Student In Need of Offline Marketing Advice!

Hi Jon,

Here are just some quick thoughts off the top of my head for a full scale marketing plan.

First, make sure they have all the basics-- a good looking website, with an easily updatable calendar to promote their various events. If they aren't promoting specific events, they should start doing so. For example, dollar beer nights, taco tuesday for $0.50 tacos, bands coming in, seasonal events, sports events, DJ's & Dancing on Thursday, Friday, & Saturday... the list goes on and on. Really get creative in things that would draw people into the bar.

Once you have come up with nightly events, you want to do everything you can to promote those events. In addition to a regular website, get them set up with Facebook & Twitter to promote these events. Also, a mobile website linked to a QR Code is a great way to promote events. Depending on how aggressive they want to be, they could print out flyers and/or stickers with the QR Codes on it and it could link to a mobile website with a calendar for all the events.

Also, bars are a great target for SMS/Text Marketing. Have them offer a free beer to anybody who signs up for their SMS list. This way they can send out text blasts before their events to help get people in the door.

Another thing to consider is having Greek nights if you have Fraternities and Sororities on campus. This can be a great way to get a lot of people in the door on slower nights.

One thing that might boost the bar's reputation is to offer a free shuttle bus to take students home. This way you can position yourself as helping out the community, rather than just being another bar in the area.

The biggest thing with bars is getting people in the door and then getting them to stay there. All of the things I've mentioned above are great ways to promote the bar, but my experience has been that putting on events is really the best way to drive business to a bar. It gives people a reason to come when there is a special event.

I hope this helps get your creative juices flowing, but let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,
Ben

Thanks Ben!

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Hi
This is the sort of thing my daughter does constantly,first of all find the most well know semi celebs in sheffield,the ones who attend all the bars and clubs,you can find this info on facebook,look for people with 4500 or more followers contact them and ask them to post the bar info on there walls and maybe arrange free drinks for them on the night or say £1 per person pay for each person they get into the bar but thats only if an entrance fee is payable.
just a few ideas for you to peruse
Regards
vivi62

Social networking + SMS works pretty well for Bar/Clubs. Flyers and "weird" marketing stunts work damn well too, especially if you can deliver the flyers and the marketing stunts near your target costumers.

We did this for a long time, and honestly it worked very well - as long we could keep our efforts in front of customer eyes (a monkey delivering flyers in university campus/a nice (.)(.) girl promoting the party X offering something/a PINK rented car with music pitching the event/etc etc etc).

If this is for a local community (20km wide) your imagination is the limit, really. Oh and don't forget to do some major networking with local bars