How have alcohol and drinks brands adapted to the highs and lows of Covid-19? We spoke to Tom Harvey, co-founder of "grain to glass" marketing agency YesMore, about direct-to-consumer sales, adapting marketing strategies, and how to be more human on social media.

For alcohol and drinks brands, the Covid-19 pandemic brought a distinctly mixed set of fortunes.

On the one hand, many of their normal sales venues like bars, pubs and restaurants had closed their doors and were doing little to no business. On the other, demand for alcoholic drinks from consumers was as high as, if not higher than, ever – and many brands began to see alternative sales channels like direct to consumer (DTC) take off for the first time.

Drinks brands and the creative agencies working with them had to think on their feet and be innovative and flexible in order to meet consumers where they were and strike the right tone with their marketing messages.

I spoke to Tom Harvey, co-founder of YesMore, a drinks marketing agency working with a variety of drinks brands, distilleries, wineries and trade groups across the beverage industry, about how they and their clients have been dealing with the challenges presented by Covid-19: from shifting points of sale and changing consumer behaviours to a need to market responsibly in the midst of a crisis.