Hiring an agency for your bar: ask about alcohol rules

Late January is when bar owners have time to take a meeting. The room is quiet on weeknights and the playoffs fill a few weekends before the Super Bowl and St. Patrick’s Day. Agencies know this, so the pitches arrive now, and most of them are the same deck they show a pizzeria with the photos swapped.

A bar sells a product that federal agencies, state alcohol boards and Google each regulate in their own way, to an audience that must be of legal drinking age, and it fills most nights with events rather than dinner. An agency new to those limits will write a promotion that sounds great and gets your profile flagged or your license a letter. Here is what we would ask any agency, ourselves included, before signing.

Why a bar’s marketing has rules a restaurant’s does not

Three sets of rules sit on top of each other.

• Google’s map rules. Google’s Maps content policy says uploaded content may not feature calls to action or offers for products subject to local legal regulation, and it names alcohol. Deals, coupons and pricing for a restricted product are out. Images of menus are excepted, and so are photos where a drink is present but not the main subject.
• State promotion rules. These vary enormously. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission’s marketing FAQs say happy hour prices must end at 11 p.m., two-for-one sales at on-premise retailers are illegal, and alcohol coupons or rebates are not allowed. Other states draw the lines elsewhere, and your state agency is the authority.
• Federal rules for brewers. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau does not license bars; its FAQs say retail licenses come from the state or locality. But it does regulate the advertising of anyone holding a Brewer’s Notice, and it counts Facebook and Instagram posts, YouTube, apps, links and QR codes as advertising.

Questions that show whether an agency has done this before

Ask these in the first meeting.

• “What will you post about our drink specials on Google?” The right answer is close to nothing. The trivia night, the band, the food and the room go on the profile. A drink-price Offer post does not, whatever your state allows.
• “How do you check a promotion against our state’s rules?” A good agency names your state agency, has read its published guidance and flags what it cannot confirm. It does not tell you a promotion is legal. California’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has told licensees that if they hire a third-party company for this kind of work, the licensee is responsible for that company’s violations. You carry the risk, so the agency should be showing its work.
• “Who pays for co-branded posters and posts?” Tied-house rules keep suppliers from paying for a retailer’s advertising. The TABC says a Texas retailer may advertise a brand and price only if it pays the full cost of the ad and takes no benefit from the manufacturer or distributor. California’s ABC says suppliers may not give retail licensees things of value, joint advertising and sponsorships included, unless the law specifically allows it.
• “How will you get us more reviews?” The Federal Trade Commission’s rule on reviews and testimonials, in effect since October 21, 2024, bans incentives conditioned on a review’s sentiment, and Google’s policy bans payment, discounts or free goods for reviews and pressure while the customer is on the premises. A free shot for five stars breaks both. In Texas, a free drink handed out by coupon breaks a third rule.
• “Who will see our paid ads?” Google allows alcohol ads in this country but not targeted at people under the legal purchase age. Every paid audience should be set to legal drinking age, and the agency should say so before you ask.

If you run a brewery or taproom, add three more

A taproom is a retailer and, through its brewery, an industry member under federal rules.

1. “What statements will our ads carry?” TTB’s FAQs list the mandatory statements for malt beverage ads: the responsible advertiser’s name, city and state or other contact details, and the class of the beer. TTB does not pre-approve ads, so nobody else catches a missing statement.
2. “Can we post that our beer is pouring at one bar this week?” TTB treats listing a retailer in a brewery’s ad, social posts included, as giving that retailer a thing of value. Its exception covers listing two or more unaffiliated retailers, with no retail price, kept relatively inconspicuous.
3. “Do paid creators count?” Yes. TTB says content an influencer creates because a brewery paid or gave them something of value is the brewery’s advertisement and must contain the mandatory statements.

Brewers Association members also follow its Marketing and Advertising Code, updated in January 2024: ads only where at least 73.8% of the audience is expected to be of legal drinking age, a date-of-birth gate on the website, and opt-in and opt-out for communications.

What the first ninety days should look like for a bar

• Weeks 1 to 2: a compliance pass. Drink prices and deals removed from the Google profile, every standing promotion read against the state agency’s guidance, and brewery ads checked for the TTB statements.
• Weeks 1 to 4: the map. Late-night and holiday hours, accurate categories, the food menu, photos of a full room and an Events post for each weekly night.
• Weeks 3 to 10: the regulars. An opt-in email or text list started at the bar and at every event, and a mug club or membership where your state allows one.
• Weeks 4 to 12: the close calls. Review replies, a neutral request routine and a site with the event calendar, the food menu and a private-party form.

What a monthly report should show

Leads mean little to a bar. A useful report tracks profile calls, direction requests and website clicks by day of week, to show whether Tuesday trivia is moving, plus event headcounts, list growth and party inquiries. It compares each week with the same week last year, since one playoff game flatters every channel.

Know the market, too. Gallup reported in August 2025 that the share of adults who drink had fallen to 54%, the lowest in its trend. The Brewers Association’s 2025 midyear report found taprooms and brewpubs made up 73% of craft beer businesses but only 15% of the volume. Growth comes from winning nights and occasions, not a rising market, and a good agency plans that way.

What we are telling bar owners this month

• Open your Google profile on a phone and delete any post or photo that advertises a drink price or deal.
• Find your state alcohol agency’s published guidance on promotions and keep it next to your marketing calendar.
• Turn down any supplier offer to pay for your ads or posters until you have checked it against that guidance.
• Stop any review incentive today, including the free shot behind the bar.
• Ask every agency you meet to walk through the questions above, in writing.

An agency that answers these well has marketed a bar before. To see how we approach the trade, our page on marketing for bars, breweries and taprooms sets out the plan, and our Google Business Profile work covers the posts, photos and events that do the heavy lifting.