Bar Employees Using Social Media to Catch Criminals

Posted by barblog on Feb 4, 2010 in Bar Management | 0 comments

Due to a recent increase in crime in the Crosskeys Tavern in Chillicothe, Ohio, owner Susie Burke has decided to post CCTV footage of the offenders and acts on their Facebook and MySpace pages in the hope of identifying the suspects.

Bar patrons have reposted this footage and and other images to their own social media pages and the bar has reported success in identifying past offenders in the act.

Yet another reason to jump on the Social Media bandwagon. It’s not just for letting people know what you had for breakfast!

Full Story Here

How a Clever Hotel Is Using My Accent!

Posted by barblog on Nov 19, 2009 in Bar Management, Bar Marketing | 1 comment

Being based in Ohio, my Irish accent stands out! It normally takes service staff a second or two to “tune” into the different sounds and it’s always a conversation starter with everyone wondering what brought me so far inland!

Recently though, my accent went from being just a conversation starter to being a “for hire” commodity! Two weeks ago, I received a Twitter message from a friend in the city mentioning that the Tourism & Convention Bureau in Dublin, Ohio were looking for an “Irish Brogue” for a “fun little project”. Being Columbus’s resident Irishman I gave them a call to find out more.

I thought they might be recording a radio commercial for the Bureau or promoting the Dublin Irish Festival, but I wasn’t expecting what I heard next:

A new hotel has opened in Dublin, Ohio and to keep with the Irish theme of the area, they want someone with an Irish accent to record a wake-up call message for their guests!

How funny is that? So after picking myself up off the ground in a fit of laughter, I set a time to meet with the hotel and we recorded a wake up call message. Being the professional that I am, it only took one take too….

I asked my wife if she was happy with the fact that so many women would be waking up to my voice every morning!

All joking aside, it is admirable and inspiring to see a hotel go to such lengths on such a small detail as a wake up call. The hotel was insistent on keeping with their surroundings and theme down to the smallest detail.

Is there a way that you can take advantage of, or showcase your location or theme? You could be missing out on conversation makers.

And before I forget, they did insist on me saying “Top of the Morning To You….” and if anyone out there wants an authentic voiceover, you know where to find me!

Advertise Where Your Customers Are Looking

Posted by barblog on Nov 15, 2009 in Bar Management, Bar Marketing | 4 comments

Sometimes a little creative thinking about where your place your messages or advertisements might yield some great results. Even the men’s restrooms can be an unlikely billboard! Have a look at where Spagio Wine Cellars, in Grandview, Ohio chose to advertise some seasonal promotions:

Have you ever seen advertising like this in a bar?

Posted by barblog on Oct 2, 2009 in Bar Management, Bar Marketing | 3 comments

The great thing about traveling to different towns and cities as part of my job, is the characters and places I come across. If the last few weeks is anything to go by, this blog is going to be choc-a-bloc with pictures, encounters and tips from some of the most creative and unusual places I have ever seen!

Take today as an example. I’m in Delaware, Ohio and on the recommendation of Lewis Howes who grew up there, I went to the Hamburger Inn for my lunch. What greeted me as I opened the door was as Americana as you are likely to get. Old wooden wrap around wooden benches and counters that snaked around the room with the grill and kitchen right in front of you as you ate. Clearly, not having been subjected to a lick of paint or a duster in quite a while, you still knew you were part of something special. Something so unaffected by modern developments and changing tastes that you know it will be the same in 50 years as it was 50 years ago!

What I wasn’t prepared for was the most unusual twist on advertising that I have ever seen!

Not only was the glass wrapped in advertising, but the inside of the menu was covered in advertising, their coffee mugs were covered in advertising. Though I hadn’t checked their toilets, the chances are that the toilet seat was also advertising excavation services and central heating.

Whether they make money from this or whether it’s just a local gesture is unclear, but what is clear is that the next time you want a great burger, home cooked fries followed by a side of Roofing, a Heating & Cooling System and Building Contracting, the Hamburger Inn is the place to go.