In the club and bar business, it can be said that many items are necessities glassware, an appealing inventory, cash registers or POS but in the sports bar arena, and more specifically before and during March Madness, a few extra necessities help operators get more net from the nets.
Basketballs and Buffalo Wings
At Buffalo Wild Wings in Louisville, Ky., General Manager Denise DeLuca says the first step is subscribing to an extended cable package, something many owners shy away from because of perceived cost. However, she says her venue's DirecTV package's ability to broadcast each and every game during the tournament is a major attraction, and something that draws in those who may otherwise watch the action at home or miss them entirely due to work.
We see initial increase in traffic for the conference games, then an additional increase in traffic for the first day of the tournament, DeLuca says. The most noticeable difference in our demographic is (that) we start seeing more professionals coming in for late lunches, or leaving work early to watch afternoon games.
Work It
Owners, take note. With the right marketing to local professionals, afternoon to Happy Hour-and-beyond sales can be slam-dunked. How large an impact does March Madness have on revenue, though? DeLuca reports that sales increase by 20 percent during the tournament. This compares with Super Bowl Sunday, she says, but with one important difference March Madness has the edge on duration.
Buffalo Wild Wings' staff energizes their marketing efforts accordingly.
We have an increase in all of our media advertising; mostly radio spots and TV spots both on cable and network ads, DeLuca says. We also increase our print ads, often teaming with the LEO (Louisville Eccentric Observer) and having printed brackets available for our guests. The marketing expenses are factored into our annual budget and money is designated for March Madness, just as money is designated for the start of football season, etc. There aren't usually many surprises, she says.
What may be surprising, though, is just how enthusiastic March Madness can make staff and clientele. When asked her favorite aspect of the tournaments from a managerial perspective, DeLuca says, The enthusiasm of the guests and the staff. March Madness promotes tremendous interaction between our guests and the staff, beyond providing hot food and cold drinks in a fun atmosphere.
It gives us a chance to find out about our guests, she says. Who's your team?'/Are we going to go all the way this year?'/Go Buckeyes, beat Michigan!'-types of conversations are a great way to begin building relationships with any of our new guests and strengthen relationships with our faithful guests that return year after year.
Chatter's Word of Mouth
Kevin Crabtree, manager at Starwood Hotel's Chatter's sports bar in Bethesda, Md., says regulars are reliable for March Madness, but also new faces and the accompanying relationship building that results from game watching is satisfying in terms of sales and smiles from guests.
As an operator, (our favorite aspect of March Madness) is that we enjoy the increase in revenue and the opportunity to bring new guests into the (venue) for the remainder of the year when (other) sport events are not going on, Crabtree says.
While not a large venue, Chatter's features 22 TV sets for guests and also subscribes to the DirecTV March Madness package. As a result, Crabtree says up to 10 separate games are broadcast simultaneously, and the abundant viewing reduces the staff's need to advertise. In fact, Crabtree says traffic is greatly increased each March Madness season solely through word of mouth.
We do have a lot of regulars come into Chatter's to watch the games, so many of the people are the ones we get during our football season, he says, but mostly they are the faces that we see during that one month of games. It is a great time to build new relationships with the fans and try and bring in new faces we are looking forward to a great year of basketball.
Points to Consider
The staff at Red & Jerry's in Sheridan, Colo., is looking forward to a great season as well. Director of Sales and Marketing Danaria Farris says March is one of the 82,000-square-foot entertainment complex's largest earning months.
March is one of our busiest times, and I'd say traffic is generally up 30 to 40 percent during tournament time, she says.
With more than 300 TV sets throughout Red & Jerry's, it seems guest traffic would be a given, but Farris says the venue's staff goes to great lengths to promote the contagious atmosphere of March Madness.
Each season, in addition to beverage and food specials such as this year's 10-cent chicken wings Happy Hour special she says raffles and giveaways, whether venue-funded or in conjunction with purveyors, are offered. Travel giveaways to locations such as Las Vegas and Mexico are raffled, free to enter for guests. This year, Farris says the club's operators plan to partner with a travel company to arrange the package and destination. She also makes the point that the March timing with spring break is prime time to hype these raffles. They're advertised by e-mail, on Red & Jerry's Web site with tournament schedules and news, by print, and perhaps most effectively in sports radio spots. This all comes directly from a quarterly budget
Farris says another in-house key also opens many March Madness opportunities the ScoreCard Program , wherein guests sign up for free, are given a magnetic-striped reward card and are awarded points for food and beverage purchases. Every time their card is swiped, they are also automatically entered in special raffles exclusive for them, often for beverage-branded schwag. In the past, Farris says Coor's has provided more specialty items such as a day of golf, a day of snow skiing, coolers or snowboards.
We offer exclusive specials just to our members, and sometimes we also offer exclusive parties just for them. NCB
A Perfect Match
Beer has been around since the beginning of recorded time, but, until recently, not much thought has gone into pairing specific beers with food.
Just like foods, beer comes in a wide variety of flavors and aromas. From the hoppy bitterness of a pale ale to the robust maltiness of a porter, those flavors can significantly enhance guests' dining pleasure with paired with the right foods. When most people drank American lagers, making matches was simple because the
American lager style pairs well with just about any. But things have changed, and if food and beer are not paired at your venue, what better time to begin than the time leading up to highly trafficked March Madness play? Keep these in mind as you prepare to pair:
· It became a new world with the emergence of microbrews and imports, which spurred interest in fuller-flavored beers. Most major manufacturers, including Anheuser-Busch, Coors and Miller, have started brewing a number of traditional all-malt ales and lagers. All of these have opened new doors for operators.
· There are no set rules only guidelines.
· Let your taste buds decide. When eating spicy foods such as chicken wings, a light, refreshing beer will cleanse the palate. For example, American lagers and pilsners provide the perfect contrast and relief from the heat be it temperature or competition on the court.
