Money isn't everything, but it sure is nice.
Estimate how custom cowboy hat sales and giveaways could generate annual profit for your bar while creating additional tipped income for your bartenders.
Purchase 2,000 Economy hats, sell 2,000 at $10.00 each, give 0 away, and generate an estimated $8,000 in annual bar profit plus $4,000 in bartender tips.
Estimates are illustrative only and are not a guarantee of sales, tips, or profitability. Hat purchase costs shown exclude shipping and applicable taxes. Estimates do not include payment processing fees or other venue operating expenses. Customer tips are assumed to be paid in addition to the listed hat sale price.
Selling every hat at the highest possible price may maximize direct merchandise profit, but it may not maximize the value of the hats as a marketing campaign.
The right balance depends on your venue. Every hat sold or given away puts your brand on someone's head — potentially inside other bars, around town, at events, and in the photos and videos they share.
Keep the price accessible enough that customers actually want to buy and wear the hat, while using merchandise sales to recover some or all of your promotional investment.
A free hat does not generate merchandise revenue, but that does not make it wasted inventory. Use giveaways when the hat can encourage participation, reward a customer, or create a memorable moment.
The promotional value continues after the hat leaves the venue. Events and recurring promotions can encourage customers to bring the hat back and wear your branding again.
Free hats work best when there is a reason behind the giveaway. Here are a few ways venues can build them into the customer experience.
Create designated nights where customers who come in wearing your branded hat receive an eligible venue perk or promotion. This gives customers a reason to bring the hat back and wear your branding again. A discount on Tuesday night drinks, half off cover charge, etc.
Ride the bull for the required amount of time and earn a free branded cowboy hat. The giveaway becomes part of the entertainment while rewarding customers for participating.
Use hats as prizes during line-dancing lessons, competitions, dance-offs, or other participation-based events that already draw attention from the crowd.
Give a branded hat to customers celebrating their birthday. Birthday groups are already likely to take photos, videos, and group pictures throughout the night.
Give hats to the first 50 or 100 guests during a selected event or slower night that you want to build into a larger recurring promotion.
Birthdays, bachelor and bachelorette parties, alumni groups, college organizations, and other large parties can put multiple matching hats into the same photos and videos.
Put hats on regular customers, performers, event hosts, DJs, and other people who are likely to wear them repeatedly and remain visible around the venue.
Build hats into photo contests, venue-approved tagging campaigns, or other social promotions that encourage customers to create and share content featuring your venue.
Promotional offers, contests, discounts, and alcohol-related promotions should be structured in accordance with applicable state and local laws and venue policies.
