course, bought a “hauf” of their brand for the licensee. They nearly always got an order for their whisky from the publican at each visit.

I recall visiting some of our family pubs as a wee boy in the 1960’s and being mesmerised by all the different branded items both on and behind the bar that the distillers and brewers produced to try and persuade the consumer to buy their brands. In terms of whisky items, there wasn’t as much malt whisky point of sale as there were blended whisky items. The malt whisky pieces tended to be more expensively produced and therefore, rarer.

Amongst such marketing items were Glenmorangie malt shovels, Dalmore antlers, Babycham Deer, Martell Brandy figurines, “Black and White” Whisky dogs (with spooky electronic flashing eyes!), Bowmore “wonky” bottles, colourful and quirky water jugs and various ashtrays all branded up with marketing messages like “Don’t be Vague, ask for Haig” and Bell’s Whisky’s “Afore ye go”. Black & White Whisky Dogs

Back then, pubs were awash with all these marketing materials. Over the years the marketing emphasis has switched from in pub materials, to T.V. advertising, billboard advertising, sponsorship of large sporting events and more recently, digital routes using social media sites and “apps” to convey messages and “calls to action” for the drinkers of today.

I am all for change, but I can’t help think that if today’s “B.D.E.” visited pubs with a nod to the old whisky travellers and left their i-pads in their cars, discussed wider issues with their customers (rather than their latest “brown spirit” promotion designed to recruit “young adult drinkers”) and presented a human face to the licensees, then they may have more success selling in their products and the licensee would maybe be more minded to push and promote their brands to his / her customers.

Recently, a publican friend told me of a visit from a B.D.E. who pulled out his i-pad and set a test for the publican to see how well he knew his own business. The results were to be analysed back at head office so the company could better understand where the customer needed “assistance” in managing his business. The publican had been in the licensed trade longer than the B.D.E. had been on this earth. The B.D.E. was subsequently evicted from the premises with the test not started and all their products were instantly delisted from that particular bar.

In today’s digital society, I think too many business relationships that were grown from meaningful interactive discourse are now conducted almost solely via e-mail. Once an individual in a big company doesn’t perform, you’ll likely be getting an e-mail with a different name at the bottom of it; the name of your new B.D.E.

Enough of lamenting the good old fashioned days from me…… now back to selling malt whisky online!