Advocacy at scale
One advocacy system across thirty markets.
From the Czech Republic to Kazakhstan, from Israel to Iceland.
30countries led
Advocacy & On-Trade Strategy · Central & Eastern Europe
I build the advocacy that makes bartenders, brand ambassadors and sales teams choose, recommend and sell your brands. Loukas Vergopoulos, 28 years at Diageo, Advocacy Manager for Eastern Europe across 30 countries.
Independent from 1 December 2026 · Based in Bucharest
Advocacy
Most people think advocacy is bartender training or Instagram posts. It is a lot more than that, and it touches every function of a company.
Advocacy is how strategy reaches the bar: bartenders, brand ambassadors and sales teams who recommend your brand because they understand it and believe in it. For 28 years, that has been my job.
Advocacy at scale
From the Czech Republic to Kazakhstan, from Israel to Iceland.
Community · World Class
A competition used as a platform to engage, inspire and educate the top tier of bartenders.
Iceland · Czech Republic · Hungary · Slovakia · Bulgaria · Romania · Lithuania · Latvia · Estonia · Ukraine · Israel · Kazakhstan
Education · Diageo Bar Academy
Run through a network of 40+ brand ambassadors I recruited, trained and led.
Iceland · Malta · Slovenia · Croatia · Czech Republic · Hungary · Slovakia · Serbia · Bulgaria · Romania · Lithuania · Latvia · Estonia · Ukraine · Cyprus · Israel · Georgia · Azerbaijan · Kazakhstan · Uzbekistan · Kyrgyzstan
Capability · On-Trade Masterclass
A programme I designed in 2018, recognised globally. Each square is one professional; the map shows the editions documented so far.
Ukraine 2018 · Croatia 2018 · Serbia 2019 · Bulgaria 2022 · Malta 2024
Services
Who you need on your side behind the bar, how you win them, and how you measure it against commercial goals.
Strategy, KPIs and measurement
Recruit, onboard, train and lead ambassadors whose work drives advocacy and sales. I built a team of 40+ in 21 countries.
BA model, hiring profile, onboarding
Bar academies, competitions and communities that engage the top tier of the trade, not just training counts.
Curriculum, competition format, community plan
The pillars, segmentation and standards (Blueprints / PICOS) that make a strategy survive contact with a real outlet.
Strategy, segmentation, standards
Deep on-trade training for sales and trade marketing teams, from the programme behind 420+ trained professionals.
Programme, sessions, certification
A repeatable activation framework and serve strategy that gives every below-the-line activity a purpose and a place.
Activation playbook, serve strategy
Who I work with
Spirits & drinks companies
Entering or scaling in CEE without a regional on-trade or advocacy backbone.
Independent brands
Listed but not moving, with no regional team to change that.
Bar & hospitality groups
Quality depends on who is on shift; supplier training does not stick.
Industry platforms & events
Eastern Europe and Central Asia are a blind spot; programmes need commercial grounding.
Ways of working
2–4 weeks
A focused diagnostic: one market, one question, one clear answer you can act on.
2–4 months
Design and build an advocacy programme, an ambassador network or execution standards, then hand it over.
Ongoing
A senior advocacy voice in the room every month, without the cost of a regional team.
Next step
Your market, your outlets, what is getting in the way. Then a short written diagnostic and, if it fits, a proposal. If I am not the right person, I will say so and point you to who is.