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Nightclub & Bar Brings You a 31 Promotional Ideas to Make October Killer
By Jenny Adams
America's day of the dead also is a bar staff’s day of the dollar, but why limit it to that when there is an entire month for the taking? As frighteningly simple as it may be, Halloween success is all about its promotion. There are numerous ways — such as this list of 31 — to show patrons you take this up-and-coming holiday and its fun as seriously as they do.
1. Pumpkin-Carving Contest: Have a local pumpkin patch set up in your parking lot so people can purchase them on-site. To get started, visit www.halloween.com.
2. Pumpkin-Intestine Wrestling: Save all of the carved-out insides from the carving contest in the freezer. Thaw them out, fill a kiddie pool and host pumpkin-intestine wrestling. To get started, visit www.papermart.com.
3. Trick-or-Treattini:
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1 ounce Absolut Mandarin
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1/2 ounce Jägermeister
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1/2 ounce Orange Curacao
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1 ounce Lemonade
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Splash of Sprite
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Combine all ingredients into Martini glass with Jägermeister last, so it settles on the bottom.
Courtesy of Stingaree, San Diego, Calif., www.stingsandiego.com
4. Costume Donation Night: Offer incentives for patrons to bring in last years’ costumes and donate them to hospitals, women’s shelters and churches.
5. Coffin Of Mystery Brews: Make sure to put your coffin of beer up on a pedestal above eye-level. Fill it with a mixture of cheap beer and expensive, seasonal craft brews and imports.
6. Rocky Horror Screening Party: Perfect your Time Warp! To get stared, visit www.rockyhorrorcostumelist.info.
7. Organic Scary Mary:
- 1 1/2 ounces of Square One
Organic Vodka
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4 dashes each of organic white pepper, dill and celery salt
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One squeeze of organic lemon slice
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Less than a teaspoon of organic horseradish
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3 dashes of Annie’s Organic Worcestershire
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3 dashes of Kaitaia Organic Hot Sauce
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1 1/2 ounces of brine from organic green olives
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Mix ingredients together over ice and garnish with two green olives and a slice of dill pickle.
Courtesy of Elixir, San Francisco www.elixirsf.com
8. Scary Story Open-Mic Night: Turn off all the lights for readings and have your DJ spin creepy sounds. Have an employee run through the bar unexpectedly with a fake chainsaw. To get started, visit www.cduniverse.com.
9. Pimps and Hoes: Host one a week for the month. Each one should outdo the last. To get started, visit www.pimpcostumes.com.
10. Smoking Martinis: Drop a small cube of dry ice into each Martini. The ice will affix itself to the bottom of the glass, sending a smoking effect off the drink while keeping it ice cold.
11. Dry Ice is Nice: There are more uses for this stuff than Martinis at Halloween. To get started, visit www.dryiceinfo.com.
12. Wicca History Lesson: Search the Internet for a local Wicca group. Invite them in to deliver a little history and background on the culture of witchcraft in America.
13. Dead Wedding: Offer to split the budget if one couple will get married on the 13th of October inside of your bar. To get started, visit www.halloweddings.com.
14. Got Mead?: It’s the oldest drink known to man and great for cold nights. To get started, visit www.paganwiccanabout.com.
15. “Fear Factor” Eating Contest: Think deep fried scorpions, rattlesnake, cow’s tongue and Rocky Mountain Oysters as possible options. To get started, visit www.exoticmeats.com or www.grubco.com.
16. Good vs. Evil: Just like a sugar and spice night, have patrons come with a buddy as a version of good and evil for the character they are depicting.
17. Pet Costume Contest: Have your regulars bring their pets in for free, pet-friendly treats, while the owners are treated to half-priced cocktails. Offer advertising in return for free vet checkups, grooming services and pet supplies.
18. Unleash the Beast: Contact your Humane Society and get them to bring their homeless animals to your place for the afternoon. Offer discounts for anyone who adopts a pet and face painting for the kids.
19. Blood Orange Sunset:
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1 ounce Stoli Ohranj
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1 ounce Stoli Vanilla
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1/2 ounce orange juice
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Splash of triple sec
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1 scoop of Blood Orange sorbet
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Combine all ingredients into a shaker
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with ice. Pour into a Martini glass and
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garnish with an orange wheel.
Courtesy of Libation, New York City www.libationnyc.com.
20. Scariest Body Art Display: The scariest tattoo and most outrageous piercing should be rewarded with a gift certificate to a local body art shop.
21. No Pain, All Gain: Dress yourself and your staff in metal. To get started, visit body-jewelry-shop.com.
22. Psychic Phenomenon: Contact a local psychic to come in for the night to enlighten guests.
23. Dark Candles: For scent and sight, candles are the way to go. To get started, visit www.darkcandles.com.
24. Evil Dead: Run a trivia night around the trio of movies that started a cult-like following. To get started, visit www.deadites.com.
25. Blood Lust Party: There are Vampire energy drinks, wine labels, craft brews and spirit brands out on the market. To get started, visit www.vampirewine.com.
26. Nosferatu’s Shooter:
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1/3 part Godiva Chocolate Liqueur
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1/3 part Dr. McGillycuddy’s
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Mentholmint Schnapps
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1/3 part Blavod Black Vodka
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Layer ingredients in shot glass and serve.
Courtesy of www.blavodextreme.com
27. Fantasy “Foot”ball: Great for sports bars looking to spice up — or slice up — a game night. Decorate the bar with severed feet and blood-splattered cleats. Offer prizes for best dead athlete costume.
28. Myspace Masquerade Ball: Set up a separate myspace.com page off of your already established page. Encourage patrons to become friends of that page by offering a “friends only” Myspace.com Masquerade party.
29. Bars on Parade: Get together with other bars in the area to start an annual parade. Have each bar design and decorate their own floats.
30. Staff Night Out: After a months worth of hard work, give your staff a break. Hire a bus for safe night out barhopping. You just might pick up ideas from other bars.
31. Dia de los Muertos: A major holiday in Mexico, it falls from Oct. 31st until November 2nd. It is an avenue to extend the festivities two more nights. Showcase your Latin brands. To get started, visit www.azcentral.com.
NCB
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