Marketing Promotion
Caviar Dreams Come True
Robin Leach’s days of ending “The
Lifestyles of the Rich
and Famous” with
his signature sign-off,
“Champagne wishes
and caviar dreams”
may be over, but for
guests enjoying a night
out at Red Square, Las
Vegas’ Russian-themed
nightlife and dining
destination at Mandalay
Bay, caviar dreams come true nightly.
General manager Kari Olsen came up with a way to entice
guests to order more cocktails two years ago by coupling
group drink orders with free caviar.
For every four Russian Standard Platinum cocktails pur-
chased (totaling $17 a piece), guests receive one free ounce
of Marky’s Caviar with all the condiments. The deal runs
Monday through Friday from 4-6 p.m. in the bar/lounge area.
“We have no plans on stopping this,” Olsen says.
“Guests love the promotion. It’s a $65 value, and you can’t
find free caviar anywhere! This also allows guests who have
never tried caviar to do so without paying big ticket prices.”
The main marketing effort for the promotion has been
magazine ads, particularly in VEGAS magazine. Additionally,
there have been commercials on the Travel Channel, e-mail
blasts and a poster in front of the restaurant.
Graveyard Movie Mayhem
Las Vegas is a city with the unique opportunity to cater to bar enthusiasts at all hours of the night and day. To take advantage of this, Frankie’s Tiki Room’s
graveyard-shift bartender Larry Lava approached the venue’s owner about hosting a
daily double feature movie screening starting at 4 a.m.
“We began the double features in June
2009,” says P Moss, owner of Frankie’s Tiki
Room. “Larry wanted a fun way to entertain
his regulars and attract new business to his
shift. It’s free and open to the public, and we
turn off the jukebox and videos and watch the
movies on the two bar televisions.”
The promotion has earned a following, and
also increased beverage sales.
“ 4 a.m. is not a time when the general public goes out to see a double feature,”
quipps Moss. “But it is a strong time of the night bar-wise, so we generally have a full
bar anyway. And the movies do increase the crowd, plus keep some regulars staying
longer. The crowd gets bigger each week.”
While there is no signature drink tie-in yet, there has been an increase in the
Graveyard Drink Special, which is $5 for a beer and any shot. Guests also receive free
popcorn to nosh while watching the films.
“It is promoted mainly by our web site, Twitter, word of mouth, editorial coverage
and handing out fliers to customers listing the upcoming schedule,” Moss says.
“We recently partnered with the CineVegas Film Festival to host select Late Night
Cinema viewings throughout the month of the festival with films featured during its
11-year history.”
So far, Moss and Lava view the promotion as a success, and they plan to continue
it indefinitely.
Getting the Groups
“(Le) Poisson Rouge is always looking for new and creative ways to market to our existing or
prospective customers,” says Kendel Ratley, marketing
director for the New York City cabaret club. “Several
people on our staff, including our co-founder Justin
Kantor, had been early subscribers to the Groupon
newsletter, and we very quickly brainstormed ways in
which we might work with The Point on a groupon.”
Groupon evolved from a web site called The Point,
which launched in November 2007. The web site
allows individuals or companies to build campaigns,
asking people to give money or do an activity as a
group. The catch? It only works once a “tipping point”
of people agree to participate — delaying action until
enough people came together to have a real impact.
The company then came up with the idea for Groupon
to help ease the decision-making process of what to
do on a night out. Groupon e-mail blasts participants
a deal on one good or service each day, but the deal is
only applicable if enough people purchase a Groupon.
The Point’s framework allows for collective buying, so
Groupon is able to offer exemplary deals. Launched in
November 2008, Groupon features deals on things to do,
see, eat and buy in cities across the United States.
“We settled on a gift card on Groupon, offering
purchasers a 57 percent discount on food and beverage at
the club,” Ratley explains. “One of the appealing features
of the Groupon coupon is that there are no up-front costs.
The income generated from each purchase is shared with
The Point, so our club is giving up a portion of our profits
from sales to The Point. Ultimately, the opportunity to
bring in new costumers to our space is a bigger reward.”
(Le) Poisson Rouge offered $35 worth of food and drink
for $15 — a coupon that was good from early August,
when the blast went out, to six months beyond that.
“The only challenge on our end has been the
redemption process,” Ratley says. “Our bar staff must
manually check each Groupon code against a master
list. An automated process for verification would speed
up the transaction on our end and prevent the possibility
of multiple redemptions.”
