Where Everybody Knows Your Name

More than banks, more than clothing stores, possibly even more than grocery stores, bars and restaurants surround their customers with logos and branding of all kinds. Glassware, napkins, menus, in-store and outside signage, beer taps, apparel and even buttons and lanyards are all put to use in grabbing patrons attention and getting them to acknowledge a logo for a few moments. Additionally, some bars or restaurants will be full of branding for other institutions, such as beer companies on bar coasters or the local ads on a diner place mat.

With so much logo placement taking place, it might be a safe assumption that the bar and restaurant market is a good one for promotional marketers. With that in mind, Promo Marketing spoke with Todd Lukas, operating partner for the Marlton, New Jersey-based Champps sports bar to get some end-buyer and end-user insight into the market.

Items Bars Want

At a sports bar, receiving promotional items is sometimes just as important as purchasing them. In fact, Lukas stated that most promotional items are given to him by vendors, and not purchased by the bar itself. "Mostly the promotional products come from vendors who want to promote their own brand," he said. "What that does is set up a relationship between my business and theirs. … If a close working partner comes to me to promote their brand and I trust them through past dealings then I usually will be willing to give their product a shot."

Lukas shared some of his preferences for product. "As an operator, we like to see support mostly in the means of glassware and coasters," he said, explaining that such items can be a huge help with cost-control. "For instance, on Thursday night we do Pint Night. I have 51 different draft beer selections, all available for $2.50 each. I sell about 1,500 pints a night," he said. "The more we can get from vendors, the more it helps keep costs down on an item that can become very costly."