Food, Drink & Restaurant Promos

Give out custom mugs, and people will pour in anything: coffee, tea, Baileys. Truvia, the sugar alternative, was also counting on people pouring in some of its all-natural, zero-calorie sweetener.

The brand launched a clever campaign, Turning the Town Truvia, in which it asked fans to submit names of restaurants that should offer Truvia.

Not only would they have a chance at seeing the sweetener at their favorite restaurants—they’d also be in the running to win $5,000. Each nomination on the brand’s Facebook page was a chance to win the cash.

When a particular eatery received multiple nominations, Truvia sent a welcome gift containing campaign details, an 80-count box of Truvia sweetener, and our favorite, a custom mug.

What a smart promotion. Truvia engaged its biggest fans, and then sent a useful, relevant welcome gift directly to prospects. The custom mugs were a great touch. They invited restaurant owners to relax with a warm beverage, sweetened of course, with Truvia.

Everything was right there in the kit: the sweetener and a mug. All the owners needed to experience the clean, sweet flavor of Truvia was a hot drink.

Mark Brooks, Truvia’s global consumer products director, said that the goal of the campaign was to incentivize potential customers to understand how Truvia fits their own brands and why they should bring in the product.

As a result of the promotion, which ran for nearly three months and concluded in December, Truvia netted 35,000 leads and boosted Facebook fans by 25%. Sweet results indeed.

Promo know-how tip:

Always consider the recipients when creating a welcome gift. Well-chosen promotional products can be the highlight of the package, whether they’re for conference attendees, wedding guests or apartment residents. Our Promotions Specialists will help you select the right promo items. 

When do custom cookies become a fresh, creative part of your marketing? When you add an edible QR code right onto the cookie. Take it from Four Directions, an e-bookstore that needed an environmentally responsible way to offer customers a free trial e-book.

QR codes were a natural fit—people could scan them and immediately download an e-book. But what was the appropriate media on which to print the QR codes? It didn’t make sense for the digital company to use flyers.

Instead, it opted for something pleasing to the environment and the taste buds: promotional cookies.

The bookstore printed edible QR codes on 8,000 custom cookies and served them at popular coffee shops in Hong Kong. Recipients could scan the codes, and then read the e-book while enjoying the cookie with their cappuccino.

It was brilliant marketing for Four Directions. As a result of the logo cookies, site visits surged 45% and sales increased 12%. Literary environmentalists got a sweet treat, and the e-bookstore solidified its eco-friendly brand image.

Promo know-how tip:

QR codes must be the right size and easily scanned to be effective. Talk to our Promotions Specialists about which promotional items work best with QR codes.

Have you ever gifted logo food to your customers? If so, you were probably met with a delirious grin before they cracked into a tin of popcorn or unwrapped a tower of cookies.

Whether it’s savory or sweet, food makes a lovely gift. This is why logo food is a brilliant way to promote your company. It gets your logo in front of your intended audience, and it sparks all kinds of happiness as recipients enjoy their treat.

You want your brand associated with positive feelings, and you can accomplish this with promotional food. Though you can give it for any purpose (we’ve never known anyone to turn away a box of chocolate), here are five reasons for putting logo food in your customers’ hands:

1. Custom food stirs up emotions.

Food is a naturally sensory experience, touching on sight, taste and smell. It conjures feelings of satisfaction, contentment and relaxation—and these feelings spill over into your brand. When customers sip a mug of aromatic custom coffee or savor a rich custom brownie, they’re connecting the pleasurable experience with your company.

2. There’s a promotional food gift for every budget.

You can customize exquisite gift baskets of all the finest foods, or you can opt for single custom chocolate bars. Either way, you’re promoting your business and putting something delightful in your customers’ hands. They’ll appreciate the gift, and you can make it fit with your marketing budget.

3. Logo food mends mistakes.

When you fall short of customer expectations, food is a wonderful way to apologize. It shows your customers you’re acknowledging your shortcoming, and it goes a long way towards boosting customer loyalty. Consider keeping a variety of custom food gifts on hand to distribute when things go wrong. You may botch an order or your customers may have to wait longer than expected. Smooth it over with food.

4. People come together over custom food.

When you send your customers a gift of logo food, they share it—with family, co-workers and friends. Your gift gets enjoyed by many, which means your logo and message get seen by countless people. It’s a great way to keep your company name visible and make it a topic of conversation.

5. Logo food gifts appeal to the masses.

Everybody likes food. From chocolate and cookies to candy and nuts, you can’t go wrong promoting your company with food. It entices people of all ages, and there are options to suit any craving—from salty pretzels to chewy brownies.

Promotional food is a delicious change of pace for your customers, and it’s smart marketing for your company. People immediately pay attention when a beautifully wrapped tower of cookies or package of treats arrive in the office. Check out ePromos’ top 10 gourmet gifts or browse our collection of logo food to send your customers something delightful.

Promo know-how tip:

There’s a logo food item for every situation. If you’re targeting a large audience at a tradeshow or conference, opt for logo food that’s individually wrapped. If you’re aiming to impress an office staff, a gift basket or gift tower can delight the crowd while keeping your logo front and center. 

Custom coasters aren’t just for protecting tabletops from water rings—they’re also a creative way to promote a public service message.

We love how Laus Beer is using custom coasters to promote its brand and responsible drinking. When bar goers start off their night, they see custom coasters with the message: “How about a beer?” along with Laus’s logo.

As the night unfolds (and the beers mount up), the message on the coasters changes as a result of the condensation from the drinks: “And a ride? If you drink, don’t drive.”

These custom coasters are a great reminder to enjoy the evening responsibly. They show that Laus Beer isn’t in the business of simply selling cold ones, but that the brand is taking action to prevent drinking and driving.

See the clever promo here:

Promo know-how tip: Take advantage of the double imprint area on custom coasters, and promote your logo or message on both sides.

We love a great guerilla marketing promotion. There’s something so clever about reaching out to an audience when they least expect it. It’s a guaranteed way to engage the target market and create hype for a product or offering, and it never goes unnoticed. Guerilla marketing has that unmistakable element of surprise that gets people talking about the brand.

For hungry Brits, that element of surprise involved free bagels.

The New York Bakery Co., a U.K.-based bakery that aims “to make good bagels. Just like the ones you get in NYC,” dug up some research revealing that many Brits are simply too busy to pause for lunch.

It’s solution to the country’s fast-paced lifestyle? A clever guerilla marketing promotion using arcade-style custom games that dispense bagels.

These “Bagel Grabbers” were set up in London’s bustling Hoxton Square and Shoreditch district to dispense bagel goodness around the clock. Way cooler than a vending machine, these custom games let users play for their food. People could maneuver the grabbing arm to try to get their preferred bagel flavor: cinnamon raisin, plain or sesame.

Each bagel was individually wrapped and sealed with a logo sticker to keep it fresh. What a smart way to target the masses and solve their mealtime dilemmas.

This guerilla marketing promotion puts a whole new spin on grabbing a quick bite to eat. We love it, New York Bakery Co. And we’re honored that you’re modeling your bagels after those found in our great city.

Promo know-how tip: Guerilla marketing promotions are a great way to solve an immediate need. Is your audience hungry, thirsty, tired, cold? Save the day (while promoting your brand) by using promotional items in a guerilla marketing campaign.

Something was amiss with our custom beer glasses on a recent trip to Hartford, Connecticut. We were going to see the band Wilco at The Bushnell.  We stopped into The Russian Lady one of Hartford’s famous bars near the XL Center. The bartender was really friendly and suggested we try some local Pale Ale from the Southport Brewing Company. While the beer was amazing we strained to read the logo on their glassware.

It was clear that they are mindful of their advertising and take time to produce marketing collateral like these custom pilsner glasses and branded pint glasses with taglines and graphics, however when you take that kind of time, you want to make sure that your custom imprint stands out and is clearly readable.

“After obvious thought to marketing, their imprints were nearly impossible to read.”

Being the promo know-how people, we’d like to share our two cents when it comes to branding with two key tips:

Tip#1 – Always consider the location in which the item will be viewed. A white or light-colored imprint would have been a better choice considering that when people see the logo, the glass is typically filled with beer, making a clear glass essentially brown. Dark colors on dark colors will typically cause a readability issue. Guinness Stout shows that they understand this issue as you can see here in their iconic pint glass.

Tip #2 Create your own background.  You see this tip a lot on custom apparel and t-shirts.  The concept is to create your own background by using two or more colors. Sierra Nevada and Blue Moon are great examples of using multiple imprint colors to create a background so your custom imprinted item is seeing.

Hey, Russian Lady: Call us and we’ll give you 20% off your next order so you can get your brand recognized.

Promo know-how tip: A dark imprint on clear glasses in a dark place is a bad combination. Don’t do it. If you are looking for advice on designing effective promotional products for your bar or restaurant, talk to our promotions specialists about how to make your logo stand out—whatever promotional item you choose.