Bar changes name for Super Bowl
Here’s a nice little marketing/PR story in advance of Sunday’s big game:
Those of you who follow American football are aware that the New York Giants are playing the New England Patriots in this year’s Super Bowl. Even if you aren’t much of a sports fan you probably have heard of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
(Hint: He’s the guy you’ve seen standing next to Gisele wearing the Uggs.)
Not surprisingly, Upper East Side watering hole Brady’s (named after the owner) is also keenly aware of the best player on the team opposing its beloved Giants this weekend. And they’ve noticed his last name. In a rather ingenious marketing ploy, Brady’s decided to do something about the unfortunate coincidence.
Normally, the front of Brady’s looks like this:
But for the weekend of the Super Bowl, the bar is renaming itself in honor of Eli Manning, the Giants quarterback who will be opposing Tom Brady. For the next three days the bar will be known as Manning’s.
To complete the change, the bar gave itself a facelift on Friday:
It’s a neat piece of community engagement that seemed to resonate with the locals almost immediately. Quotes from this DNAinfo piece included:
“It’s amped up. I like it!”
“I think it’s hysterical. It’s great. It’s very smart and clever.”
Another nice boost is that Mayor Bloomberg was scheduled to make an appearance Friday to help with the unveiling.
But most important is that Brady’s made a point to connect with its neighborhood and make itself a topic of conversation leading up to a potentially lucrative weekend. With media outlets looking for reporting angles prior to the game, it was a move almost sure to grab the free publicity that goes along with TV/newspaper/internet attention.
Stop running a dead Foursquare deal
“Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
It is a quote applicable to many things, one of which is making the best use of social media within your restaurant’s marking efforts.
We occasionally come across clients who seem surprised they’ve been having difficulty getting traction with a promotion on one of their social media platforms. That is particularly true with Foursquare. Owners will be confused as to why a promotion they’ve connected to a check-in isn’t generating the kind of interest they’d hoped for.
Here’s the cold, hard truth: just because you are on Foursquare and have an offer out there doesn’t necessarily mean you’re effectively harnessing the service. Leaving the same “dead deal” on the table isn’t going to get you anywhere.
The phrase “Build it and they will come” will not get you anywhere with online promotion.
Great restaurant and bar Facebook pages
There are definitely common traits shared by the best Facebook fan pages. They look good, are filled with useful information and provide an opportunity for the business to interact with its customers. In no particular order, here are a few fan pages we think those of you in the industry should take a close look at:
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Why we like it: Eye-catching tab graphics, effective use of tabs, consistent fan interaction.
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Bar Promotion Ideas for Fall
With summer in the rear view mirror, it’s time to turn your promotional attention to the fall season. There are no times of the year without season-specific opportunities and autumn is no different.
Here are a few ideas to consider as you schedule your bar’s calendar of events for the upcoming weeks and months:
Halloween Haunted House The “biggie” of the fall season, Halloween’s costume and decoration components seem almost perfectly suited for bar culture. Decorating your entire building helps set create a festive environment.
Suggestions: If allowed by local law, try and sell discounted multi-drink tickets. This will help lock people in for the evening. Make sure to go all-out — UV lighting, spider webs, low lighting, special cocktails. Decorate the exterior at least a week in advance to remind passers-by that something is happening at your bar.
Upcoming Webinar: Twitter Strategies for Bars & Restaurants
Due to the great response to our last webinar on Facebook Strategies, (see below) which was attended by almost 400 bar and restaurant owners, we have put together a similar webinar focused on Twitter strategies that bars and restaurants can easily use to attract more customers and build loyalty among their current customer base:
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Join Barry Chandler, founder of Interactive Hospitality and TheBarBlogger.com for an online training experience designed to help bar & restaurant owners attract more customers by leveraging proven strategies on Twitter.
Date: Monday October 3rd 2pm EST, 7pm London/Dublin time
Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/818241121
Over the course of an hour or so, he will demonstrate in depth:
- An overview of Twitter and what it means to bars & restaurants
- Understanding the Twitter language, terms and commands
- How to know if Twitter is being used in your town or by your customers
- How to add twitter into your current marketing strategies
- How to grow your Twitter following
- How to leverage Twitter to see what your competitor’s customers are saying about them
- What content to post, when to post it and how often to post it
- How to attract new customers in the door using simple twitter strategies
- How to use Twitter to improve your customer service
- How to use Twitter to resolve complaints through Twitter
- How to leverage Twitter to allow you proved amazing customer experiences: the WOW factor
- How to track & Analyze your success with Twitter
- What tools to use to manage Twitter most efficiently in your bar/restaurant
Much much more…
Barry will also answer all of your questions during this live online event. You’ll be able to see Barry’s computer screen as he demonstrates different examples and covers each point in depth.
All you need is a computer with speakers to watch and listen or if you just want to hear the audio, you’ll be able to call-in and listen too.
Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/818241121
Feedback from previous webinars:
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About Barry Chandler
Barry Chandler works with bars and restaurants to bring more customers in the door through effective use of social media, online tools and customer engagement.
Since 2004, more than 2500 bars, restaurants and hotels have used his tools and services to improve their bottom line.
TheBarBlogger.com contains daily tips and strategies to grow a profitable hospitality business.
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