Identifying 21 and Over Patrons with Bar Wristbands

Bar wristbands offer several benefits to establishments that serve alcohol. The benefits appease patrons and staff, alike. Non-transferable and brightly colored, bar wristbands make it easy for bar staff to visually verify that a patron has paid the cover charge and had their ID verified. Plus, if a guest needs to leave briefly, they can return with a quick flash of their wrist to the bouncer or greeter. No worries about lost tickets or smudged stamps.

If you want to increase spending, bar wristbands are the way to go. Whether patrons are bellied up to the bar being served by a bartender or seated at a table with an assigned server, the bar staff doesn't have to spend time checking IDs. As flattering as it is to get carded the further away people get from age 21, digging for IDs in a purse or a wallet is a time-consuming distraction. People go to bars to relax, chill out and enjoy some good conversation with their friends. By having a bouncer or greeter check IDs at the door, and then securely fasten a wristband to the guest's wrist, the night seems to run more smoothly. All servers need to do is quickly glance at the wristband to know that the person sitting before them is a welcome guest and of legal drinking age. This saves everyone time. Guests who don't have to wait are happier and tend to spend more money.

Bar wristbands not only provide general admission into an establishment, but also assist with access control. Access control is especially important in a 21 and over club where there is live entertainment, like a popular band playing. Members of the band, along with their crew, can be given designated, customwristbandsfor access to authorized areas, enabling them to setup and take down the stage more efficiently. With a quick glimpse, bar staff can identify and distinguish performers from guestsand even attempted "party crashers."

There are two additional ways you can beef up security with bar wristbands. The first is to rotate wristband colors for different nights of the week. That way, if someone tries to get in with the wrong color wristband—especially someone under age—you can quickly “86” them. The second tactic is custom printing, which helps to prevent counterfeiting. Try custom printing the bar's logo on the wristbands, along with the date. Both of these strategies will prevent people from coasting in without having their ID verified. If you do have a cover charge, both of these strategies will also ensure that patrons do no sneak in for free by reusing a wristband from the night before or last week.

Speaking of custom printing, including the bar's logo or any promotions on a bar wristband is an excellent marketing strategy. Bar wristbands turn into walking mini-billboards for your business. If someone has a great night out at your bar, they may keep the wristband on for a few days, maybe even weeks. People they encounter at work, the gym, restaurants are sure to inquire about where they went and what the experience was like. People may approach them and request a testimonial, "I heard that place was fun and had great service. Is it really that good?" Word of mouth can spread like wildfire! Custom printing is an excellent catalyst to get the conversation ball rolling.

If you choose to custom print a promotion, there are a couple of different ways to go about this.To increase sales for that night, print a drink special on the wristbands to promote a premium brand. Reinforce the special by having your staff remind them of the promotion that's right on their wrist. Not only will you increase sales for that night, but patrons will likely start associating your bar with that premium brand that they enjoyed and want to come back for more. A second promotional strategy is to imprint a coupon on the bar wristband. It should be a special that motivates patrons to return. A couple examples include, "buy one drink, get a second one free" or, "try our new microbrew, get a free appetizer." Bar wristbands have the ability to ignite a good memory of a good time and motivate the 21 and over crowd to return to your well-run establishment.

Also, many bars invest in promotions and events to keep the crowds coming. Wristbands can complement the promotion with a custom printed message enticing patrons to join the event, reserve a table, or “save the date.” Plus, if your bar is awarding door prizes or some other exciting promotional giveaways, then serial numbered wristbands or matching-tab wristbands can help the process. With matching-tab wristbands, simply keep the numbered, tear-off stub for the raffle box and the patrons wear the wristbands. When you hold your raffle and announce the winning number(s) the patrons are wearing their “ticket.”

Tips on Using Event Wristbands to Promote Your Business or Event

l

If you are looking for a new and unique way to promote your company or an upcoming event, wristbands are a highly effective and economical strategy to use for spreading the word. There are numerous ways to creatively champion your business or an upcoming event with event wristbands. Here are a handful of winning ideas.

Imprint logos. Custom wristbands are a walking mini billboard. Let’s say your company sponsors or hosts an event. Custom wristbands can serve double duties: branding and security/crowd control. When guests have a great experience at your event, they will likely keep wearing the wristband for days or weeks to come. It can become a conversation starter wherever your guests may roam—the water cooler, hairdresser, grocery store, and the like. To more effectively spread the word, you could imprint your company’s website address on the wristband. In this day of social media, it’s highly possible that some of your guests may get on Twitter or Facebook and tweet or post your website address, and then comment about the fabulous time they had at your event.

Imprint custom coupons.When you distribute wristbands at an event hosted or sponsored by your company, custom messages can be printed. You can turn the event wristband into a coupon by printing something like, “get 10% off product X with this wristband” or “show us your wristband and get $20 off when you spend $100.” In addition to promoting your company from their wrist, an imprinted coupon serves as incentive for guests to take action and purchase your company’s products or services.

Imprint quick response (QR) codes. Have you noticed those little two-dimensional barcodes popping up in surprising places? You may have seen them on business cards, in magazines, on flyers and coupons, even on badges and articles of clothing. For those with smart phones, these codes contain information, offers, and freebies that can be accessed on the go and sometimes exclusively. QR codes imprinted onevent wristbands can be used to offer almost anything from discounted ticketsfor upcoming events to buy-one-get-one-free lunches. They can link to anything from a continuously updated playlist at a DJ night to an updated schedule of seminars at a tradeshow or all-day conference.

Have a team-building car wash.Promote your organization by hosting a car wash, while simultaneously building teamwork and communication. With the logo or slogan imprinted onthe event wristbands, you can hand them out to further promote your business. At the end of the day, multiple people will be walking around town advertising your company by wearing it on their wrist.

Organize a pub crawl for a charity. Why not have a little fun while raising funds for an important cause that your company supports?Wristbands can enhance the experience for participants because they become easily identifiable to bouncers, bartenders and wait staff at each tavern stop. All participants need to do is flash their wristbands to gain entry into the establishment and fetch drinks from the bar. No worries about digging for a ticket or card in a purse, billfold or pocket. Chances of losing a wristband are practically nil because it is comfortably worn around the wrist.

Designate VIP Access. If you are hosting a corporate or fundraising event at a public site, like a large hotel, event wristbands are a strategic way to provide access control and promote your organization. You could line up guest speakers or celebrities to draw in crowds of people to attend your event. Different color event wristbands can designate different groups of people. Perhaps red indicates the guest is authorized to attend the speaking engagement, while green lets security know the guest is allowed back stage to meet the speaker when the presentation is over. Different color wristbands can also be used to honor VIP donors or volunteers who maybe have special access.

Hold contests or raffles.You can use serial numbered wristbands for special promotion contests or raffles. If you're hosting a raffle at your business or event, using serial numbered event wristbands with pull-off tabs are easy to use and fun for the participants. Each person who buys an entry to your raffle gets a wristband to wear and removes the detachable stub, which serves as the ticket stub. The stub is entered into the raffle. When the winning numbers are announced, each person just checks the wristband adorned on their wrist. Good bye lost tickets!

There are seemingly endless possibilities to promote your organization or event with wristbands. Get creative and have fun with this easy, affordable promotional tool!