Doctor’s Orders

Rochester, New York, has been an entertainment hotspot since the days of Cab Calloway. Foreigner wrote “Rev On The Red Light” about cruising down Lake Avenue. But enough FYI trivia about Rochester. At The Dr.’s Inn there, they work hard to make their patrons feel entertained and to feel like regulars. That means The Dr. rolls out plenty of promotions, sponsoring an annual golf tournament and a bowling tournament among other events. They hold an annual Hippies Ball and Mardi Gras celebrations. Most recently, they started a Grateful Dead-style Saturday night with bands like The Million Dollar Trailers and Family Dawg. And if that’s not enough to make you feel welcome, The Dr.’s Inn hired Coyote Marketing to help them implement a date collection system that keeps track of customers and allows the Inn to keep those customers informed about all events. Like the Polar Plunge. This chilling promotion is aimed at benefiting the Special Olympics and will feature more than 500 people jumping into Lake Ontario. Participants who do not have to be hospitalized because of frost bite will, of course, want to head to The Dr.’s Inn for a drink where they can thaw out and feel like a regular. 

Patrons Unwind with Cork & Rind
Promoted as both upscale and innovative, Blue Velvet, located in Los Angeles, is focusing energy on a new Wednesday night event that brings in beer lovers, wine enthusiasts and food gourmands all at once. The weekly “Cork & Rind” promotion showcases a different beer, wine and cheese selection every Wednesday, and Owner Robert Hartstein and Sommelier Matthew Lathan are on-premise to help educate the public at the complimentary tastings. The promotion has been a great success thus far partly because it addresses the variety of patrons that Blue Velvet is accustomed to receiving. The poolside restaurant and upscale lounge draws a pretheatre dinner or after-concert drinking crowd most weekends, and the Cork & Rind events lure these patrons back mid-week by giving a little something for each taste bud. Previous selections have included Belzebuth Brasserie Grain Dorge, France, as the beer, Château Haut Saint Martin Bordeaux Supérieur from Bordeaux, France, as the wine and Brindamour from Corsica, France, as the cheese. T o add ease to the appeal, the venue also provides valet parking on these nights. 

Honey, Hush
Here’s an intriguing combination: bourbon, honey, cute girls — and paddles. Yeah, paddles. To hold shots of bourbon, of course. Wild Turkey has teamed with local bars from Boston to California to offer a series of on-premise events celebrating the release of its new American Honey Lager. During these festive events, American Honey girls offer patrons samples of Wild Turkey American Honey. You can get it chilled or in a cocktail, but the best way is to take it straight up from one of the Honey Paddles that the Honey Girls carry around. In New York City, folks have been paddled at Jimmy’s Barbecue. In Chicago, Ten Pin pulled out the paddles. Gainsville, Fla.’s Italian Quarters got in on the act, as well. What’s more, participants in the promotion say they enjoyed being spanked. In San Luis Obispo, California, one American Honey at Marti’s Bar, wearing a red western shirt and denim cutoffs, kept customers hopping all night with her paddle, proving that even in marketing, there’s nothing like the old pain and pleasure principle.