Category: Advertising & Marketing

Don Draper’s revelation

Posted on by Brian Lee

“A new day. New ideas. A new you.”

Those words were spoken to Don Draper as he began to meditate during the closing minutes of the series finale of “Mad Men.” From there, he had an a-ha moment–or as we like to say here, a “revelation”–and subsequently created the famous “I’d like to buy the world a Coke” commercial.

I know that feeling. Although I don’t meditate, I’ve come up with ideas (although none of that scale) while on the elliptical, while reading and while watching “Mad Men” (honest!).

You don’t need to be in an office brainstorming session to come up with the next big idea. In my experience, inspiration can come from anywhere and anytime. Just don’t forget to write it down!

Slogans: Good, Bad and the Ugly

Posted on by Brian Lee

Slogans can either be your best friend or your worst enemy. In this case, the latter: As part of Budweiser’s #UpforWhatever campaign, Bud Light recently released the following slogan on their bottle: “The perfect beer for removing ‘no’ from your vocabulary for the night.”

It didn’t take long before others began pointing out how the slogan could lead to endorsing a rape culture.

Even though Anheuser-Busch apologized for the slogan, discontinued the bottle and stated it would never condone such behavior, it begs the question as to how the slogan even got approved in the first place.

Although the #UpforWhatever campaign is intended to encourage spontaneous fun, this isn’t the first time the #UpforWhatever campaign has come under fire. The company sent a controversial St. Patrick’s Day tweet that some felt played down sexual consent.

It doesn’t matter the size of your company–put serious thought into your slogan. Think outside the box and put yourself in the outsider’s point-of-view. How will your slogan come across?

Six mistakes bar managers make

Posted on by Brian Lee

After several years of running a dining guide in Madison, Wis., and performing PR/marketing consulting for restaurants and bars, I’ve seen a common set of mistakes that bar managers make.

  1. Not having happy hour and/or drink specials. The increase in customers (who may actually order food, too) will easily make up for the minor discount you offer on drinks.
  2. Constantly changing drink specials. Stick with your specials! You are conditioning customers to expect a certain special–that’s one of the ways you build your base of regulars. One way to make it easier: instead of naming a price ($3.50 rails), just name a discount ($1 off rails). That way you don’t have to keep changing the specials when you inevitably raise your prices. (On another note, don’t call “everyday specials” as “specials,” because if a particular drink is that price every day, then that is the regular price!)
  3. Not accepting credit cards. People buy way more drinks when they start a tab. If you’re worried about people buying one drink with a credit card, set a minimum amount. (I also know some bar managers who prefer a cash-only system to avoid paying taxes. Have fun in jail.)
  4. Not having any web presence. Are you kidding? At least start a Facebook page!
  5. Allowing bartenders too much leeway (only serving regulars, drinking too much, etc.). This has many repercussions, including making the bar unwelcoming to new customers. In other words, this is very bad for business and gives your bar a poor reputation.
  6. Not being aware of area events. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been to a bar that was understaffed (meaning, unprepared) for people coming in from a nearby event. Similarly, I’ve been to bars that didn’t know a major sporting event was on TV, and again, was understaffed.