Go Glow, Turn Off the Lights and Turn Up the Profits
By Taylor Rau
Though in many circles the rave scene may be going, glow-in-the-dark products, from the bar to the bathroom, are still glowing strong, largely thanks to customers who prefer their nocturnal nightlife environments with extra color and light.
Consider your clientele and perhaps go glow. The myriad accessories and options can conjure up fun for guests and profits for you. Turn off the lights and turn on the revenue. Here come the GIDs.
Neon Necessity
The flickering neon sign hanging over the tavern door or suspended in the window has long beckoned patrons and become associated with the glow of nightlife. However, these products themselves are a far cry from their predecessors, not only drawing traffic but also daring guests to let go.
Susan Todaro, a manager at Club Abyss in Sayreville, N.J., says glow products drop inhibitions, and two of her club's most popular promotions prove that. She says during Abyss' Teen Night once or twice a month glow sticks are given away to a very receptive 13- to 18-year-old demographic. On the other end of the spectrum, the giveaway glows add atmosphere to the weekly Friday Male Review –– when the older women have their fun.
“The younger kids really like to dance with them,” Todaro says. “And the ladies use them as attention getters, flipping or twirling them and saying, ‘Look at me'.”
Typically, Todaro says Abyss' staff goes through around 800 to 900 sticks per month, and during each promotion around 100 to 200 are distributed to guests. Orders also are typically placed for 15 tubes (50 sticks per tube) and she says the cost margin has kept the staff happy, especially when she sees how much fun customers are having with them.
“What can I say?” says Todaro. “They're great for giveaways.”
Mega Margins
Even in contrast to giveaways –– rather as “getaways” –– glow-in-the-dark items bring guests in by allowing them to zone out, says Deidre Cox, co-owner of Dimples in Natchez, Miss.
“With them people often come in feeling like they're in a different place,” she says. “They really light up the atmosphere in our bar.”
And they light up the sales. Cox says since she and her husband took over ownership of the bar, she has seen a direct correlation between traffic/revenue and their decision to add neon nuances.
Whether in green, blue, yellow, pink, purple, or red, Cox says the bright, 1 1/2-ounce souvenir shot glasses carried at Dimples have been piquing sales as much as customer curiosity. In fact, the primary server at the bar, the “glow girl”, has recently recorded upwards of $500 per night because of these items, she says. Additionally, Dimples' newest add-on, lighted serving trays, boost exposure.
“They increase the servers' visibility,” Cox says. “Sales have just been up since we've gotten these products … people see (the glow-in-the-dark items) from across the room and say,‘What's that? I want one of those.'”
Perhaps the best attribute of these items, she says, is that they provide a win-win situation for the bar. “You cover the cost of the shot glass, still make your profit, and it gives people something to talk about, something to take home and remember you by.” By ordering 288 or more shot glasses from her supplier, Cox says the glasses can come at a cost as low as 94 cents per unit, an excellent profit margin (shots are $3 per regular three-ounce, $5 per 3 1/2-ounce glowing shot glass) and an extreme opportunity to upsell as well. Bahama Mamas and other pre-made mixes are great complements to the glowing glassware.
“They're a great alternative to Jello shots … which, unlike the glow products, really have been around a long time,” she says.
Cox says they also push the glow products farther at the bar by adding neon straws to the more expensive drinks in the bar, and sometimes giving away leis when they are purchased. NCB
