Trumping the Traditional
Signage is one of the most important marketing tools in your bar, but it can also be one that is frequently overlooked. Now is the time bar owners should start to reconsider a signage upgrade. Today’s options are eye-catching, three-dimensional, and digital, and they not only help to drive in customers—they keep them coming back.
By Ashley Bray
Associate Editor
Sign Builder Illustrated
Most bars have printed posters or chalk boards listing specials, but these can be tedious to update and can go unnoticed by a public that has become desensitized to the deluge of signs. Why not reinvent the traditional and attract the attention of your customers?
TableTentMedia (www.tabletentmedia.com) offers a more in-your-face take on traditional specials boards. The company’s battery-operated, two-sided, backlit table tents can be placed at every table and along the bar for a more personalized approach. Users can set the table tent to remain lit, or to light only when a customer picks it up.
The inserts can be designed and printed on overhead transparencies with just a computer and printer, or owners can opt for TableTentMedia to handle the creative and printing services. Inserts can be easily changed based on the day, time, or however frequently a bar sees fit based on its offerings. “We’re not trying to duplicate menus. We typically recommend to not just list the various cocktails that you offer—maybe list one or two of them and show some great pictures with it,” says Mason Harris, President of TableTentMedia. “Stimulate that impulse buy from somebody in a bar or club for something they may not have been thinking of initially. For example, get beer drinkers to look over and see a great looking ad, backlit, for a margarita.”
Another way to put a spin on predictable prints is through window graphics. “Perforated window graphics are eye-catching, open up previously unusable media space, and have the potential to attract customers,” says Judy Bellah, Public Relations Manager of Clear Focus Imaging, Inc. (www.clearfocus.com), a manufacturer of perforated, pressure-sensitive vinyl films for see-through window graphics.
Clear Focus offers a variety of window films for printing, which can be used to promote anything from events to specials to regular liquor and food offerings. Bars can contact their local print shop for help with design and/or printing. “Prior to production, bar owners should check their state and local regulations governing the display of graphics on bar windows and doors to ensure the display will be in compliance,” cautions Bellah.
When determining a place for the graphics, be sure it is extremely visible and that light falls on the perforated side to illuminate the prints. Bar owners or staff can install the graphics themselves using common tools, or they can contact a professional installer. Visit Clear Focus’ Web site for install tips.
The Promotional Pick-Up
What if you’re looking to do more than rethink traditional signage? The next step may lie in promotional signage.
Never thought a straw could be a sign? Well, think again. StrawAds (www.strawads.com) is taking the commonplace straw and turning it into a piece of signage that sucks your customers in. Bar owners have the option to include their own in-house ads on the straws or to feature those of outside vendors. The best part about this signage? It’s free for bars that feature third-party advertisers.
StrawAds will meet the specifications of the straws at your establishment, including size, color, and wrapped or unwrapped preferences, and they will ship the straws monthly or bi-monthly.
“It’s definitely attracting the attention of the bars and restaurants more just because it’s a good way for them to save some money,” says Michael Fox, Distribution Analyst for StrawAds. And because the ads on the straws are so unexpected, the campaigns have been working. “We do find that promotions on the straws have been very successful. It’s so new that people notice it.”
You’ll need something to put those straws in, so why not a customized glass? At All Ways Advertising, bar owners can get a number of promotional items such as 3D bar mats, condiment holders, napkins, coasters, and even patio umbrellas. Customize the items with the name of your bar, and they become a unique form of signage. Bars and liquor companies can even co-op and have both names appear on the products to cut costs.
Either way, All Ways Advertising (www.awadv.com) is dedicated to getting the right look. “With us, it’s all about the design,” says Ron Selling, Creative Director. “With a certain amount of understanding the client’s needs and understanding who their marketplace is, you can create a product that everybody wants.”
It’s also a product that everyone notices. “There’s so much competition out there, so you want to do whatever you can to attract the consumer’s interest when they’re in that bar,” says Nathan Koenigstein, Account Executive at All Ways Advertising. “They see something on another table, or something sitting on the bar that’s lit up—all those things are huge factors in someone making a final decision as far as what product to get.”
The Digital Age
One of the biggest developments in signage—and where you can stand to gain the most—is in digital signage. This dynamic platform allows bars to entertain patrons, run house ads, and generate revenue all in one package.
One of the immediate benefits of digital signage is a new appearance. “It gives your bar an updated look,” says Chris Wilson, President of FLATalk Digital Inc. (www.flatalk.tv). “An old bar can look slick if they’ve got a flat screen or a digital sign. It’s a technology upgrade.”
The atmosphere in a bar can receive an upgrade too. In addition to a variety of content and ads, bars can run social media applications and games that allow patrons to interact with the screens in new ways.
And while entertaining those patrons, owners should take advantage of the captive audience and get them to come back later in the week. “We all know it’s easier to advertise to your existing clients at lower costs than it is to go out and advertise to prospective clients,” says Wilson. “These are people who are already drinking; they’ve made it to your bar. It’s important to tell them about other upcoming events at your location.”
While the benefits are obvious, there is still one deterrent—the price. “It’s a little more expensive initially, but over the long run it’s cheaper than continuing to go out and print a new banner, a new cardboard sign,” says Wilson. “You can change it instantly.” Most systems even allow users to schedule content ahead of time.
Bars also have financing options. For example, many companies offer leasing options, which is an attractive option for establishments that would need both hardware and software. Systems also allow bars to generate additional revenue through third-party ads, which can help to offset the cost of a system.
One company, AMI Entertainment (www.amientertainment.com/video), offers its TAP.tv system for free to bars in a top-10 market. Featuring two versions, Pro and Light, the system is paid for by third-party advertisements that run on the screen (no competitive ads for other restaurants or bars are shown). However, users can also run custom-made house ads they create using high-definition templates.
TAP.tv also provides four feature channels of content: TAP X-Treme (high-action sports), TAP News, TAParazzi (entertainment and celebrity news), and TAP Gameday. “The purpose is to have something that is relevant and engaging to watch when there’s nothing else on TV,” says David Borlo, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at AMI Entertainment.
And the TV is a very important tool in the bar. “One of the bar owners I met last week said it best: Beyond his staff, the TVs are the most powerful visual communication tool he has in his bar,” says Borlo. “And to be able to control that is a very important thing.”
Fairfield Displays also offers a product that allows for easier control of digital signage. The Coda unit simplifies the organization of content and ads across a number of screens. “They can plug this unit in, work it off the Wi-Fi, and be able to manage their content,” says Jennifer DiRocco, General Manger of Fairfield Displays and Lighting (www.fairfielddisplays.com). “We can provide the screens to go with them, or they can work with anything that has a VGA input.”
Ditch those old paper signs and take a look at some of the new signage options out there. Your business and your patrons will thank you.
