Meat Bingo
When I heard about Meat Bingo I thought it must be some kind of dating game, just misspelled. The name sounds like some kind of Meet-Up event. Turns out it’s a brilliant Experience Marketing event created by a club manager desperate to get men to their bar because they spend more money.
Bingo, you know the game, numbers combined with the five letters, B-I-N-G-O, heard through scratchy speakers, projected from a nondescript table out of sight from the front of a lofty hall with painted concrete walls, a caller’s strident voice, their Bs and Gs clipped sharply so the blue haired LOLs can hear clearly and don’t mess up their game cards.
Meat Bingo is another untamed animal altogether. Instead of winning money, prizes or housewares, winners peer into deep chest freezers, selecting their choice of steaks, roasts, and prime cuts of beef. Getting there early pays off too as early round winners get to choose first, bringing T-bones and tenderloins home as their winnings.
Club managers know that men drink more. Women are smaller and drink less by nature of their size. They don’t want to drink too much and get muddled tracking their many cards. Men in general don’t mind buying drinks for their friends either. As a bonus, they tip well too. But generally, guys don’t sit all night stamping cards filling time by gabbing in between games.
This club determined their target markets, their people, by taking notes on Friday nights when many couples enjoyed dinner and a show plus dancing when the music was hot. It doesn’t take too much effort to figure out what would bring people, in this case, guys - back on other nights. Conversations at the bar, survey cards on the tables, QR codes on menus, announcements from the stage, are all good ways to find out what people think.
And so they bought the old coolers.
I. How to Know Your People
Determine the kinds of experiences your customers will be drawn to and you can tailor your event with experiential details that will resonate with them.
Talk to your customers as if they came to see you. Make a genuine effort to get to know them, watch what they do and what they show interest in. Compliments go far and they cost little. Enjoy the time they spend with you. Get personal.
Ask them – what do they like and dislike? Suggest ideas and see if anything resonates, gets a nod, makes them feel comfortable. What do they think is fun?
II. Give Them What They Want (Not what you want them to want)
It’s usually not hard to set up an event with a specific theme in mind. Use visuals and décor to stimulate their brains cheaply using color, posters, lights, and projections. Bedazzle with glistening entries and storefronts. At the very least make eye-catching signs at entryways.
Add music geared to their tastes, age, and interests. Match food to their lifestyles, their pocketbooks, and tastes. Serve champagne and caviar, wine and cheese, or beer and nuts. Trigger senses with delightful sights, smells and sounds.
III. Have Fun
Spark emotional reactions with activities that fit their age including touching, counting, and tracking. Activities should make people laugh. Usually anyone can play at them. They are relaxed, not stressed even when games get complicated.
Snap a picture or better yet let people take a selfie in front of a staged backdrop. It doesn’t matter if you choose pictures that stimulate memories with current zeitgeist or from the era when these customers went to high school.
Go Sci fi with a Matrix game board. Use lego-built “computers.” Hunting, scrap-bookkeeping, darts, badminton, escape, cooking, learning, activity options are endless.
Ideas for activities based on the U.S. calendar:
Lunar New Year: Seed kits, wishing trees, DIY crafts using elements, metal, water, wood, fire, and earth.
Valentines: Chocolate-making, mix tapes, ceramics, crowns, stickers, and poetry price-tags.
Saint Patrick: Karaoke, clovers, stickers, candles, and rainbow discounts.
July 4th: Whirligigs, kites or flag making, scavenger hunt, view finders, and photo matching.
Back to School: Cutouts, fashion shows, calendars, world events, and trivia.
Halloween: Face-painted ghosts, video selfies using lighting effects, and classic movies.
Read the comprehensive book, Small Business Experience Marketing, an event planning guide by seasoned community event consultant, Bridget Bayer. Experience Marketing is straightforward manual that shows how small business owners can benefit over the long-term by using detailed sensory stimulation and community connections learn ways to provide lasting memories and loyal customers. Small Business Experience Marketing,shows how every small business can prepare, partner, promote and produce an event that creates an experience your customer wants. https://www.bampdx.com/shop