It should come as no surprise that custom coasters are a popular tool for advertising, especially if you work at a brewery, bar or restaurant. But, especially if you work at a brewery or bar, it’s possible you may be underestimating the advertising power and effectiveness the creation that custom beer coasters can afford. Custom beer coasters can be used for more than simply printing your company’s name or logo. The possibilities for customization are nearly limitless. Here are a few ways you can incorporate them into advertising for your business.
Custom Beer Coasters for Breweries
Data shows that craft beer is more popular than ever, and craft breweries are continuously making waves throughout the brewing industry. The Brewers Association, the trade association representing small and independent American craft brewers, reported earlier this year that, in 2017, the number of active craft breweries in the US reached 6,266. That number is more than double the number of active breweries in 2013. Not only does this data show a tremendous growth in craft breweries over the last few years, but it demonstrates a giant growth over the last few decades, considering there were fewer than 100 active US breweries during the 1970s.
In an attempt to explain the growing popularity of craft beer, Bart Watson, chief economist at the Brewers Association, has this to say:
“Beer lovers want to support businesses that align with their values and are having a positive impact on their local communities and our larger society. That’s what small and independent craft brewers are all about. The ability to seek beers from small and independent producers matters.”
While this boom in popularity is ultimately good news for your brewery, it also means that competitors are constantly entering and growing their share of the marketplace and vying for your business, placing a great importance on your marketing and advertising efforts.
Enter: custom beer coasters.
“We used Sleeve for our first time ordering coasters for our brewery. We were pleasantly surprised with the print on the coasters and how versatile they were for events. The order came in super quick after we had placed it. I would definitely use Sleeve again for ordering coasters and other swag.” – Sales Representative, Holidaily Brewing Co.
It should come as no surprise that custom beer coasters are a popular tool for breweries. While they are used by breweries from micro to macro, they can be a considerable boon for smaller breweries trying to establish themselves. If you’re in the craft beer business, you’re looking to increase exposure and sales, and custom beer coasters are a great way to do that. Custom printed beer coasters allow you to communicate with your customers and promote your business in a slightly unconventional way. Using coasters as a medium for your message allows you to reach a very targeted, captive audience, ensuring your message stays with them. They are practical, inexpensive and, when placed properly, can be very visible to your target audience. They can even be customized to target different segments of your market.
Even in our digital world, print advertising is still a powerful medium for getting your message across. Custom printed beer coasters are a highly effective way to create brand awareness and help boost sales of your beer products. Custom coasters branded with your messaging, colors and desired designs can help not only promote your business while customers are drinking your beer onsite, but the benefits keep going as those coasters go home with patrons or appear in pictures on social media. Many craft beer enthusiasts like to collect coasters from new breweries and often share them with their friends. With an interesting coaster concept, you can grab the positive attention of patrons. And, if not, the coasters are reusable, so you have multiple opportunities to grab the attention of just the right customer.
To get the word out about your brewery, custom printed beer coasters with your brewery’s message can be handed out at events or given to local bars and restaurants. Most bars and restaurants aren’t likely to turn down free coasters, though they might ask for you for some sort of promotion in exchange. The end result is low-cost advertising that gets the message out about your brewery every time a customer is given one of your coasters.
Giving your coasters to bars and restaurants that carry your products is an ideal scenario, so consider including some coasters in deliveries of your products. Having the bar or restaurant stocked with your coasters keeps your brewery top of mind for bartenders, servers, and customers. A customer may be served a beverage from a different purveyor on your brewery’s coaster, but with the right coaster message, you may turn that customer on to one of your product offerings for their next drink.
While custom beer coasters are a useful offering to local establishments, if your brewery has its own brewpub or tasting room, that’s where your use of custom printed beer coasters can really shine. The possibilities for customization are endless. There are a variety of different messages you can use to promote your brewery to visitors.
Coasters are a great place to use hashtags. Encouraging and patrons to use the hashtag on social media opens up an opportunity to have conversations and build relationships with your customers, and it gets the word out on your brewery! An artfully arranged shot of a tasty beer is something a lot of social media users like to share. Why not encourage your guests to post and to include you in the conversation with a hashtag?
Another option for messaging on your custom printed beer coasters is to go the educational route. The craft beer connoisseur is typically a more informed customer, eager to know more about what they’re drinking. Consider using coasters to help your customers learn more about the beer they’re drinking or other product offerings. With different coasters for each beer, you can give customers more information about the beer, how it’s brewed, tasting notes and more. You might also consider suggesting what their next drink should be: If they liked this beer, they might like another one of your beers with similar notes.
Custom beer coasters are also a great way to inform patrons of the availability of new seasonal brews or special releases, especially for promotion at other bars and restaurants who carry those beers.
Being informative isn’t the only way to endear consumers to your brewery. Finding the right messaging will depend on your brand’s positioning and style. But regardless of whether you’re using one of the above messages or mixing it up with your brand’s messaging, bits of trivia, special promotions or anything else, custom beer coasters will make a great addition to the promotion of your brewery.
Custom Beer Coasters for Bars and Restaurants
As a bar or restaurant owner, you no doubt understand the importance of coasters. They protect the finished or glass surfaces of your bars and tables and prevent unsightly rings. Coasters help preserve these surfaces from damage, so they’re a great investment in your space. But coasters can be so much more than that.
Coasters not only serve as protection for your bars and tables but also present another way to advertise your products or weekly specials, reinforce your brand’s message, allow patrons to support their favorite sports team, advertise happy hour specials—the possibilities are endless. Custom coasters can send a subtle message to your target audience while they’re primed to make additional purchases or endear customers to your establishment, ensuring they come back again and again.
Custom printed coasters can be crafted to serve whatever marketing message you want to send. You can use coasters to promote weekly or happy hour specials, encouraging customers to return on other days or at other times. You could also incorporate and encourage the use of a special hashtag related to your business or a special event by having the hashtag and any relevant instructions printed on your custom coasters.
If your establishment airs sporting events or hosts other kinds of watch parties, Custom beer coasters are a great way to encourage patrons to support their team. For Friday or Saturday nights, when single people are likely to be mingling at your bar, consider including custom coasters with jokes, trivia or icebreakers to help ease awkward first-date conversations. These are just a few ways you can use custom beer coasters—the possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Whatever your messaging or positioning, there’s likely a coaster you can make to support it.
