How do you get the staff of nightclub, bars, restaurant, and lounges to support, endorse and recommend your product to customers?

The other day I was asked by a colleague of mine named Gerard Jansse, for some effective/creative techniques to get bartenders and venue staff to support, endorse, and recommend a new product. Gerard informed me that his client was looking to launch a new rum into the already crowded category. After thinking about the task that Gerard had before him and how difficult his task was, I began to craft my answer to his question and this is what I came up with:

When looking to market a product in a nightclub, bar, lounge setting, the marketer must remember to get bartender and venue support. The marketer must not forget to embrace those that interact with the consumer, or face the consequences. Unfortunately one marketer in general is starting to face the consequences. The marketer I am referring to is the liquor industry. The liquor industry has lost their way and seems to think that if you buy your product into a bar, nightclub, or lounge and get product on the shelf the job is done. Unfortunately this is not true. Once the product receives bar or venue space, and your signage is prominently displayed in the venue, the marketer must now figure out how to move that product. If the marketer is ignorant to the workings of the restaurant, bar, nightclub, and lounge industry, the product that they just paid to get into the establishment will die a slow and painful death due to the staff being unrewarded and uneducated. In order to get your product moving and gain the support of venue staff, one must embrace, reward, and educate them. The staff must know what makes your product, in this case rum, different from the competition. Differentiation comes through education (making this fun, maybe a game show setting where the staff can win cash and prizes when questions are answered correctly) and the way the product is displayed and served. The way the staff serves the product must be turned into an event. The staff must know unique mixology points about the product as well as the normal mixology. One can launch a master mixologist contest for the staff member that comes up with the best drink. You can also spur sales by incentivizing employees who meet certain sales goals for the next three, six, and twelve months. You can reward the individual bartenders or entire establishment staff with things such as being whisked away for an all expenses paid 3-5 day vacation where everything revolves around the product (i.e. distillery tours, manufacturing, tastings of upcoming products, booze cruises, etc), over sized tips at the end of the night if a certain number of bottles are sold, the opportunity to guest bartend at a world famous club, the label of master mixologist or head brand ambassador of your product where the staff member is used in ads, sent on tour, and is paid a salary. One thing that assists the staff in moving your product is visible signage throughout the venue.

Venue staff is a great way to get the ball rolling but even a rolling ball loses momentum after a while until someone gives it a push. Just like a ball needing a push, so do your sales, so don’t be scared of using promotional models to give sales the push they need to continue their momentum. If you decide to use models, remember one thing, make sure they know your product inside and out. No matter how hot or good looking the model, if they do not have product knowledge and I mean know everything about your product, you might as well flush your marketing dollars down the toilet. Please remember that a good majority of promotional models drink on the job when in a bar setting, can't tell you a damn thing about the product and think that doing an on-premise or in-store promotion is all about handing out premiums. Truth of the matter is the goal of doing an on-premise or in-store promotion is to educate your current and future customers and get them to try your product through education.

UNDERSTANDING THE NIGHT: A Marketers Guide to Product Marketing in the Nightclub and Bar Scene - Part 3

Now that you have become further educated on the industry, lets get back to these recent articles that have crossed my desk so I can show you why this is an area where companies should allocate more of their marketing budget. The first one was a press release from a company called Zoom Media, which is the nation’s largest nightclub/bar restroom billboard company. Below are two quotes from the press release:

“An overwhelming majority or 78 percent of bar visitors surveyed could recall at least one of four advertisers that ran ads on bar-based digital billboards according to the Zoom survey administered by the media research firm Arbitron. Additionally, the survey revealed that brand aided recall ranged from 37 to 53 percent, confirming that people not only saw the ads on the digital billboards, but remembered the advertisers.”

“According to the survey, 40 percent of the people polled said they frequented bars over 10 times a month. Additionally, Zoom estimates actual time spent in bars and clubs averages 2.5 hours per visit. "There's no question that the significant dwell time in front of these digital billboards allows for long exposure and increased awareness," said Lee Levitz, Zoom’s VP of Marketing. "Just as importantly, people are choosing to be in these social settings and consequently are much more receptive to advertising messages. When it comes to bar media, the ad opt-out generation is opting-in."

The second article that crossed my desk is also very relevant to this industry. It was in regard to sampling and ran in the May issue of Advertising Age. The article talked about how sampling is becoming the new mass medium. This article is relevant because liquor companies have been doing sampling in nightclubs and bars since the beginning of time. This alone should be more than enough justification that sampling is an effective medium. It is a medium that is accountable. Sampling offers accountability in a couple of ways:

· It is a medium that allows the marketer to give a URL to a micro site at time of the sampling to determine return on investment.

· It also allows companies to determine ROI by seeing if the sampling effort creates a spike in sales in the ZIP codes relevant to the sampling.

· Sampling can also be tracked via the issuing of coupons with the product sample for a discount on the product at point of purchase.

The third item was a press release issued by ASI (Advertising Specialty Institute) to see the cost-effectiveness of advertising specialties over other marketing mediums. This study proved what liquor companies and banks such as Commerce/TD Bank have known for years: that branded t-shirts, hats, key chains, pens, etc., are effective tools in building a brand no matter what the venue is. The data that this study uncovered is below, and it truly is remarkable:

• 84% of people remember the advertiser on a product they receive.
• 42% have a more favorable impression of an advertiser after receiving an advertising specialty.
• Nearly one quarter, or 24%, indicate that they are more likely to do business with an advertiser on items they receive.
• Most respondents (62%) have done business with the advertiser on a product after receiving it.
• Writing instruments are the most commonly-owned advertising specialty, with 54% of respondents owning them, followed by shirts, caps and bags.
• The majority (81%) of promotional products were kept because they were considered useful.
• More than three-quarters of respondents have had their items for about seven months.
• Among wearables, bags were reported to be used most frequently, with respondents indicating that they use their bags on average nine times per month.
• Bags deliver the most impressions, with 1,038 impressions per month on average.
• The average cost-per-impression of an advertising specialty item is $0.004, making it less expensive per impression than nearly any other media. (According to Nielsen Media data, the CPI for a national magazine ad is $0.033; a newspaper ad is $0.0129; a prime time TV ad is $0.019; a cable TV ad is $0.007; a syndicated TV ad is $0.006; and a spot radio ad is $0.005)

The nightlife scene itself is truly remarkable. It is a scene that gives birth to fashion, music, culinary delights, technology and more. This scene allows people to get creative and reinvent themselves. This scene allows the consumer to let their guard down and get bombarded by different forms of brand marketing. Brands that most likely have been created with influences that have evolved out of nightlife. So stop procrastinating, loosen your tie, let your hair down, and start allocating more of your marketing dollars to reaching your consumers of today, tomorrow, and the future in an environment that offers your brand consumer interaction for every budget.

UNDERSTANDING THE NIGHT: A Marketers Guide to Product Marketing in the Nightclub and Bar Scene - Part 2

OK, now that you have decided on your plan of attack, the question is what will allow the promotion you have created to get you the best ROI.

1) Always send in promotional models who can relate to the audience of the venue within which you will be promoting your product (i.e. sending a non-Spanish-speaking model into a Spanish nightclub, sending a white model into an all-Afro-American nightclub, sending a straight person into a gay bar, etc.).
a. When I owned Fat Cat Promotions, I always made sure the models were sent into establishments where they could relate to the consumer they would be approaching and be in an environment I n which they would feel comfortable.
2) Product knowledge/education: This is key, just like in any other industry, a consumer who cannot touch or feel your product must be sold on your product via product knowledge and education.
a. I have always sent in spotters during events to be my eyes and ears and see if the models know their product info or followed up with establishment management to get a first hand accounting of the promo and have always quizzed employees on product knowledge.
3) Have models sample your product before promoting it.
a. Over the years I have always done product tasting/knowledge classes.
4) Premiums- shirts, hats, printed promotional items/ad specialties, etc. More on this later!
5) Signage- own the establishment/location domination.
a. In every establishment I have always placed signage throughout the establishment. I have even done best decorator contests for each promo. Get creative for Dewar’s we used to take Dewar’s cups and stick them on the wall to make a D or spell Dewar’s behind the bars and to make them pop, we used to place blinking light buttons in each cup.
6) Make coupons available to allow patrons to remember and hopefully purchase your product outside of the establishment
7) Compile a mailing list of everyone. Get name, address, cell #, and email. Offer the consumer something in return for this info
8) Send the consumer to your website to receive a gift and to get them to further interact with your brand.
a. This could be done by simply giving the consumer a business card sending them to a website for a free download or gift.

UNDERSTANDING THE NIGHT: A Marketers Guide to Product Marketing in the Nightclub and Bar Scene - Part 1

I have been in the marketing and nightclub/bar industry for 20 years and over those years; I have worked for US Concepts, owned Fat Cat Promotions, up until it recent sale, and which catered to clients such as Dewars, Jim Beam, Absolute, Sky Vodka, Cabo Wabo Tequila, Sauza Tequila, Jack Daniels, The Original Soupman, etc., and even promoted and managed nightclubs and bars. I have learned what works and what doesn’t work in marketing not only in bars and clubs, but also outside these venues. The past couple of months, articles have been written and studies have been released, all of which are relevant to understanding the night.

Before we get to talking about these recent articles and studies, let’s start by understanding this consumer who frequents nightclubs and bars. The nightclub and bar scene is traditionally 18-35 in age, both male and female, educated, and has a medium income of $40,000+. The beauty of this market is that it can be broken down into 2 core groups: The Leaders and The Followers. The Leaders are the trendsetters, the people who can make or break your brand and become your word of mouth marketers/brand ambassadors. Since trendsetters are typically extroverted, they tend to love the scene, the rush it provides, and the brands that interact with them in their environment. The Followers are the ones who will do more or less whatever the trendsetter does and thus help to further your exposure and help you reach a greater audience. They also typically tend to be brand loyalists.

Although this scene is made up of Leaders and Followers, these groups can be split up into many different target markets. These two groups can be split by ethnicity (Afro-American, Latin/Hispanic, Asian, Euro, Polish, Russian, Greek, and general market, etc.), age (yes, there are bars or nightclubs which have different nights for different age groups, and they are typically labeled as teen night (13-18), Family dance night (for moms and dads with toddlers and preschoolers who still have the urge to cut the rug – parents are traditionally in their 30s and 40s ), college night (age 18-23), Oldies Night (Age 40-65), etc.), lifestyle/musical preference (bikers, alternative lifestyle, country, oldies, rap/hip-hop, dance, electronica, freestyle, big band, swing, etc.), industry (tech, hair dressers, Wall Street, etc) or by income level. As you can see nightlife holds something for every marketer no matter what your product or brand may be. The nightlife scene allows you to cut through the bullsh*t and reach your core consumer by making even the dullest product be hip and fun.

Throughout the years, I have seen many products be put on the map due to their involvement in the scene. Products such as Grey Goose Vodka, Enyce Clothing, Sirius Satellite Radio, Sony, Sexy Hair Care products, Street Glow, Mariah Carey, McDonalds’ (afterhours), etc. Now you’re asking yourself, OK that’s all great, but how do I promote my product in this scene? Simple: there are many different ways to get involved in the scene and there is something to fit every budget. Some ways to get in are:

1) Sponsor a given night with money to help offset costs, pay for a club’s printing of flyers and advertising in which your logo is included
2) Sponsor a promoter, DJ, recording artist, band, or MC who is constantly in front of the consumer to promote your product
3) Organize club tours
4) Sponsor a cab service or safe ride program
5) Send in models to give out samples of your product, but beware, only the models that know your product and can educate the consumer about your product, as well as can adapt to that scene, will be effective. Some things to remember when going this route.
a. Promotional models are typically untrained and uneducated about a client’s product; most never even meet the agency doing the hiring.
b. Most models at events are unsupervised which allows them to:
i. Not dress in uniform
ii. Work for a portion of the time and party the rest
iii. Not do anything except party and drink.
iv. Show up; get their time sheets signed by the establishment owner/manager and leave.
v. Not show up and forge the signature of the establishment owner/manager.
vi. Drink and hook up while working

• Since establishment owners typically lie on time sheets so as not to hurt the feelings of the model, one should always call the establishment and speak with either the owner or manager for a first-hand accounting of the night the following day.

6) Pay the bathroom attendants to promote your product
7) Engage the bartenders
8) Give out samples by getting involved in swag bag/goodie bag programs such as the Nightlife Survival Kit which can be found at http://www.nightlifesurvivalkit.com
9) Organize fashion shows, hair shows, etc.
10) Sponsor contests such as Texas Hold’em tournaments, and insurance backed games of chance from companies such as SCA and Million Dollar Media around your brand.
11) Organize a nationwide nightclub concert tour, show, or circus
12) Sponsor VIP/bottle service areas
13) Advertise with companies such as various bathroom billboard companies or alternative media companies
14) Due to the creativity of the nightclub and bar scene, you can typically create anything your imagination can dream up.