As Al Pacino’s character told his team in the Oliver Stone film “Any
Given Sunday,” football is a game of inches —and so is life, and so is
business. Perhaps never has this maxim been truer than in today’s economy, when
American consumers look for those “inches” not only in the prices of
goods and services but in the nuances and differences between bars competing for
their fanship.
With
fans digging deeper into football season and leaning toward the playoffs,
football provides a winning play for operators hoping to bring more traffic for
longer periods of time into their establishments.
1 Don’t scrimp on the coverage and quality. They are your portals to
the very focal point of why everyone is in your establishment. In today’s
on-premise environment, if you’re not offering high-def screens — and plenty
of them — you are going to lose market share to those who do have better
presentation.
Even if you live in or near an NFL city, you can bet your market still has
plenty of fans of other NFL teams. Just because you are in Denver doesn’t
automatically mean you’re catering only to Bronco fans. With the NFL DirecTV
package and enough high-def plasma screens, you can make sure you’re known as a
destination to see it all.
In this same vein, make sure you have enough screens to also show Major
League Baseball games up through the World Series, when baseball and football
overlap.
If you have the space, a fantastic tool is offering private rooms, complete
with special service and a screen dedicated to the group’s game of the day.
2 Host Alumni Groups. Anyone can order the sports packages at home, so
you’ve got to give them a reason to leave their leather chair and go to a bar
— especially in the current tight economy.
The reasons they would choose to go to a bar are pretty simple. They seek the
camaraderie and energy of being surrounded by other fired-up fans, and they love
talking about the games with friends and fellow patrons. Marketing to alumni
groups to host get-togethers for watching college games is a way to add more
profit opportunity.
3 Play to the Ladies. If you’re in a market of any size, chances are
you’re competing with a mega sports bar with a lot to offer. Especially if that
sports bar has an upscale atmosphere, top-notch food and high-quality specialty
cocktails and wine, it’s a good bet that it’s attracting a fair share of female
guests. Logically, the competition also may be pulling your male customers who
are out with their wives or girlfriends who want to enjoy game day as well.
Perhaps more importantly, in this economy, you’re competing with your
potential patrons’ homes. The presence of women in your sports bar can be the
deciding factor for male football fans considering just watching the game in
their living rooms. Get them out to your bar.
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More Promotional Ideas |
Aside from atmosphere and product offerings (improve your game!), get
creative to attract more female guests. At risk of stereotyping, although
increasingly more females love to watch football, at the same time many other
women simply want to go out to a sports bar and enjoy the general air of energy.
So, make your place appealing to all.
“I’ve made a lot of money with NFL-based promotions over the
years,” says Jon Taffer, president of Taffer Dynamics Inc. and spearhead of
myriad successful restaurant and bar concepts over the years. “When we
sought out and formed our own in-house fan clubs for teams outside our markets
(Packer Backers, Cowboy fan clubs, etc.) we really grew our Sunday business.
I’ve watched us all do Monday night football promotions, and with the game
always being on TV, our efforts were diluted and we had fewer in
attendance.”
TDI took a different approach.
“We launched I Hate Football Mondays,” Taffer says. “We still
had the game on our video monitors, but we targeted all our promotional ideas
and outreach to females. We were the only operation on Mondays to be filled with
women. Ever see a bar or nightclub with a couple hundred females go broke? I
never have.
“For that very reason, we often take this approach. Think out of the
box; sometimes do the exact opposite of your competition. Get noticed.”
4 Out-Inch the Competition. Operators should be poised to continue
practicing the time-honored tradition of offering game day specials to round out
their attractiveness to patrons —who have more sports bar options than ever
before, when they aren’t considering staying home altogether. So, give them a
great value.
Drop the cover charge and try to draw as many people in to buy beer, spirits
and food. And, like any good coach identifying and exploiting the talents of his
best players, put the ball in the hands of your distributors. Draw up a game
plan that makes them star players in your campaign to come up with great
specials to offer your patrons.
Think about deals such as 32-ounce domestic beers selling $7 — a great
deal, especially when compared to NFL stadium prices, not to mention the bar
across the street, where the same price buys less. Make sure your distributor
can give you enough product to supply the demand you’ll have. This goes not just
for suppliers of the Big Three breweries’ flagship products; also try to
capitalize on the appeal of craft brews and micros from your region.
If the upscale sports bar down the street is menuing incredible, borderline
gourmet entrée selections, and you feel you can’t compete, don’t try to. Or
rather try competing with a completely different tact: Offer a buffet for a flat
fee, full of bite-size cheeseburgers, wings and other classic, tried-and-true
football fan favorites. The result is the next best thing to tailgating at the
game itself — or maybe it’s even better, since you’ve got multiple games to
enjoy.
Another idea is to offer a ticket at the beginning of the season, with a
reward of a free meal or drink if a patron goes to your bar for every game. This
could build a loyal customer base for the season and beyond.
Again, it all comes down to the inches you can gain by fleshing out your
offerings and making the difference in whether a patron darkens your door or
another.
5 Be the Super Bowl Destination Bar. If you’re really serious about
taking the lion’s share of business in your area — or at least a significant
share —you’ll begin prepping for your Super Bowl party at least six weeks
before the big game.
Jason Stone of MarkeTeam Inc. advises selling tickets in advance and at the
door for, say, $25 — a price that includes all-you-can-drink tap beer, $1 well
drinks, complimentary food and an entry in prize giveaways. And institute a
head-count cap. You want your place pleasantly full, but not so packed that it
becomes a drag for guests over the long haul, driving paying customers to other
bars, with a bad taste in their mouths about your establishment.
Set up prize lockers. When a patron’s number is called, he or she selects a
key from a bucket and is awarded the matching locker full of prizes from
sponsors and local businesses. Just think about all the schwag your distributors
have on hand from the beer and spirits suppliers. Fans love all that stuff, such
as inflatable chairs, patio umbrellas, etc. Or, for your grand prize, partner
with a vacation package company to give away trips.
And maximize your profit potential all day long. Fans view Super Bowl Sunday
as a national holiday of sorts, so bring them in early. Offer Mimosas and add a
do-it-yourself Bloody Mary bar for those trickling in earlier in the day.
During the game, there are many opportunities to maximize your sales.
Announce drink specials linked to different game-related events, such as half
price appetizers for an interception, $1 you-call-it drinks for a sack or shot
specials for a kickoff returned for a touchdown.
After the game, don’t lose the momentum. Don’t just leave your TVs tuned to
post-game coverage on too long or switching to the news. When the winning teams
begins its Champagne celebration, follow suit. Immediately offer specials on
bottles of Champagne (and by the glass). Promote a Champagne reservation system
so guests can pre-order a bottle that will be brought out to their table at the
end of the game.
