Marketing Promotion
Retro Sexy
Taking the classic cocktail resurgence a step further, the management at the DrinkShop at
the W Hotel in downtown Atlanta recently teamed
up with Dixie Pin-Up, a company specializing in
pin-up-style photography. With a little creativity,
DrinkShop was transformed into a photography
studio and a walking homage to the provocative
styles of yesteryear.
Guests were asked to come dressed in
fashions from various eras, namely the 1930s-
1950s, and photographer Matt Odom set up
lights and a small studio space inside the bar.
Dixie Pin-Up founder Sarah Caudel enlisted the
services of a makeup stylist and hair stylist,
and guests were glammed with red lips and pin
curls to complete their ensembles. Most guests
dressed in getups from the ’40s and ’50s, Caudel
says, with a majority of men donning fedoras
and suspenders.
“It’s a classic cocktail lounge where we
specialize in hand-crafted, Prohibition-era cocktails.
So I felt Dixie Pin-Up’s retro glamour was a good
fit,” says manager Nicole Petro. And the feeling
from Dixie Pin-Up was mutual: They liked the idea
of using that venue because “the space was, décor-
wise, a modern twist to classic cocktail lounge,”
Dixie Pin-Up
Caudel says.
Behind the stick, bartenders mixed up three
vintage-inspired cocktails, which were specially
priced at $6, along with three discounted beers.
All of the male staff came to work in vests and ties
and the females on staff were treated to hair and
makeup makeovers as well.
“There was no charge to come,” explains
Caudel, “and the styling services were for tips
only. All photos were posted on our web site and
available for purchase in high resolution [prints].
Nicole was looking to bring in some business
to the new property, so we did it on a Monday.
That helped us to pull in an industry crowd and
cater to stylists at salons, which are always
closed on Mondays.”
The night’s turnout was approximately 150
people, thanks in part to an e-mail blast that helped
pull in patrons.
“Financially for the bar, it was quite successful,”
Petro explains. The event has now taken place
twice at W Atlanta-Downtown.
Sin City Goes South of the Border
The N9NE Group of Las Vegas heads up some of the hottest clubs
in the world. To show its appreciation
for loyal patronage, a few times a year
the group hosts “sleepover” parties,
with free VIP invites extended to the
movers and shakers of Sin City.
“We do these between four and
six times a year,” explains David
Gutierrez, marketing manager for
the N9NE Group. “Following a big
weekend, when we are at low occupancy
at the Palms, we get a block of rooms at a discounted rate.
We offer the rooms at that rate to our locals, and then we
take over a floor in the hotel and create four fantasy suites.”
Each sleepover party has a theme, and the latest one, held
on May 26, was Hot Tijuana Nights. Hornitos Tequila
stepped in as the sponsor, providing complimentary tequila
cocktails and shots.
To tie in a nightclub property with each sleepover, guests
are given wristbands at a participating
bar around 10 p.m. For the Tijuana
Nights event, everyone went to Moon
Nightclub for the evening before they
headed up to the 26th floor after-
party, where the walls were plastered
in Hornitos advertisements, a line was
drawn on the floor indicating where
America becomes Mexico, and a man
dressed as a cartoon donkey posed for
pictures with guests.
“In one of the rooms we created a
mock jail,” explains Gutierrez. “We hired models to arrest
people, and then their friends had to take a tequila shot to
get them out of jail.”
The themed evenings draw plenty of attention from
Vegas regulars as well as celebrities; rapper Nelly attended
Tijuana Nights. “Sales always go through the roof for the
hotel and the nightclub when we do a sleepover, and we get
a lot of celebrity attention.”
