The scramble for editorial has never been greater, owing to the reduced page numbers in the property sections – and newspapers as a whole – and journalists still on furlough due to COVID-19. However, Barratt London, our creative client sought to find a way to engage with the media whilst obeying social distancing guidelines. Together we arranged a virtual cocktail night at the Ridgeway Views development, in their brand new Malibu-style detached family home.

Working with a company called Liquid Chefs, local to the development, we put together a cocktail menu – including those with science-y element owing to the history of the site – and invited a hand-picked selection of journalists to the event.

On acceptance, we sent a hamper of goodies, with premeasured cocktail elements, garnish and of course a shaker… along with the all-important Zoom link! Milena who we worked with at Liquid Chefs, remarked that when she delivered the hamper to one of the guests their faces lit up with excitement – which is always nice to hear, when you’re organising an event such as this.

Maggie Bryant, Senior Sales Manager at Barratt London opened the night, her witty remarks about the new normal with a facemask with lipstick on and a hole for the straw, put everyone at ease and set the tone for a good evening ahead. She then handed over to the mixologist Callum, who guided everyone through the drinks talking through the background of the cocktail and the ingredients, with a chance to ask those critical questions about crushed ice vs. cubed!

We’ve had great feedback from attendees, who included; Zoe Dare Hall, Arabella Youens, Helen Crane, Deborah Stone, Andrea Dean and Victoria Brzezinski. Like all scientific risks, it was an experiment but it paid off!

Here’s to the next virtual event, do get in touch if you would like us to arrange something similar.