Well, it’s beginning to look a lot like the holidays are almost upon us. With all the businesses around you decking the halls for the holiday season, restaurants and bars can seize on the opportunity to join in the holiday spirit. While many restaurants and bars host a number of private holiday parties and events, most want to attract more shoppers and other local traffic during the holiday season, by advertising special events, such as Ugly Sweater Thursday, a Holly Jolly cocktail hour, or a Fa-la-la-la karaoke contest, for example.  So, how do you entice shoppers into making your restaurant or bar that place where everybody knows your name starting this holiday season? Signarama offers these suggestions:

Deck out your space

This probably goes without saying, but turning your restaurant or bar into a winter wonderland is a great start. Stringing lights in your windows and getting carried away with the spray snow, not only sets the scene for holiday festivities, but grabs hungry holiday shoppers’ attention with seasonal signage that promotes upcoming events and the details of your holiday menus. 

Window graphics and decals

Optimize your window space for greater impact with vinyl decals and graphics that are easy to apply and to remove after the season. Printed in full color, window graphics can include single objects, a printed ad or any combination of images that drive customers into your watering hole or eatery. For instance, printing out vinyl images of larger-than-life metallic ornaments with information about upcoming events and holiday menus glistening on them to your windows might even be a showstopper, for crowds passing by your restaurant. Some restaurants without much unused window space can opt for something more traditional with a contemporary twist.

A-Frames

Also known as sandwich boards, these outdoor favorites are available in PVC, metal, or plywood in various sizes. Use several A-frame signs with changeable signage to promote your seasonal specials and upcoming activities. Offer companies the opportunity to display their event poster, to help guests find their way to their employee parties. Print out specialty holiday menus or images of holiday dishes that make peoples’ mouths water. Maybe you want a little flurry of excitement at your front doors for the season!

Flags and banners

Teardrop and feather flags that catch the breeze and the attention of passers-by near the front of your restaurant or bar or on the way to your food and beverage venue. Hanging banners with your holiday theme and specials make an impact in larger establishments. Durable and weatherproof banners and flags, printed in vibrant colors move your customers to indulging in your seasonal fares. You can design your banners to use again next season, depending on the message. Businesses that plan to use their flags and banners for more than one season should stay away from trending catch phrases and refrain from including dates on their flags and banners. However, because banners and especially flags are efficient and affordable, most businesses want a fresh look every holiday season.

Billboards and mesh banners

Restaurants and bars in resort areas and those businesses positioned to attract holiday travelers and shoppers to their businesses can boost their holiday season promotions with signage known to grab consumers attention: billboards. Commanding drivers’ attention for six seconds, festive holiday billboards, either static, 3D, or digital can draw vacationers and residents to your destination this holiday season.

Digital displays

For this upcoming holiday season, digital signage is affecting consumer purchasing habits in epic ways, according to the findings of a recent AIScreen study. In general, digital signage advertising boasts an impressive recall rate of 83%, nearly twice as much as retention rates of traditional advertising. In the restaurant and bar space, in particular, digital menus in restaurants are at the forefront of increasing sales. Consider these insights:

•  74% of restaurant-goers consider an effective digital sign as their top priority. With digital signage, restaurants can create various visually appealing and easy-to-update designs without the hassle of reprinting.
• Digital menu boards in quick-service restaurants are known to increase sales by up to 30%.
• Online menu boards with an effective menu display have increased sales by an average of 29.5%.
• Restaurant technology is increasingly popular with diners, as 73% believe it enhances their guest experience.

Part of the popularity of digital displays lies in the fact that you can change or update your messages remotely and program your digital display’s messaging from one day to the next, even one season to the next, in order to keep your message relevant to consumers. Other signage that can help boost your holiday sales include asphalt and pavement signage, as well as vehicle wraps and vehicle graphics.

Asphalt and pavement signs

A medium that’s been gaining ground, literally, in recent years, involves asphalt and pavement signage. An often-overlooked marketing space, pavement graphics can lead customers from your parking lot or a cross street to your festive restaurant or bar. Consumers will get a kick out of seeing your holiday messages in unexpected spaces and follow the trail to your door, in anticipation of a great holiday experience to come. 

Vehicle graphics

Turn your vehicles into mobile billboards for the holiday season! Whether you use one company vehicle or a fleet of vehicles for your business, vehicle wraps can advertise your restaurant or bar’s holiday message all over town. Parked or on the move, consumers will view your message 24/7. Bus ads make splashy statements about your restaurant or bar that shoppers can hardly miss. Even if your budget doesn’t include total vehicle wraps, removable vinyl decals and lettering can keep your restaurant or bar top-of-mind for special goodies and happenings this holiday season. 

Before the holiday season draws any closer, make a plan for how you’d like to achieve a go-to restaurant or bar status for your business with signage that puts customers in the spirit and drives them to your door with visions of exceptional food and delicious holiday spirits! Signarama can help make your holiday signage wishes come true!