Each month, you'll find new promotions here
designed to  increase customer count & generate sales
using the latest marketing & promotion techniques
for hotel, restaurant, café, nightclub & bar operations.

FREE Promotion
Promotions Page

DJ's Page
Dance Music Chart

July, 2008

Annual Christmas In July Party
New Years Eve 2008 1/2

PLEASE NOTE: Although the promotions listed each month on this page are designed primarily for a nightclub environment, they can be easily modified so as to work in a bar/pub, restaurant, café or any business open to the public.

The key here is to be organized, have a game plan. Promos are like little mini-stage productions: They need to be planned, budgeted, cast, rehearsed & directed. Just like in pro sports, each member of your team needs to know what his/her role is, what's expected of them. Ultimately, it's your team, your employees who make the promo succeed and, make cash register ring!!

Notice on our Calendar of Events in July, we are continuing to suggest you schedule a fun event every Thursday. The idea here is that you plan on turning this day (or Wednesday if that works better for you) into another Saturday night. Most likely that this day has the possibility to double in sales.

July 24th - Annual Christmas In July Party

Here is an excellent promotional opportunity for July. Fill out the Promotions Checklist using the following guide:

Schedule for the second week of July..

This is your annual Summer Christmas party for your patrons. The objective is to give presents (prizes) to your guests at intervals throughout the night.

Capitalize on the number of years open for business, i.e., you've been open 2 years, so this is your 2nd Annual Summer Christmas Party.

GOALS/PROJECTIONS

Establish goals for events by:

Determining a 4 or 5 week average for the day
and adding realistic additional sales.

Determining what your cost of the event will be
and adding a reasonable amount to the total.

EXAMPLES:

You average $2,000 a day sales during the 4 Previous Wednesdays (you pick the day for the promotion).

You determine that you have $500.00 in additional expense for this event over previous Thursdays.

You and the management team decide that you want $3,000 in sales for the event and that this goal is realistic.

You can further plan for sales by determining how hat $3,000 will break down by hourly sales and even, of those hourly sales, how much each register and/or each server and bartender should sell to equal that amount.

This is the process we call "Managing The Environment". You are PRO-ACTIVE. In charge of your destiny and "Making Things Happen". The opposite is REACTIVE management. Waiting till close and finding out "What you did in sales for the night" and reacting after the fact.

SPECIAL COSTUMES

Dress up an employee as Santa Claus to roam the room several times at intervals during the night with a "Bag of Goodies", prizes, candy, etc.

Bartenders in red and green bow ties and/or red suspenders.

Cocktail Servers can wear Santa caps with bell tassels and perhaps a Christmas pin or holly leaf.

Great idea for servers: give each guest a small candy cane with your greeting:

"Merry Christmas, thanks for coming to our party. My
name is _________ and here's a little present from Santa". Then take drink order.

MARKETING SUPPORT

We recommend two posters...

1 in the entry way
1 in plain sight near the dance floor

Have invitations made up to hand out to guests as they leave prior to the event and to use for local PR efforts.

Target local area shops and businesses, like malls.

These businesses will be open till 9 pm. The message is to come to your party directly from work on the night of the party.

ADVERTISING

Depending on the size of your club and the potential from local in-house PR efforts, you may elect NOT to spend money on media for this event.

DECORATIONS

Full Christmas decorations up for at least 7 - 10 days prior to the party. Items could include:

A fully decorated tree.
Christmas lights throughout the room. Twinkle lites are best.
Mistletoe at the front door.
Tinsel and garland everywhere.
Red and green balloons.
Red and green crepe paper.

Really decorate the room up nice. Remember, light decorations signal a light party. This is a MAJOR event.

DRINK SPECIALS

Get creative and rename some drinks with holiday titles:

Lots of potential here. How about special prices if your state laws allow?

DELI FOOD

Determine if the event warrants a food layout. This usually applies to a promo that kicks off at Happy Hour.

REHEARSAL/WALK THRU

What events are you planning for the night that needs to be set-up, coordinated, practiced?

CONTESTS/ACTIVITIES

Ideas:

Hand out a scratch and win lottery ticket to each
person comes in before 10 pm. Lottery prize in usually in the millions, right? ".... your FREE chance to win millions!!"  Great way to push for earlier business. 

Each person gets a ticket stub as they enter. Hold drawings every 40-60 minutes for prizes. Trade out prizes with local businessmen and your customers.

TV Sets
Stereos
VCR
CD Player, etc.

Gift wrap packages and put under the tree or in Some protected area. Gifts contain:

Cash: 5, 10, 20, 50 or 100 dollar bills

Gift certificates

Complimentary VIP cards

Membership cards, etc.

Select guests at random and give them a Christmas "Shopping Spree". Let them select a gift from packages.

NOTE: Some gift packages can be gag gifts. Promo the fact that several are expensive, worth while gifts.

Choose participants for a "Snow Throw" game

Using baseball size Styrofoam balls. Object is to throw ball thru a hoop 10 feet away on the dance floor. Winners receive prizes.

NOTE: All prizes are "gift wrapped" as presents.

Gift Wrap Game - 4 contestants

1 - 8' table
8 rolls wrapping paper
4 pairs of scissors
4 rolls scotch tape
4 large bows
4 empty liquor boxes

Contestants have 4 minutes to creatively wrap their present. Audience applause determines winner.

Dance Floor Bingo

Use red, green and other colors of 3-M plastic tape to make words on the dance floor.

EXAMPLES:

Make letters approximately 4" high and 2" wide. Word will be approximately 4x12 inches. Set words 4 - 5 feet apart.

During the night, DJ calls out (over music, don't stop dancers) "Dance Floor Bingo, who's standing on word?"

Have winner raise his/her hand and come to booth for prize and a round of applause. "More presents tonight... all you have to do to win is be on the dance floor!!"

MUSIC PROGRAM NOTE:

If you program slow sets, I would program a few songs like "Please Come Home For Christmas" by the Eagles & "The Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole just to add to the mood of Christmas.

BUDGET TOTALS

Add up your costs for this event. They are part of the cost of this promotion. We suggest that operators change the line item on their P&L statements from "Advertising" to "Advertising & Promotion." This is a common term used by many Hospitality companies that is used to catalogue these expenses.

FOLLOW - UP

Determine your sales and evaluate the event:

Did we reach our projections?
How could the promotion be better next time?
What else should we do? Not do?
File for next year.

July 31 - New Years Eve 2008 1/2

This annual promo is always a consistent winner. Reasons:

Everyone relates to New Years Eve. They know that it's a time to celebrate & party.

There are many custom-made New Years Eve packages available so decorating the club is a fairly easy job.

The Key to this promo is to get everyone in the club excited, all to buy into the attitude that Thursday, July 19th actually is New Years Eve!

What to do:

Order your New Years Eve package of decorations, hats, horns, banners & balloons right now. Give yourself plenty of lead-time.

Put up your "Happy New Year" banners & light decorations by July 17th. Then, on the 24th, go all out.... decorate to the max!! Make the place as outrageous as possible.

Have some nice, catchy flyer/invites made as shown here. Print up 500 to 1,000 depending on your marketing plan. Note: See the section "Marketing Support" below for a Free flyer layout.

Organize employee PR teams. Send your club "Party Patrols" out to local businesses, shopping malls to hand out invitations accompanied with a personal invitation to the party.

Create a nice newsletter to your special VIPs, regulars & email (mail) it along with the flyer/invitation. Mail by July 17th.

Also, let your regular VIPs know that you're willing to take reservations for New Years Eve just like the real thing.

Piggy-back marketing - Plan a New Years Eve Recovery Party for the 21st, the day after. Combine the event with your normal Thursday promo & then "MAKE 'EM SWEAT !!"

SPECIAL COSTUME:

Recruit an attractive female employee to be your New Year's baby. On the night of the party, she will wear diapers, a promo T-shirt & high heels. Verify costume & who wears it by July 11th.

Have an employee pose as Father Time for the party. Person to dress in a robe, (or sheet) wear white hair wig & beard. Possible accessories; hour glass, large old book or an old scythe (grain-cutting sickle) Verify the costume & who will wear it by July 8th.

Have some special T-shirts made. (Number up to management discretion) Take logo shirts or have new ones printed with your club name or logo and:

Order for delivery by the 1st. Have lounge employees wear shirts beginning on the Thursday, July 10th to promote the event in-house for two full weeks. They may also be used as souvenir prizes on the night of the promotion.

DECORATIONS:

Order hats, horns, noise makers, enough for club capacity _______. Also order New Year's Eve banner (s).

Order now for delivery by July 18th.

New Year's banner and light decorations up by Friday, July 8th.

Idea is for the staff, management & DJs to use the decorations to key on in rallying support for the event over the 7 day period preceding New Year's Eve.

WORDS ON MIRRORS LIKE:

Happy New Year
Ring Out The Old.......     
Resolution
Bring In The New    
New Year's 2008 1/2
Random Years Like 1968 - 1972 - etc.
Auld Lang Syne

On the day of the event, a decorating committee meets in the afternoon to do the room. Led by a manager or department supervisor, the team should be committed to Making the room look more festive than in recent memory.

That should be your standard. You want people to come in on your New Year's Eve and go "WOW!!" Remember, one key to success for this promo is that the entire staff buy into the premise that this REALLY IS New Year's Eve.

If the room is not too large, you might consider filling the entire ceiling off the dance floor with balloons. Get a team working on only balloons.

Use heavy duty 10 - 12 inch Mylar balloons. You'll have much less breakage with better balloons & actually save money.

TIP: Using larger sizes means less balloons and when you blow up  balloons 2 at a time and tie them together, you can cover a larger area in a shorter length of time.

DRINK SPECIALS:

Champagne By The Glass

Price: (Managers Discretion)
Time: All Night

Confetti Cocktail - Decorative Large Champagne Glass

3/4 oz. Vodka
3/4 oz. White Creme de Menthe

Shake ingredients with ice. Pour and serve. Garnish with Candy Cane & Confetti & Straw with Streamers.
Price: Managers Discretion
Times: Per Management

CONTESTS/ACTIVITIES:

Business Card Bingo (Game works late or during Happy Hour)

DJ & service personnel solicit business cards from guests. DJ conducts drawings for prizes. Employees supply cards for guests who have no business cards.

Cards are kept in large fish bowl at the DJ booth. Approximately every 20 minutes, DJ announces: "It's time again for Business Card Bingo & the prize this time is _____________". Then DJ reaches in, pulls out a card.

Always announce the winners name and their place of business.

"Our winner this time is Bob Jones from 21st Century Realty. Come up and claim your prize." As person arrives, "Here he is...let's have a big round of applause for Bob. Stick around, you could be our next winner."

Lounge Team solicits volunteers for one or two guest participation games like musical chairs.

Games are orchestrated by mgrs. between 10:30 & 11:30 PM.

Games are highly organized, should only take 7 - 12 minutes. DJ acts as MC to lead the events. Uses fun instrumentals like "Cotton Eyed Joe" or "William Tell Overture" or "Zorba The Greek" to motivate crowd.

Immediately followed by presentation of prizes to winners and VERY HOT automatic floor packer dance song.

Countdown to midnight - 11:40 to 12:00 midnight

Staff hands out hats and horns to guests between 11:40 & 11:50 PM.

At 11:50, DJ has everyone "test" their noise makers.

At 11:59:45, DJ urges all to begin countdown from 15 to 1

At 12:00, DJ urges everyone to blow their noisemakers, kiss their partner and dance as he/she plays 30 - 45 seconds of Guy Lombardo's  "Auld Lang Syne" followed by "Celebration" and then immediately into a super HOT automatic floor packer followed by 45 minutes of the most popular dance hits of the past 12 months.

NOTE: Instruct your DJ to have a pre-programmed set of all HI-NRG, automatic floor-packer hits lined up for 12:05 to 1 AM. Idea is to really make 'em sweat for a good 45 minutes, with a PRE-PROGRAMMED set of top hits of the past 12 months.... all automatics, just like on New Year's Eve.

NOTE: THIS ENTIRE EVENT SHOULD BE TREATED EXACTLY LIKE THE REAL NEW YEAR'S EVE!! PLAN THE ENTIRE EVENING.

Champagne Toast at 12:30 AM

12:20 - Plastic glasses handed out to all by managers and staff.

12:30. Managers personally PR guests by pouring Champagne. DJ or Manager then toasts the crowd on the mic urging all to lift glasses as a group.

NOTE: Be sure to properly account for amount used per local and state laws. PRACTICE ALCOHOL AWARENESS.

Get with the bar staff, come up with a menu of shooters & exotic beach drinks. For some ideas, suggestions, check out the Bartender's Page here.

More promo ideas.... We’ve just scratched the surface here. If you want to learn more, I’d like to invite you to read more about "Success Management Systems" by ordering our new book, "Bar/Nightclub Management & Marketing - 101 Ways To Make The Cash Register Ring" It's a  powerful tool for creating traffic & increasing sales using proven marketing, promotions & improved operations techniques. Details here.