Bar Marketing Ideas for December: Christmas Marketing Done Right
Coming up with effective bar marketing ideas for December can be the make or break of the year’s profit and loss sheet.
A lot of bars rely on December to take home most of their annual revenue, as December is the month of fun and festive fever!
Right from the beginning of December, we begin feeling the Christmas vibes all around – thanks to the beautiful decor in the streets and homes, the streets covered with sparkly snow, and the hustle and bustle of festive preps.
There’s glitter and cheer everywhere, with each one of us looking forward to making the most of the holidays coming up.
As a bar business, December is the month when you expect a higher footfall in your bar. While you do your best to pull crowds in your bar, it’s also important for you to know that you have tough competition out there.
With so many bars in the market, you really need to work to give people reasons to drop into yours, to unwind and celebrate the festival of joy.
If you’re finding yourself already into the heart of December, it’s never too late for you to start a bang-on marketing campaign to get crowds to visit your bar.
And we’re always here to help you get started with some amazing, out-of-the-box ideas. So, let’s get started with some bar marketing ideas for December:
1. Deck up your bar
2. 12 days of Christmas giveaway
3. Host Christmas themed events
4. Come up with a festive menu
5. Nail the social media game
6. Offer group discounts
7. Send out holiday cards or emails in advance
8. Don’t forget the kids
1. Deck up your bar
People are likely to walk into bars with fancy decor!
First impressions matter – especially during the holiday season. So, if you can, try and Xmas up your bar in a grand way; this will instantly set aside your bar from hundreds of others out there.
There’s no dearth of ideas for Christmas decorations – you just have to know how to make it look attractive and appealing enough.
And yes, you don’t really need to spend a huge amount to get your bar all Christmassy.
Instead, hire a decor company that’s just starting out and we’re sure they’ll offer you the best decor at a reasonable price.
This will also be an opportunity to promote and support another business (festivals call for good deeds don’t they!)
Christmas lights never go out of fashion – enlighten your place and give it a fairyland-ish look.
A huge Christmas tree with the best little decor hanging on it is also welcome.
Don’t leave out the nooks and corners, ensure every part of your bar is decked up.
You can also come up with a Christmassy photo booth where people can click Instagram-worthy shots.
The ideas are endless – all you need to do is think until you get something amazing out of your think tank!
2. 12 days of Christmas giveaway
Apart from good food and drinks, freebies are what people love the most.
So why not get generous this festive season and host a giveaway?
You can come up with any giveaways of your choice to make it more interesting.
Do keep in mind that many businesses use this marketing tip, so you’ll really have to think out of the box to make your giveaway worth it.
You can offer free drinks, couple passes, complimentary dinners, or drinks to the winners of your 12 Days of Christmas giveaway.
A curated gift hamper filled with Christmassy stuff is also a good idea.
If you have the budget to go elaborate, you can also give people sponsored vacations or a visit to a winery, where they can have fun with their families.
Again, this is another great way of parenting with fellow businesses to come up with amazing giveaway ideas.
Do ensure you create enough hype around your giveaway and reserve the best gifts to the end of the 12 days.
This way, people will be excited throughout, looking forward to what you have to offer next.
For all those who participate in the giveaway but couldn’t win anything, you can offer them a small gift – maybe a free drink or two.
Whatever works best for you, do it. Set aside a budget for the giveaway and make it as interesting as you can!
3. Host Christmas themed events
You can start hosting these events from the beginning of December itself, to get the crowds all excited for the month.
There’s no end to ideas for Christmas-themed events – right from carol karaoke nights to Christmas-themed dumb charades – you can organize it all on different days.
A Christmas quiz, a lucky draw, or some spot prizes, too, can keep the crowd enthusiastic and excited as they spend time in your bar.
Get a local band to play the Christmas classics and leave some space right in the center of your bar so that couples (or people in general) can let go and have a nice time on the dance floor as well.
Try not to get repetitive – people will choose your bar only if you offer them a different, unique experience.
You can decide the themes depending on the overall vibe of your bar.
While some people love loud, buzzing, and noisy bars, the rest just want to chill in a cozy, quiet bar. So, keep this in mind as you plan your Christmas-themed events.
As far as effective bar marketing ideas for December go, themed events are a must.
4. Come up with a festive menu
Festivals call for special foods and drinks – so what’s stopping you from curating a festive special menu?
There are loads of Christmas specials that you can feature on your menu.
You can also put shoutouts on social media asking people to drop in their favorite Christmas foods.
Whether it’s their grandma’s chicken stew or their mom’s gingerbread or the lovely cookies their dad made – there’s room for it all on your menu.
Food brings back fond memories, and you can always help recreate them.
You can either stick to the old classics or introduce them with a twist – either way, the food should be lavish and delectable – just like how you’d expect a hearty Christmas meal to be!
5. Nail the social media game
Get all those near-dead social media handles up and alive during Christmas!
This is the time when you cannot afford to neglect your social media presence, as almost all businesses now heavily rely on social media to get people’s attention.
Also, now that you have planned so many amazing things for Christmas – right from decking up your bar to hosting giveaways, you have an exciting line-up for your clients.
So why not take some extra effort to let them know? Social media is the best way to do this – you can attract the attention of your target crowd instantly.
Before you post on social media, understand the dynamics of different social media platforms.
Not all of them work the same way – Instagram thrives on eye-catching photos, whereas Twitter is all about how witty you can get in the 280-character limit.
Facebook is more welcoming to longer-form content. Know what to post where and you’re good to go!
Also, keep a note of all the trends that are currently ruling different social media platforms.
The challenges, songs, and basically anything that’s currently popular on social media needs to be on your handles, too.
These will also help increase your reach, thus helping add to the footfall during December.
If you can’t devote much time to keep up with social media posts, you can always choose to hire a dedicated team to manage your social media.
Outsourcing where required will help you get the best results, without putting in additional effort.
6. Offer group discounts
Holidays are all about people wanting to spend quality time with their friends and family.
And that’s exactly what you have to offer them! Make use of the holiday season and offer group discounts to people who wish to hang out in your bar along with their friends or families.
If not group discounts, you can always offer them some other perks as well. But make sure the perks are attractive enough to make them want to head to your bar with a group of people in tow.
It can be a free round of drinks, or discounted complimentary snacks – anything that would make people want to come in and stay.
Ensure the group pre-books your bar in advance, so that you are prepared to host them. It can get a bit difficult with so many people around, but once you have a fair idea of the number of people coming in, you are better equipped. This will also ensure you can offer them the best services, food, and drinks.
You may have to make some special arrangements just so that the group can hang out together in your bar.
Put some tables together and move things around so that the group is seated together and can be served easily as well.
Make sure you offer yummy food in the group package, too. After all, what are drinks without great food?
7. Send out holiday cards or emails in advance
Holiday cards and emails are a great way to reach out to your customers.
Let them know that you’ve been thinking about them this holiday season and would love to offer them a reason to celebrate.
Choose a handmade card (again, an opportunity to support a small business) and write personalized wishes on each of them. If you’re sending the cards to your loyal customers, do ensure they are special.
Inside the card, you can place discount coupons, or couple passes to visit your bar during the month of December.
Let them know about the amazing plans you have for the festive season, and how you’d love for them to join in the celebration.
While many business owners think that sending out cards has lost its charm and no one really bothers about it anymore, our advice is to never underestimate the magic of holiday wishes.
It is still very much in fashion and a great way to connect (or reconnect) with your patrons. And nothing works like a gentle reminder through a handmade card.
If you can’t send handmade cards to each customer, you can also choose to send greetings via email.
Emails may not substitute the charm of handmade cards, but they are still a lovely way to get in touch with your customers during the holiday season.
8. Don’t forget the kids
Good bar marketing ideas for December always includes thinking about the kids. It’s a family time afterall.
It’s always nice to have some arrangements for the little ones, too, so that they won’t feel out of place when they tag along with their elders or family members.
Come up with a kid-friendly menu so that the kids can gorge on sweets and some yummy fruit juices.
You can also organize some games for the kids, where they can have their own fun while the elders chill out amongst themselves.
A special area where kids can play games is also welcome.
Do organize some easy fun games for the children so that they too have a ball while in your bar.
It’s not an easy task to keep kids entertained – so be prepared! If required you can dedicate some staff only to cater to kids, so that the service goes smoothly.
Summing up
The best part about festivals is that you can come up with a whole range of innovative festive-themed ideas.
Because after all, it’s all about having fun, reveling in the festive spirit, and spending quality time with loved ones.
As a bar business, you need to give people enough reasons to choose your bar during the festivals and have a gala time with friends and family.
We hope these bar marketing ideas for December have got you started with charting a marketing plan for your bar already.
Also, do remember that these ideas are not the only ones – you can think out of the box and come up with unique strategies that would suit your business as well.
