18 Bar Promotions with Drink Tokens

1. 2 for 1 Drink Special (1 drink + 1 token)
2. Recurring Drink Token Night
3. Drink Token Bundles
4. Cover Charge Includes Drink Tokens
5. Drink Token Giveaways for Sunday’s Game
6. Free Drink Token with Food Purchase
7. Rain Checks
8. Drink Token Replacement for the Proud Father Cigar
9. Random Drink Token on the House
10. Separate the Server from the Cash with a Token Cashier
11. Special Event and/or Holiday Commemorative Drink Tokens
12. Fund Raiser Commemorative Tokens
13. Multi-Use VIP Pass Tokens
14. Single-Use VIP Pass Tokens
15. Commemorative Event Tickets
16. Sell Directly as Souvenirs
17. Drink Tokens as Contest Giveaways
18. Free Appetizer Tokens

2 for 1 Drink Special (1 drink + 1 token)
This is the standard 2 for 1 special, but instead of setting down 2 drinks on the table (one of which will be warm by the time the customer gets to it), you give the customer 1 drink and 1 souvenir-quality SmartBar token which can redeemed later that same day or on a future date… or just kept as a souvenir.

Recurring Drink Token Night
Have one night a week (or month) where souvenir-quality SmartBar tokens are purchased from a non-bar cashier and all drinks must be purchased from the bar with tokens. They can be sold individually or perhaps only in $10 or $20 bundles (at a discounted per drink price or not). Tokens can be printed to indicate they are only redeemable on that night each week, which has many tertiary benefits such as: tokens sitting on dressers at home will build repeat business on a targeted slow weeknight, and the constrained redemption window means more tokens will become souvenirs that never return.

Drink Token Bundles
This can be a periodic special or something that is always available. The idea is a simple volume discount up sell. Let the customer decide between paying $4 per drink one at a time or paying $30 for a bundle of ten tokens (25% discount). While this presents a modest value proposition to an individual patron who frequents the place, it will attract large groups who can take advantage of the shared buying power. Additionally, the larger the increment of the bundle, the larger the unused remainder is going to be that walks out the door (and may never return).

Cover Charge Includes Drink Tokens
Bundling a free drink or two into the cover charge is a staple value-proposition that many bars utilize today, especially in entertainment venues. Using drink tokens just improves this already profitable model. Why use disposable raffle style tickets as drink coupons when you can use SmartBar’s souvenir-quality drink tokens where X% will walk out the door as extremely high-margin souvenirs (not to mention the free marketing aspect). Tokens can even be customized for particular events as commemoratives.

Drink Token Giveaways for Sunday’s Game
An easy way to promote your sports fan crowd for a particular game or day of the week is to offer Sunday’s game drink tokens as a bonus during your weekly happy hour or another busy time. Every happy hour martini gets a souvenir-quality “Redeemable Sunday during the game” SmartBar drink token. Some will come in on Sunday to redeem the tokens, some will pass them onto sports fan friends, and some will just disappear as souvenirs. You win either way.

Free Drink Token with Food Purchase
Another long standing up sell is to bundle a free drink with your meal purchase. It’s simply upping the value-proposition to the customer while only marginally increase the costs by adding a high-margin product to a low margin one. Give a SmartBar drink token instead of a forced drink and that benefit becomes more attractive to a good percentage of your food customers as the token is: 1) transferrable to a friend for non-drinkers and designated drivers, 2) time shifting to another time for those that simply don’t want another drink right now, and 3) just a really cool souvenir for tourists and local collectors.

Rain Checks
This is why bar tokens were invented in the first place – to remedy the situation where someone buys a round and half the recipients still have a full or half-full drink in front of them. Instead of forcing everyone to drink up, the token gives them a marker for a future drink (and they don’t even have to redeem it that night if they’ve already had enough). The added benefit is that this allows the bartender to recognize the generosity of the buyer, even if the recipient needs to be cut-off. They can use the token another night.

Drink Token Replacement for the Proud Father Cigar
With smoking (especially smoking in a bar or restaurant) becoming such a hot potato as of late, a souvenir-quality SmartBar drink token is an ideal replacement for the age old tradition of the proud new father handing out cigars to commemorate the birth of a child. Recipients can get a drink to toast the event, or even keep the token to commemorate the event. If you want to initiate the tradition at your local establishment, have both some baby blue and pink tokens on hand at all times and make it known to your regulars. Helping regular patrons share moments like these in your place will cement your establishment’s reputation in the community, plus be the first place they think of for bringing the celebration.

Random Drink Token on the House
Bar owners know well the business-building value of giving away the occasional drink on the house. SmartBar souvenir-quality drink tokens add a new dimension to this time-honored tradition because where a drink is consumed and largely forgotten, a nice drink token can be kept as a commemorative. The customer, who just landed the great new job, gets generously offered a free drink token by your bartender. Depending on their mood, they might well choose to keep the token to commemorate the life milestone. Suddenly, your establishment is permanently associated with that milestone.

Separate the Server from the Cash with a Token Cashier
Keeping the cash collection in one place and the serving in another is a viable theft protection method. This works especially well for establishments with a transient staff or for one-time events where bringing in outside untested help is necessary.

Special Event and/or Holiday Commemorative Drink Tokens
Help your patrons commemorate great bar holidays (Cinco de Mayo, St. Patrick’s Day, Oktoberfest, Mardi Gras, etc.) and collective life milestones (retirements, college graduations, sports events, etc.) with a date stamped souvenir-quality SmartBar drink tokens, and make a healthy profit in the process. Regularly put out a new token every year and kick off a new tradition that will keep the locals coming back every year to get the new design and add it to their collection.

Fund Raiser Commemorative Tokens
The many uses of SmartBar tokens go well beyond just that of drink currency. Our beautiful full-color souvenir-quality tokens are ideal to be used as durable and easily portable commemorative pieces. Offer to co-brand them with local charities or just locals patrons in need to raise money. Sell them at $5 piece or more with 100% of the proceeds going to the charity, and have your establishment host and sell food and beverage for the event. Permanently intertwine your establishment’s name and reputation in the community.

Multi-Use VIP Pass Tokens
This is a non-drink use of our SmartBar tokens where the proprietor or staff can selectively give out (or alternatively sell) “pass the line” or “special section access” VIP tokens to individuals or groups that you want to encourage repeat business with. Circulation can be controlled by having expiration dates printed on the tokens or using different color tokens every few months .

Single-Use VIP Pass Tokens
This is a non-drink use of our SmartBar tokens where event promoters can drum up a selective crowd outside of your premises by giving out (or selling) single-use VIP event flyers on a token that double as entry tickets. Their portability (slip them in a pocket like change) make them far better than flyers for pass along marketing.

Commemorative Event Tickets
A durable, full-color branded ticket solution for events at your establishment. Sell them once when the ticket is purchased and collect them at entry to avoid duplicate use. Then hand them out (or sell them off at a healthy profit) as commemoratives once the event is winding down.

Sell Directly as Souvenirs
At a retail price of $2 or more per token, it’s a highly profitable souvenir alternative to matchbooks, or an extremely portable souvenir alternative t-shirts, shot glasses, and beer mugs. This model works great in locations with lots of tourists.

Drink Tokens as Contest Giveaways
To drum up excitement and foot traffic, establishments can stage periodic or regular events where individual drink tokens or bundles as given away as prizes in bar game competitions or drawings. An alternative is to partner with local radio stations and let them use your bar’s drink (or food) tokens as giveaways. Just like rebates or coupons, you can generously give away $100 in drink tokens and only count on only X% getting redeemed.

Free Appetizer Tokens
SmartBar tokens, while traditionally used as drink coupons, work equally as well when used as food tokens. Try a 2 for 1 appetizer special where the customer gets one appetizer and one token good for another later that day or on another day. Just like with bar tokens, the portability of a token and its ability to transfer the time of an incentive translate into a huge value add to the customer plus a good percentage of the tokens walk out the door and never return. And if they do return, they typically bring a customer with money in his/her pocket and likely a group of friends in tow.

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