Hospitality is a struggling industry at the moment, as reduced public spending meets rising overheads. With business energy bills rising by more than triple in some edge cases, many independent bars and restaurants simply can’t weather the economic storm.
While this is devastating news for many individual businesses, and indeed the industry as a whole, it is also something of an opportunity. As the competition thins in certain areas, new entrepreneurs in hospitality with the capital to launch a new business could stand to profit well. But launching a new venue is not a simple endeavour.
There are many different things to juggle when opening a new venue concept, from organising suppliers and stockists to interior design and digital PR. But the success of a new venture often falls to the success of its launch event. Not only is it an opportunity to win over new potential regulars, but also the media and influencers you invite. But how can you effectively pull your launch event together?
A Night to Remember
The most important thing to understand about your launch night is that it exists to make a lasting impression. The design and philosophy of your venue should be impressive enough, but anything you can do to help that along will help. With this in mind, the following suggestions are the most likely to engage your visitors and target audience.
Physical Media
Guests love freebies, and providing your bespoke merchandise as part of a goody bag to take away on the night can be an effective way to win a new customer. Your goody bag will have several different items in it, but the most important items to include are items of physical media.
You could include bespoke, launch-event-only flyers that display menu information as well as special upcoming events, as a form of advertising push for long-term engagement. You could include embossed business cards with venue information for private hire included; some venues operate VIP areas that can only be accessed with a code or phone number, and your launch event business cards could act as passes.
Branded Merch
Your goody bag should also include some free items that can act as souvenirs of the event in question. How these manifest would necessarily depend on the vibe and theme of your venue, but many exciting opportunities present themselves.
You could simply include a branded deck of cards or a book of matches for somewhere with a more traditional aesthetic. For a party venue, glowsticks and branded whistles are a fun idea; for somewhere with a little more import, you could go as far as to have etched whiskey glasses made and gifted.
Granted, all of the above constitute real costs to your business – but they are all in service of a greater good. That greater good is the definition of your local footprint and the strength of your impact.
