The ‘Who’s Watch Inn’ is a Netflix activation promoting popular titles on the streaming service at Carlton’s Clyde Hotel, running until Sunday 2 October. Australian Hotelier reached out to the pub to learn how the partnership arose, what motivated the decision to work with Netflix, and what the hotel hopes to achieve.
Maeve Kearney, functions manager at the Clyde Hotel, explains how this collaboration began.
“Netflix approached us – they are working with another group called Amplify [Events] and they originally called us,” Kearney says.
“We probably got approached maybe a month or so ago.”
Since then, things have moved pretty fast, as Kearney outlines.
“The event starts [on Wednesday] but they only started setting up on Monday, so the last few days have been pretty busy here at the pub, we’ve got tradies everywhere and people decorating. They’re on a pretty tight schedule to get organised, but I don’t doubt they will.
“We always try to have different things going on here, and we thought it would be a fun, different thing to do.”
Partnering with Netflix was also something that made sense with the demographic groups in the pub’s local area.
“We have a really wide range of clientele here, but we definitely get a lot of uni students because we’re right next to Melbourne Uni. Netflix is a pretty on trend thing for young people, but we have every kind of person coming in really, and I guess – everyone knows about Netflix!” the functions manager adds.
Kearney also shed some light on what the partnership means in practical operational terms, with Netflix are providing the pub with themed beers including a Squid Game ‘Squid Ink Dark Ale’, a Rick and Morty ‘Rickerty Rickerty Wrecked Pilsener’, and a Wellmania Kombucha.
“They’re bringing all the decorations and art installations. We’re leaving that to them, the kind of changing up of our décor for the period.”
Indeed, the pub will feature a mounted Demogorgon head from Stranger Things, a Parisian park bench from Emily in Paris, and the Piggy Bank jackpot from Squid Game.
For the Clyde Hotel, the impact has been immediate.
“We’ve had a lot more interaction on all our social media. We’re generally a really busy pub anyway, but we’re booking up Netflix events really quickly,” Kearney adds.
Netflix have also organised a series of events, including a trivia night, a jazz night and a comedy night, featuring ANZ talent. A free drink will be given to legal drinking age guests upon arrival.
“I’m just hoping it’s a fun week – we’re hoping to have a lot of people here, which I can already tell we’re going to, and I’m just really interested to see how it pans out. It will be exciting to see how it goes,” concludes Kearney.
The Clyde Hotel is located at 385 Cardigan St, Carlton, Melbourne.