065 | Nicola Olianas | The Advocacy Journey to Become the Bartender's Handshake | Fernet Branca & Carpano Antica Formula

Show Notes

Episode Deep-Dive Analysis Available at maffeodrinks.com 

In episode 65, I discussed with Nicola Olianas the importance of creating demand and building advocacy.

We dive into Fernet Branca coin's role in connecting bartenders globally. Nicola explains its origins, rules, and traditions and how it became a crucial symbol in the bartending community.

Nicola also covers brand advocacy, Fernet Branca's passionate culture, and maintaining brand authenticity and loyalty. He highlights the importance of building a brand that is respected by competitors and becoming an aggregator of industry people and consumers.

I hope you will enjoy our chat. Nicola Olianas is the Global Export Head of Advocacy and Ambassadors at Fratelli Branca, working with brands such as Fernet Branca, Carpano Vermouth, Antica Formula, and Punt e Mes.

Time Stamps

00:00 Introduction to the Maffeo Drinks Podcast

00:10 Exploring Fernet Branca's Global Connection

00:43 The Taste Profile and Brand Consistency

02:50 The Significance of Fernet Branca's Coin

03:55 Building Brand Respect and Longevity

09:57 The Italian Excellence and Global Expansion

12:46 The Mission and Passion Behind Fernet Branca

20:08 The Fernet Branca Coin Challenge

27:08 How to Connect with Nicola and Final Thoughts

Interested in Group Subscriptions, Keynote Presentations or Advisory? You can get in touch at [e-mail] or find out more at maffeodrinks.com 

Creators and Guests

Host

Chris Maffeo

Drinks Leadership Advisor | Bridging Bottom-Up Reality & Top-Down Expectations

Guest

Nicola Olianas

Global Head of Advocacy | Fernet Branca | Carpano | Antica Formula

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Welcome to the Maffeur Drinks
podcast.

I'm your host Chris Maffeo.
In episode 65, I discussed with

Nicole Oleana's the importance
of creating demand and building

advocacy.
We dive into Fernette Branca's

coins role in connecting
bartenders globally.

Nicola explained its origins,
rules and traditions and how it

became a key symbol in the
bartending community.

Nicola also covers brand
advocacy, Fernette Branca's

passion, culture and the
importance of maintaining brand

authenticity and loyalty.
He highlights the importance of

building a brand that is
respected also by competitors,

becoming an aggregator of
industry, people and consumers

alike.
I hope you will enjoy our chat.

One last thing, if you enjoyed
this podcast, you will also like

the Mafair Drinks Guides.
You can subscribe free or paid

on mafairdrinks.com.
I, I, I love the story and, and

especially because it's like,
it's, it's, it's about taste

profile, you know, because there
is this, you know, it's

inclusive, but there's also this
exclusivity element that is

like, either you like it or you
don't like it or you learn to

like it.
You know, if you want to blend

in in this community and that
becomes the kind of like the

entry barrier now, because it's
like it's not for everyone, but

it's for people who know, you
know, you know, it's welcoming,

but also as a taste, it's is non
welcoming now.

So it's, it's a funny, it's a
little bit counterintuitive now,

because when I, when I give it
to someone, I always have a

bottle.
I even have it here in in the

back and you know, it's
everybody's like, wow, this is

really bitter.
You know, it's a little bit like

I use it as an example like like
like with spicy food.

No, you fight against it, but
then you also go back to it now,

because there is that element
that is like, no, but I need, I

need to try it again, you know,
like I need to taste it again,

but then also like the.
This way educate your.

Educate your say you educate
your palate.

No, but then also like in the
story, because I'm always

talking of, you know, with
drinks builders about, you know,

building brands and building
things.

And it's also like an A story
about consistency.

You know, you know, presence in
the back bar, you know, like

these bottles have been there
either, you know, for many years

or for many months, or, you
know, there is a story of

availability created that, you
know, because you can do that

kind of, you can reach the level
of bartenders and shake to me,

if you are widely distributed,
because then if you are not, you

know, then I would go to a bar,
ask for a, for a shot of

Fernette Branca.
And then they will be like, I, I

don't have it.
You know, I, I feel that some

brands rush a little bit on to
that, you know, like they take

that as an example, but then
they cannot really make it

happen now because they lack the
availability.

But then also like the story of
longevity and consistency.

You know, I love I love that,
you know, those things that you

mention and tell us, like the
story about the the the coin,

you know, like because that's
also interlink with the

bartenders and Shay, right.
Well, the coin is something

amazing.
First of all, you don't ask for

the coin.
Let me give you the first rule

guys.
The when the time is come, when

the time comes, you will get it,
but don't ask for it.

Be present, stay tuned.
Be aware that every time there

is a Bronco event, there were
some there will be some coins

around.
Every time there's a Bronco

ambassador will be some coin
around that you might get lucky

or you beat by yourself at that
bar sipping from the Bronco, you

step, you see me stepping in and
I got you have in front of

Bronco by yourself.
That may be a moment that is the

cause because I call them
further coin moments when you

make your choice on your own
time.

No, because somebody tell you to
all because you want to drive

attention to yourself because
you made a choice.

I'll go back to the coin in a
second.

I would wrap it up on what you
say to before.

Every time I explain for the
Branca to peoples, I always have

to the three die type of people
in front of me.

I have people that they love for
the Branca and after I explain

better to them what is been a
Branca, they understand why they

love her and it's fantastic
because then you understand why

you then you have people that
didn't like son of Branca.

Well, I'm kind of good on
convincing them and they after

they taste it, after they
explain why it's for the

broncha, they understand why
they like.

So they understand and they like
for the bronch.

OK, Then you have people that
drink for the broncha.

They don't like for the broncha
after the explanation, after the

tasting, they're still don't
like from the broncha, but

they're respected.
And that is fantastic because no

matter what, every time you're
going to talk about my brand,

every time you're going to hold
the bottom of your head, the

wording that you choose to
describe a product would be a

totally different for the one.
We're using this because you

respect the brain.
You know what is behind the

bottle, you know what is behind
the product.

This is what we want to achieve.
Being the bartender handshake is

something that you are achieved
when you are every day,

everywhere.
This is my mantra.

My aim is that everybody, every
bar should have both of them

bracket and today fortunately,
no bar opens without having an

assortment, certain product and
one of those is from the

bracket.
You cannot open a cocktail bar

and not having a friend of
bracket, bracket maintained

assortment because those are the
pillar of that serving industry.

You have to have it and that is
the thing that you achieve with

many, many years.
So you can be cool.

You try to be the bartender
choice, you know, but you have

to become a category.
Rum is a bartender choice is the

choice of the hospitality.
Tequila is a, is a science of

like industry, you know, but Sir
the Branca is the bartender.

So the category and the brand
all together and then everybody

within the Takata, what is
fighting?

Everybody within the tequila is
fighting, everybody within the

rhyme is fighting, you know, and
they want people creating new

products and they try to achieve
that.

But you know, it takes time.
You know, I always make an

example when I see company doing
that.

They look cute.
They look very cute.

They make like my my son.
That is try to do things.

They're adults do it.
It looks cute.

I'm I'm pushing him to do it.
I'm helping him to do it.

You know to to be like in a
certain way, of course, to be

polite and then cutting the
things with your knives and

forks, doing like things of the
adult do it or you look cute.

But many, many brand owners
struggle in understanding is

that a lot of these successful
brands, like the ones you work

with, you know, they've been
there forever, you know, like

they.
They're not shortcut in this

industry.
They're not shortcuts.

If you have money, you can buy
liters or you cannot buy and

acquire that position in
people's minds.

That takes time, takes so much
time and effort and sacrifice

because you always fighting with
yourself to do shortcuts, obtain

shortcuts and most of the time
those shortcuts lead to having a

poor product at the end.
I saw a quote today I was

reading and it was like
everybody looks for a for a

shortcut but the only shortcut
is patience.

This is the hardest thing to
understand.

And also like there is, you
know, there is elements of we

need to finish the, the, the
thing about the coin.

But there is an element also
about, you know, like the

presence, you know, like the
wide availability, like Fernet,

what Fernet Branc has done for
me as an Italian.

I mean, I've never worked for
the brand.

They own a space in Italian
culture, in Italian in, in the

Italianity, so to say.
And then they use that to seed

into countries where Italians
went, you know, back in the

days.
I mean, Argentina is the best

example, United States, all the
countries with a lot of like

Italian immigration.
And those things create the kind

of like the fertile ground now
on which then you can build this

thing.
Because there wouldn't be any

handshake or any trend or any
coin for me if it wasn't for a

super wide availability of this
product, you know?

And this is what people struggle
to understand that they want to

become hit by being in, you
know, 50 bars or 100 bars, but

you cannot do it because you
know, like you don't have the

ubiquity of, of that product.
You know, like to, to really

build on something when people
talk about going viral on

Instagram and and so on, you
know, you need to, to build a

foundation that maybe one post
will go viral, but you cannot

just post, you know, on
Instagram hoping to get viral.

Maybe you go viral, but then
they go back to your profile and

they see you've got three photos
and then they they will never

follow you, you know, so it's
like you need to reassure people

about, you know, it's something
that it's there and it's there

to stay, let's say now.
Any company can choose their own

strategy to reach whatever they
want to reach.

This company have one major
thing on their side which is

time.
Time is in our side on this

market of course can serve your
surprises.

You would not expect to have
some story of success of things

that are very successful today.
And let's see in 20 years time,

let's see in 30 years time when
maybe I won't be here anymore,

you know who knows whatever
happened, let's not forget that

this company we had seven
production sites all over the

world.
We don't have only have Milano

in Argentina, used to have them
two in the US, one in New York

and Rebecca, the other one in
San Francisco.

Yes, we used to have a
production site in Chiasco, one

in France, one in Germany.
So we were producing the Branca

everywhere.
So of, of being Italian was not

only the thing of course that we
were, we are proud of, we are

from Milan or the company's from
Milan or we are Italian, but

what we were promoting was not
being Italian just like as a

label, like as a brand by
promoting the fat Italian that

made in Italy that were promoted
the Super fat Italian, the

Italian ES a chalence Italian,
Italian excellence, which is

something that characterized
only certain products that are

from it.
You know, today Italian

excellence is only related to
Italian, that's it.

There have no other places in
the world that can have the same

claim for some products and
there are other countries that

can claim for other
characteristics of being made in

a specific area for whatever,
OK, not say that we are the only

one buying the excellence.
It's only Italian accents that

kind of identify.
And so this is what we are

exporting.
Of course, we were exporting

because Italian recognized on
our products like the high

quality, they were looking like
a remedy, something they were

drinking for many purposes.
So they are Italians in America

wanted to drink from abroad,
Italians in Argentina wanted to

drink from it.
So we have to make the product

available also for we had what's
exporting.

But there was also the pride of
the founder of the company that

wanted to expand Sony bracket
everywhere because they were so

secure, so proud of the product.
They wanted everybody to try.

They knew that uniqueness of
this liquid would conquer many

other consumer rather than just
the Italian.

So that's why they start going
everywhere.

You know, like an honestly like
a mission.

I, I was reading like old
letters of our sales guys back

in 1800, writing back to their
family because they were missing

for eight months, nine months
traveling all over the world and

was like, you could tell we're
not just on a business trip.

There were there on a mission
centered by this family.

Honestly, today we, this is what
we do because no matter what,

although I mean, I became like a
global here, a global there head

of advocacy.
It doesn't matter.

What I do every day is to crack
open a bottle from a branca and

getting people to.
Try them.

This is what I do.
This is what Niccolo Branca

called Niccolo Branca, the
president of this company does.

Every time he has an occasion,
no matter what, whether he's in

front of like a top manager of
whatever company or of us or

maybe a servant, he opens a
bottle from a Branca and say,

you try my product, try to try
like that.

I ever see what you're saying.
Everybody, this is what we do no

matter what.
And these people, this is what

we're doing.
Get people to try the liquid,

approach the bottle and share
the passion.

Sure.
This message.

And I think like what you're
saying is so interesting for me

because it brings us back to not
to be pushed by others.

You know, you to really focus on
ourselves, on what we love and

do it with real passion.
You make me think about, you

know, I have a portrait here of
my great uncle that he was a

Berzaliera, you know, he was a
marksman.

He died in and he was working
with my great grandfather and my

grandfather, you know, and they
were wholesalers.

They had the shop and, and it
was open for 100 years.

So this really touches my heart
because the business doesn't

exist anymore.
It didn't survive to the

previous, you know,
conversation.

But I got some letters of my my
great uncle after which my

father is named after by the
way.

And he was sending letters from
the front.

You know, he was in in the
trenches and he said like, you

know, we had an attack and I
survived this time.

They eventually was killed.
But he was always closing the

letters with a big kiss to Nonna
and stay high to my customers.

So imagine this guy who is
fighting for life, you know, in

the trenches on the Eastern
Front, you know, thinking about

of course about his Nana, about
his grandmother, but about his

customers that because what he
was feeling, what he had left

behind the family business that,
you know, can they cope without

me?
You know, like say hi to my

customers, my clients, you know,
and we're talking about letters

from 19161915.
So this is like what we still do

as, you know, business people,
but then sometimes we forget

about not that in, you know,
when we're fighting for the next

quarter and results.
You know, ultimately it's about

really caring for what we really
do know and, and being

passionate about it.
As you said, you know, you still

do.
You know, you open a bottle and

you make people dry.
No matter how many people

reporting to you, You know how
many flights you take, how many

countries you visited, how many
fancy parties and fancy suits

you have at all.
You know, that's what you do.

Because ultimately that's the
basic, the most basic thing, the

most unscalable things that we
should master.

Because it's still, when you do
it is like what, 10 people, 15

people, you know, trainings and
you still do them.

I do one to one.
If you ask me, I do one to one

or 304 hundred.
I've doesn't met because you

have.
We have to change the perception

of who are, who are the
customers, who us.

If it's just like somebody that
is, you know, we have to sell to

or if somebody that is
contributing to put food on the

food on the table of your son,
that changes every customer for

me.
Every consumer, every person

dreams on a Branca is pouring a
small part of the food on the

table of my son.
And this is how I approached my

job every day, no matter what,
no matter what, nobody, how many

people I'm still doing it
because that is a vital part of

my life and my I respect my
company because through my

company, I can't do that.
And ultimately the consumer,

everybody drinking because once
it more contributes to more

longevity of me being a father,
having a house and be able to

provide one customer more is one
person more as a person is going

to buy a bolt of the sort of
Branca is going to repeat their

acquisition three times per
year.

And it's more and more.
And I never get mad if I don't

see certain Branca in the bar or
in the restaurant.

I see as an opportunity to say,
OK, that's why I do it.

That makes me, you know, evolve
my thinking about advocacy

trainings as well because it's
like, you know, like either

people will basically continue
to drink from the Branca after

your training session or they
will start drinking or they will

continue not to drink it.
But now they will be aware of

why they're not drinking.
You know, they will not say

like, oh, I don't like it.
No, like I don't drink that

stuff.
You know, they will be

respectful in the way they
convey the message.

And basically all these three
options which are basically all

the 360° optional that you can
have are positive for you in the

end.
Because maybe next time they

will say no actually I will give
it a shot, you know, because

every even if I don't like it or
they will.

Actually.
Play into someone else that

doesn't drink it to drink it,
you know?

Yes.
It's not my son's.

I mean, my objective is to
switch him from I don't like it

to I don't understand it yet.
Yeah, for everything.

You know, I don't get it yet.
It's not that.

It's not for me.
I don't like.

I'm never going to do it.
I don't get it yet.

I don't.
It might be another time.

And this is a great achievement.
You know, you're maturing,

you're evolving as a worker, a
working.

You either bring the
contribution on a small scale,

of course, on everything that
you do.

Otherwise there's no point.
How I managed to do it for 15

years because Chris, I've been
doing it for 15 years.

Exactly the same things, exactly
the same thing.

So I'm like, all right, OK, how
do we do it?

It's because it's an everyday,
because it's your it's your

mission, it's your job because
you have to replicate that.

You have to convince people it's
an everyday job.

And it's always different
because they're different

people.
But their object is always that,

you know, that's why I said
people, you know, when you

people want to do the brand
ambassador or they want to do

this job, I say, guys, guys, it
has its own benefit, of course,

because we live outside.
We get to see beautiful places

and travel everything.
But the job himself is that

every day the same, every day
the same.

And you can you have to be every
day the same before I expecting

you to be the same way you were
like ten, 5-6 months ago, 10

years ago, doesn't matter.
So it's an everyday job.

There's no.
It's not that easy.

And then you have to believe in
your brand and you have to know

every aspect of it.
I love it, I love it.

So let's I'm aware of your time.
So let's just wrap it up with

like I think we owe an answer
to, you know how the.

Coins.
Out of the coin works in

practice.
We should have another podcast

only on that will be fantastic.
Now coins from Rocket coins,

this risk, right?
This.

So Branca coins physically were
born, I would say around 2003 or

4.
No, I don't recall properly

because there's no memory on
that.

That were created by an idea of
two people working for Branca.

It was like a sales Rep working
for our distributors that at the

time was in Phillium in the West
Coast over the US.

He was working in Nevada.
He was the resident for Las

Vegas.
Plus one of our Ferner Branca

portfolio manager worked for us
in the century.

So there were like many ideas,
many brainstorm that leads to

that calling that we have today
and they were connected

together.
First of all, they need

something that officialized
bartenders to be really part of

this network of bartenders that
love for the BRA because

everybody was into for the
Branca.

Yes, I do shots.
I know the people fall from the

Branca.
I've been there.

I know the reps I know
everything.

I have the connection.
So they need something that made

that thing official.
OK.

Also they want to have something
that was always present in the

bartender's life, everyday life
or was not like AT shirt that

you have to take it off and wash
it.

No hat because maybe the hat
doesn't see you of socks,

whatever.
So they want something that you

would keep always meet you and
then you can feel it every time.

And in Vegas, both bartenders
and people always have in their

hand is a chip from the casting,
whether you're a customer of the

casino or you are a bartender
works in the casino because you

get tipped with the coin with
the chill.

Yeah.
So they came up with this idea

of creating something that was a
certain Branca coin that it was

given to bartenders only
selected bartenders and the

bartenders could keep always in
their pockets as like, OK, I

give it to you, but now you keep
it and have it like there as a

memory.
So you put your hands in your

pocket.
You feel it, You feel from the

broad.
Also there was something that

connects people even with don't
know each other.

So like showing the coin on the
bar top of another bartender

bars kind of like make a
straight connections.

Ah, you are bartender.
How did you get a coin?

I admit Chris, then they'll tell
you get to me.

I know I got mine because recall
give it to me, blah blah, blah.

That connection connection and
that bringing people together

even if they don't know each
other.

Then we create a coin rules.
OK, so Ferraga came with this

coins and then the coin where
like the first coin was actually

the front of Branca Lobo, as we
know bracket the globe and

behind the back was the 777 of
the slot machine typical like

fish of fantastic.
Then of course like creativity

started, you know because they
would they make the 2nd and then

San Francisco made the coin, New
York started making coins,

Atlanta make the coin and then
Washington started making the

coin and then Texas started
making the coin.

Every States government.
I joined the company in 2010.

I saw the coin, I said this is a
fantastic idea and I took the

coin rugby to Europe.
So I started making a coin in

2011 in Europe with a Sweden,
Norway, and now we have

everywhere the other thing we
created for the blackout coin

rules.
So every time I give you a coin,

you sure you receive some coin
rules that explain what you

should do with a coin.
So always keep it with you.

If asked to present the coin,
you will always have to have a

coin in your pocket with you.
Otherwise you have to pay me a

shot.
So if I give you the coin and I

come back to your bars and I put
my point down and you don't have

your point because you left it
at home, you left in your

wardrobe.
OK, coin, give me a shot.

Because you always ask to have
the coin with part of the rule.

You cannot make a whole little
coin.

You cannot modify the coin, You
cannot sell the coin, you cannot

buy the coin.
So there are some rules.

And then there's a child calling
challenge game, the challenge

game, the challenge coin,
because this coin actually

called challenge coin.
Every military group in the US

where there are fire workers or
firefighters or Aeronautica,

whatever, all the different
groups, Rangers, marshals, every

group has its own coin
periodically produced for a

specific year or for a specific
group that were doing the

specific year, whatever the
other producer.

So they are given to me, OK.
And so when these people meet at

the bar and they are off duty,
of course, maybe they'll start

telling, OK, I belong to that
specific group.

I've done this mission.
And so the other guy said, I

really, OK, prove it to me.
Do you have the coin?

If you don't have the coin means
you are lying, means that you

have to pay as a shot someday.
I also started calling Charlie's

Rules.
So everybody has a coin.

When we go to coin, all their
parties, when we go to industry

bars and thereby start say,
yeah, I got a coin.

They give it to me.
I really let's have a shot of

our night.
If that guy doesn't have a coin

because he was lying, he has to
pay and then of course you don't

want to punish him.
That is a way of OK, instead of

a coin.
I introduce it to people.

Come to the next event.
You might going to get a coin

Where is your bar where you come
from?

You have for the Branca Coptons
in the menu.

Do a do people drink for the
Branca and they say Oh yes, how

to my bar all my stomach shut
off in the Branca.

We all love for the Branca.
Then I go and visit them and I

say I make sure that it's true
and there's actually mostly is

100 times out 10 out of 10 is
true.

The love on the branca.
So that is the moment that I say

OK, I'm happy, very happy to
know you guys.

I have every epic know this farm
after you should deserve a coin

because I want to be the
ambassador for the Branca in

this specific area that I did it
and that's.

I love it.
I love it.

That's a really great story
because I heard many, many

different theories about it, so
I thought it would be a good one

to have on this episode and I
guess that it would be clearer

for many, for many people.
I think it was clear and.

Remember, don't ask for the coin
like just to.

Approach, you guys, yes, If you
were waiting two years for the

coin and you asked me for a
coin, most, most probably gonna

wait for two years.
I'm sorry it resets the.

Yeah, I reset the timer.
I found like sometimes I really

did.
With pleasure, a little guilty

pleasure to say.
I'm sorry.

You should not ask for calling.
Thanks so much, Nicola.

Tell us, how can people find
you?

Reach out to you.
The best way to reach me, reach

for me is come to me Donald #2
this is where we have the

factory, that's where we have
the museum that I invite

everybody to visit and it's when
I live.

Also, my apartment is within the
production site.

My house is within the Branca
Museum, so I live there.

I smell from a Branca every day.
Otherwise, I'm always traveling.

So keep to on Instagram, on
Facebook so you can actually see

where it's made program.
On Facebook I'm Nicole Oleanas

and then Instagram, I'm Nicole
Oleanas.

So you will see like a guy with
a beer and from the Branca

sunglasses that's me.
Send me a message.

Any question you have about our
product, a events or POS patio

Buddhists just doesn't matter
where you are in the world.

We have a person representative
from the Branca.

I have finally an ambassador
almost everywhere in the world.

So I have somebody that's my
alter ego everywhere in the

world.
So content to him is like

contacting me.
Reach out just to say hello.

I would much appreciate.
Fantastic.

Thank you.
Thank you so much, Nikola.

This has been a super
interesting conversation.

Now, thank you, thank you,
fantastic.

Thank you for the opportunity
and bye.

I want to say hello to everybody
listening to this podcast and I

hope it was clear enough.
Sometimes I get like drive by my

passion and hope it was clear.
Thank you.

OK.
That's all for today.

Remember that this is a twoart
Eisode 64 and 65 S Feel free to

listen to that as well.
One last thing, if you enjoy

this podcast, you will also like
the Mather Drinks Guides.

You can subscribe free or aid on
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