From Hidden Gem to Viral Hit: How Barter Amplified Zum Barbarossa & The Seafood Bar to 10M+ Views
Zum Barbarossa & The Seafood Bar
Industry: Hospitality
Campaign type: Brand awareness
Content type: TikTok & Instagram short-form video (vlogs, edits, highlights, reviews)
About: Hidden in the heart of Amsterdam, Zum Barbarossa is a speakeasy-style bar restaurant with a centuries-old history as a secret beer cellar. Behind a discreet entrance marked by a small mosaic, guests discover refined cocktails, flavorful dishes and an atmosphere that blends historical mystery with modern sophistication.
In collaboration with The Seafood Bar, both hospitality brands wanted to strengthen their social presence and create standout moments that would capture the attention of Amsterdam’s nightlife and dining community.
Brand goal: Zum Barbarossa and The Seafood Bar aimed to strengthen their social presence by reaching a younger, nightlife-oriented and food-loving audience through content that has high impact. Their goal was to boost brand awareness, highlight the unique atmosphere of each venue, spark curiosity among potential guests and increase engagement across TikTok and Instagram. By turning their creator-style videos into meaningful visibility and reach, both brands aimed to position themselves as standout hospitality destinations in Amsterdam.
Challenges:
Both venues faced similar challenges:
- Barbarossa’s hidden nature makes it naturally harder to discover
- Amsterdam’s hospitality scene is extremely competitive
- Large volumes of content on TikTok require clear differentiation
- The need to ensure content truly reflects the ambiance of each location
Organic reach alone is no longer enough to break through
What we have done:
Zum Barbarossa and The Seafood Bar created a set of high-quality videos showcasing their atmosphere, dishes and stories. Barter amplified this content to its full potential by:
- Supporting both venues simultaneously through strategic social activation
- Running targeted TikTok and Instagram ad campaigns to maximize reach
- Ensuring the right audiences (nightlife enthusiasts, food lovers, locals and tourists) saw the content
- Continuously refining targeting and delivery based on engagement signals
By combining each venue’s authentic content with Barter’s paid amplification expertise, both brands achieved reach and engagement far beyond what organic posting alone could have delivered.
38+ posts
on TikTok & Instagram
40,000+ shares
through DMs
10,000,000+
total views
80,000+ saves
across channels
175,000+ likes
across channels
Massive engagement numbers show that Barbarossa’s unique concept resonates strongly across TikTok and Instagram.
What made it work:
- Highly atmospheric locations that inspire curiosity and shareability
- Engaging short-form content that fits perfectly into TikTok’s discovery culture
- Barter’s amplification strategy ensuring the videos reached the right audiences
- Consistent optimization of Spark Ads and targeting
Barter’s platform tools made creator selection, communication and approvals simple and scalable.
Click here to read more about how we streamline this whole operational process.
Final thoughts
With Barter’s support, Zum Barbarossa and The Seafood Bar turned their visual content into a viral hospitality moment that reached millions. The combination of creator-style storytelling and performance-driven amplification led to outstanding visibility, strong engagement and increased demand from both locals and visitors.
👉 If you’re a hospitality brand looking to boost awareness through authentic creator content, Barter is ready to help.
Start scaling visibility and engagement, just like Zum Barbarossa.
Corina Puscas
Content Marketing @Barter
