Stop Me In My Tracks, Please: 5 Suggestions for Advertising your Bar

Posted by barblog on Oct 27, 2009 in Bar Management, Bar Signs | 1 comment

When businesses first put signs outside their door, they had a couple of goals in mind:

1. That passers-by would read what was written on the sign
2. That these people would then become customers based on what the sign was offering.

The first sign must have been a surprise to potential customers! Such a novelty!

But things have changed considerably from those days (whenever they were!) and we are now bombarded with advertising from every angle: radio, TV, internet ads, email, text messages, twitter, in the middle of movies, roadside signs, newspapers, beermats, glassware, etc to the point where we have now become blinkered to the messages being shot at us from every direction.

Our tolerance for advertising has lessened and it is taking more creative methods to get us to pay attention. With that in mind, what is your advertising saying that sets you apart? Are your methods creative and thought out or do you follow the same well worn path as every other bar or restaurant?

One area to consider is the signage you put up outside your bar or restaurant to entice customers in. Before I go on, I am going to take for granted that your spelling and grammar is correct….

1. Be eye catching and colorful. Don’t blend in with the surroundings. Stand Out!
2. Don’t write a long paragraph in a tiny font. Use short snappy phrases like: “Fresh fish caught this morning”
3. Avoid phrases like “Bar Food Served All Day”. It is neither informative nor enticing. I assume by now 90% of bars serve food anyway so be different.
4. Instead of the usual “Vacancies” sign, why not try something like: “For you, we’ll always have a room”
5. Be a talking point. Following up from point no.3, instead of offering “Bar Food” on your sign, offer “The biggest burgers you’ve ever seen” or “beer so cold you’ll get a headache”. If it’s not different or catchy, it won’t be talked about.

Any other suggestions?