Social distancing has forced the on-premise business into a state of paralysis. Festivals, music venues & watering holes have closed their doors. Bartenders and creatives everywhere are struggling to generate a living. And the entire nightlife industry feels helpless, concerned and isolated. The Jägermeister way is to lead by example and help creatives find their footing during difficult times. Our global #SavetheNight campaign offers both trade and creative communities’ access to the paid gigs, professional opportunities and social interactions they desperately need in order to push forward & continue creating the art we love. #savethenight serves as a dynamic activation platform designed to help the night life community who’ve been financially affected by the crisis and to create alternative experiences for our audience and fans to stay connected with the artists, creatives and bartenders they love during the pandemic.

When the pandemic hit the United States in Spring 2020, all nightlife had to shut down. This struggle grew even more pronounced for the few remaining Lesbian Bars in the United States. Lesbian Bars have been closing at staggering rates, dropping from over 200 in the 1980s to less than 20 in 2020. The pandemic threatened to bring this number down to zero. There are an estimated 8.5 million queer women living in the United States. The number of bars specifically for the queer women does not reflect the population it serves. The majority of the Lesbian Bars are queer women-owned and created in service of women and people of marginailzed genders, which already puts them at an economic disadvantage. They face a gendered wage gap, gentrification, assimilation, misogyny and discrimination. Lesbian Bars are safe spaces and exist in service of individuals to explore, celebrate and live out their authentic selves. Without space queer women lose power, validity, and intergenerational dialogue. The Lesbian Bar Project’s goal was to ensure these spaces not just survive but thrive in a post-pandemic environment.

Using the transportive nature of cinema and the urgency of a PSA, The Lesbian Bar Project created a 90-sec film and website that anchored the stories of the Lesbian Bars. Juxtaposing rarely seen archival with contemporary footage of New York based bar owners, the film transported audiences into these bars from both past and present. The tone balanced the nostalgia and wistfulness of the lost bars with the pulse and vigor to keep the remaining ones alive. The PSA was narrated by actor/comedian/cultural icon Lea DeLaria. Her narration emphasized the indelible sanctity of Lesbian bars and culminated into a call to action to save the cherished safe spaces. The PSA drove viewers to the website landing page. The website included information and testimonials on each bar, a map of the US denoting every Lesbian Bar, merchandise for purchase, and a donation pool fund that ran for 28 days.

The goal of the Lesbian Bar Project was to raise awareness to the disappearance of specifically Lesbian bars, to support these bars financially, and to create a website landing page connecting all the bars together for the first time in history. The target demographic was, but not limited to, queer women across the United States. According to studies by the Human Rights Campaign, 30% of the 8.5 million queer women living in the country have incomes above $100,000. At large, the LGBTQ community has $3.7 trillion in purchasing power. Tapping into that market was pivotal to The Lesbian Bar Project’s success. The campaign was shared through social media-friendly video cut-downs and assets, comprehensive PR strategy that implored queer-centric and business forward platforms, celebrity engagement and endorsement, and live events featuring notable queer women including Lea DeLaria, Roxane Gay, Rosie O’Donnell, and Cameron Esposito.

Conde Nast’s them.us premiered The Lesbian Bar Project campaign on October 25th, 2020 alongside Lea DeLaria who shared the PSA film across her social media platforms. Collectively, Lea has more than 1.5 million followers. Each of the participating bars shared the PSA film and website to their communities and followers. We collaborated with celebrity designer Kid Super and sold T-shirts that benefited the campaign. We produced two live events; a virtual round-table discussion with The Rockland Pride Center and a virtual comedy show with the popular lesbian-focused podcast, Dyking Out. The Rockland Pride Center event targeted the affluent Westchester suburbs with specific ticket prices that featured certain perks. The Dyking Out event utilized an egalitarian entry point, focusing on smaller grass-roots donations.

The Lesbian Bar Project had a substantial impact. We raised $117,504.50 in 28 days from the donation pool-fund, merchandise, and live events. Over the course of the 28 day campaign, the Lesbian Bar Project secured over 28 articles, receiving 287 million impressions. The publications included Billboard, The Hill, Forbes, NPR, The Smithsonian, Eater, Adweek, Adage, and Yahoo! We received over 5 million additional impressions across Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Checks totaling over $7 thousand dollars went out to the participating bars. The money was used to pay rent, staff, and to help the bars during their darkest winter yet. Ultimately, The Lesbian Bar Project ignited a movement to bring the much needed attention and protection to these cherished safe spaces.