Branding and Marketing Ideas for the Restaurant and Bar Industry

There are several good sources available for great restaurant and pub bar marketing ideas. We've put our own healthy list of ideas together here. 

Menus and bar coasters are your primary merchandising tools. Upselling orders is expected by your customers. Don't be afraid to do it! You can increase the average bill by teaching servers how to suggest daily specials, side dishes, drinks or desserts. Your servers should know the menu offerings like the back of their hand.

• Implement frequency in marketing. 
• Go green. Market your restaurant showing that you conserve and recycle resources.
• Involve customers in contests.
• Suggest resources providing Chef Tips.
• Advertise social gatherings.
• Create a following and engage in social media using Twitter and Facebook.
• Develop customer surveys.
• Advertise a loyalty program.
• Booking private parties on slower days.
• Sponsor a community related fundraiser.
• Promote or sponsor a live music program, fair, festival or art show.
• Host a local networking biz event for local entrepreneurs and small business owners. 
• Host a restaurant tweetup if you are looking to attract a new crowd.
• Feature bar and menu items on the back of your drink coasters.

Design a Customized Beverage Coaster with a photo of your venue on one side and any one of those suggestions above advertised on the back!!

The beverage coaster, or beer mat as some like to call them, are considered the cheapest and possibly the best irreproachable printed advertising product available. Beer coasters are the ultimate advertising vehicle efficiently marketing all that represents your venue. It is important to have promotional materials that work for you, there is no better way than the custom printed beer coaster. Our pulpboard drink coasters for example are considered the highest quality available with superior durability lasting a very long time. A truly great investment indeed. Available in various sizes and shapes, Coaster Factory beer mats can be customized and personalized to suit your specific pub bar or restaurant brand. Imprinted with your logo, photographs, graphics, typography, and trademarks, beer coasters provide you the very best marketing appeal for your business. Stylized and custom designed, think of the beer coaster as your most functional and fashionable ad assistant working always as the best promotional program for your establishment. Developed well before Mad Men, it is the one proven traditional advertising method that has worked successfully for bar pubs and eateries around the world for over 100 years. 

Pubs, bars, bistros and small restaurants are having a tough go during these uncertain economic times. Some estimates are showing that dozens close every week with hundreds losing their jobs every month. The days of the thriving independent neighborhood bar, pub or small eatery are uncertain as brand named chain establishments with deep pockets not to mention the supermarket selling alcohol around the corner only add to this triple threat.

Corroboration might be the right ticket to return your business to its rightful place in the community. Rather than soley competing with your fellow bar pub owners, why not join forces? Some urban revitalization has been garnered by introducing collaborative gallery "Art Crawls" and pedestrian only "Open Streets" to struggling downtowns. How about introducing a "Pub Crawl" night. Organizing a pub-crawl is easy. All you have to do is walk over to your competition with a friendly greeting and introduce a concept to conspire. Perhaps offering a shared discount to patrons using alternating days. Feature rotating co-hosted weekly or monthly beer sampling events. Competing venues can establish pool or darts leagues, baseball teams and golf tournaments. These are also great employee moral boosters too!

Make your pub approachable and community friendly by encouraging families and older patrons back into your establishment. Dust off those old traditional board games and stacks of playing cards by creating a games pub night. If you have a garden or a parking lot, think about running an outdoor event, fair or art market. Talk to your City Hall about what it would take to close your street down for a charitable Fire Fighter Chili cook-off event featuring local craft beer and entertainment.

Promote regular events. Rotate bands with featured Jazz and Blues nights, perhaps a matinee or spoken word slam jam. Many local colleges have music programs and students need the opportunity to learn to play in front of live audiences. Although you really should always pay musicians regardless if they are professional or amateur, you certainly can barter services by offering musical students a discount on food or free drinks for playing a short set. Some coordinated efforts have gone as far as to have one pub close on one of the slower days re-directing participants to the pubs that are open. Drastic you say? Well, some of these measures can improve your overall bottom line in communities where pubs are more highly concentrated.

If your bar or pub is generally quiet during week days, why not consider launching a daily cafe or tea house concept attracting new customers? Offer daily baked fresh goods or a sandwich lunch bar. Add free Wi-Fi Internet connection allowing patrons to work remotely. Perhaps you only need to designate one specific area as the cafe instead of the entire venue so not to interrupt your regular drinking crowd. 

Wi-Fi isn't the only technology being offered in pubs, Guinness Beer is now offering free beer in pubs using NFC technology (Near Field Communication). This technology has several interesting uses and is being tested as an interactive tool already activated in over 11,000 pub founts across the UK and 3,000 in Ireland keeping drinkers engaged rewarding them with offers, vouchers, competitions and targeted content. Combined with a smartphone app, Guinness is successfully running promotions and contests where patrons have the opportunity to win a free pint. NFC tags are available to purchase and easily programmable. It's worth the investigation. Actually, in another future blog we'll be diving even deeper into the NFC concept.

Even in these tough economic times, with a bit of ingenuity and cooperation, there will always be a place for the neighborhood bar pub. 

Coaster Factory is North America’s premier beer coaster manufacturer, providing exceptional service and the highest quality custom coasters printed on premium European pulpboard.

High Quality, Coaster Printing, Colors & Materials: Our offset presses print FULL color (CMYK) on BOTH sides of your coasters (spot color is available). Not only do Coaster Factory's authentic European Pulpboard coasters effectively absorb spills, they’re lightweight, firm, and look great too!

Great Prices: We offer competitive pricing on any size coaster order, from 1,200 into the millions! We have standard value pack pricing for most common quantities and can provide quotes for larger or customized orders. Have your artwork, logo, picture or design printed full color on both sides with many size and custom shape options.

Fast Delivery: Need your coasters quickly? Whether your order is large or small, you'll receive your custom coasters fast. We offer standard as well as GUARANTEED RUSH production options (extra fees apply).

Your brand is the most powerful tool in your toolbox and coasters are a unique, useful and cost effective way to promote your product or message. The biggest brands have known this for a very long time!