Marketing Ideas for the Busy Summer Months

During the summer months, consumers are more likely to be out and about, which means they are also more likely to patronize restaurants. Since consumers are out, summer is the perfect time to take your restaurant advertising up a notch and claim stake in the summertime business. Here are some creative marketing tips you can use to help make the most of June, July, and August while also taking advantage of summer holidays like Fourth of July and the many summer festivals that may be taking place.

Restaurant Advertising in June

June kicks off the vacation months, so chances are tourists and families will begin flooding into town. Make sure to rework your take-out menus and make sure they are stocked at your local hotels and inn where vacationers stay. Menus that look freshly done with a modern style will be much more appealing to out-of-towners looking to explore a new city. Also, take into consideration that school is also out for the summer in June – think about beefing up your kids menu and getting coloring pages made.

Restaurant Advertising in July

By now, summer is in full swing and even more vacation goers are coming in. Make sure to run special promotions during the busiest weeks of the month to help draw in the vacation crowd. If you operate your business in a beach town and have a patio or deck, consider hosting deck parties with drink and food specials. When doing an event like this, always make sure to advertise at local hotels and other areas that tourists tend to visit – make it obvious what the offer is and where your business is located.

Restaurant Advertising for Fourth of July

Many, many people travel for Fourth of July weekend, so it is vitally important to try to have your restaurant open when many other businesses are closed. Make sure to put up posters or hand out flyers to let the public know that you will be open. Also consider creating Fourth of July specials for food to help draw in a bigger crowd of families during the lunch and dinner hour and also offer drinks specials especially for the younger consumers who usually patronize bars in the evening.

Restaurant Advertising for August

Toward the end of the summer months, there are often more festivals to help end the season with a bang. If you have the opportunity, consider sponsoring a festival or street fair to help increase your visibility to consumers who live in your area year round. Also, if you have a popular food festival in your area, consider purchasing a booth – if you have a booth, make sure to advertise it both in your restaurant with table tents and posters and outside your restaurant with flyers and newspaper ads.

One final tip would be to find the rental “move in” and “move out” schedules for properties. Why? Most families have no desire to cook a meal after arriving from a long trip. And, if the move out day is Saturday, they will likely be in the house packing everything up on Friday. Consider offering some type of “move out” and “move in” delivery menu to take advantage of this very specific niche.

If you need help designing your summer specials, let the Reduced Printing team give you a hand. For more information, click here.

*Photo Courtesy of zoetnet via Creative Commons License