Ladies Night Promo Ideas

[DJ Sidekick]

...OTHER than the obvious drink specials?

This is my first post, and as my username suggests, I'm a DJ who's completely (money-wise at least) detached from the marketing aspects of the club I spin for; but as oft-happens in a small town, if you want to keep a residency spot (and regular income) intact, you have to have a vested interest in the successful promotion of your gig.

With that said (and I hope I'm not boring you guys already), the town I live and work in is a town that's very fickle. Thursday nights the "it crowd" goes to one spot, Friday they go to another particular spot, and Saturdays are the nights where the club I spin for is at/and/over capacity.

Our Ladies' Night (Thursdays) is only about a month up and running, and we've seen a VERY small crowd (maybe 5-8 people at max) before we close early for the night due to no business.
Our specials: NO COVER (usual cover on Saturdays is $5-$10) and 1/2 off all drinks at the bar for ladies only. Considering it's a spot known for its higher prices, you'd think it would be a draw for the regularly-$9 martinis and more. Our Thursday competition (if you can even call it that) offers dollar drafts, $4 pitchers, etc., etc.

Obviously I'm a contractual form of entertainment and aside from my friendships with the management staff I have zero pull on pricing. I've fought (and am still fighting) for serious drops in drink prices for Thursdays at least, but their main concern is "we don't want to bring in a rough crowd" (an argument that could go on for DAYS on these forums I'm sure)...

I guess background info aside, my question would simply be -- are there any ideas aside from drink specials that could bring in extra business to a lounge/club type setting? My music format is top40, current, we have couches, curtained-rooms, a very upscale setting, free parking in a parking garage right next to the building, several assets we try and promote on the flyers, etc. Does anyone on here manage or work with any successful ladies night ventures?

BTW, I've been a fan of the no-punches-held feedback that "realityrox" and "bartender 54" have offered up to other members... looking forward to bein a part of this dope community..

[Earth]

We partnered up with with a local salon/spa and started giving away packages on our ladies night. Tanning minutes, nails, treatments of any kind pretty much the women seem to like.
Try getting them to buy like..10-20 packages at once to see if you can get some sort of price break.
We ended up paying $45 a package and the salon did them up all nice and fancy with the various items..be it product or gift certificates or whatever.
Give them a ticket when they come in the doors at the start of the night..give one or two packages away in the evening..don't run it at a set time every week..change it up, but obviously keep it later in the evening, that way they stick around if they really want to win.
Just an idea.

[jimsanto]

I like the idea of giving away spa services on your ladies night, but there is a way to take it a step further. Contact a spa in your area and ask if they would be willing to send a nail tech in on your ladies night to do mini manicures, color changes, and hand massages. At our ladies night we have a tech come in and do all these services for free, just for the exposure and to hand out their own promo information and business cards. Ask them to donate a gift certificate you can raffle off throughout the night. Another idea is to contact a purse party or jewelry party lady in the area, ask her to throw a purse/jewelry party in your club on ladies night. This won't cost you anything, the girls love these kind of parties and the purse/jewelry lady may bring people from their own mailing list to your bar.

We do a big ladies night event once a month where we'll have a purse lady, nail tech, and a hair stylist in all on the same night.

Believe it or not women eat more then the men do in my lounge so I offer 1/2 priced appetizers all night and sell quite a bit of food on my ladies nights.

Just some ideas for you, take them for what they are, but they do work.

Feel free to contact me with any specific questions.

[JosiesBar]

I really like the spa/tanning/hair/nails ideas, and as being my sister is a hair stylist, this should be pretty easy to work out. We run drink specials on UV vodkas, which are mostly exclusive to women. Maybe vodka cranberry or some other such drink that is very cheap for the club to make would be an acceptable special for your manager. Your Thursdays sound like ours, and we've tried a bunch of different draws to no avail. Keep trying, and good luck!

[Ruben]

My 1 year anniversary party I teamed up with Sephora makeup company and gave away 30 gift bags to the girls. They loooveed these and were extremly happy. They Van wang perfume and everything.

[LionLand]

First off the number one rule is .... NO MATTER HOW SLOW IT IS DO NOT EVER CLOSE EARLY BECAUSE BUSINESS IS SLOW!!!!!
I recently took over managing a bar who kept closing on slow nights. After a while people just stop coming all together because they feel they never know when the place is open. Set hours and stick to them! We did this and now business it getting more steady and we are making profits now. It took 8 weeks before customers started coming back.
If you want to get things started do a reverse cover night. You pay customers 3 dollars at the door. Word travels fast because people cant believe they are getting a cover paid to them. The bar gets all the money back in sales. Make sure you have something to keep them there and having fun. Make sure the person passing out the money is honest.

LionLand

[Fifth Avenue]

HEY DJ, Does your club do any advertising now to help push your LADIES NIGHT? You could bring in an "ALL MALE REVIEW" like Chippendales and offer a GIRLS NITE OUT ONLY EVENT, with an afterparty at your club. Great way to bring the ladies and create awareness to your place. Another promo that is good to boost up your "LADIES NIGHT" is TIC-TOC DRINK SPECIALS. How this works is the price of your drinks increase as the night progresses. Great way to bring a good crowd early and have them stay late.

Example:

8pm to 9pm - $1 YOU CALL ITS
9pm to 10pm - $2 YOU CALL ITS
10pm to 11pm - $3 YOU CALL ITS


And so on until closing time. This promo is great and it does gets results as long as you have an owner with an open mind and willing to try it. You makeup the difference at the door. That's my two cents worth.



Cheers,

T

[themarketinggal]

One idea that I have placed in locations before is called the Happy Hour Hook Up. Rather than discount your drinks, discount one group for drinks and drive volume. Here is how it works:

1. Find a local business around you that has a lot of your demographic working there. The weekly alternative magazine, a hair salon, retail establishment or other hospitality place. Find a hipster in the neighborhood who is responsible for making the plans- because everyone wants to brag they have the hook up.

2. Award them a free Ladies Night Out Happy Hour party for 20 guests on any Thursday - and make sure they book ahead with the club management. Make this invitation look hot and exclusive to the winner. Now give out 10-15 of these a week. Not everyone will book, but get 8 parties at 10 people and you have a starter crowd that will drink more.

3. Offer each guest that attends 2 free drinks (management discretion on what is offered free- and if management has time, have a liquor sponsor the parties) and free admission for the guys they bring.

4. When they show up, make sure they have a hot server, great service and take photos of them to post on your website. This makes them virally share and makes the club the place to be.

5. Send them a thank you after the party- email or mail- inviting them back every Thursday night.


Good luck!


-The Marketing Gal
https://www.themarketinggal.com

[James121515]

Hi,

At my bar we do Ladies' Night every Wednesday, and started about two months after we opened two years ago. It's the only promotion we offer and so it far has been a huge success. Usually Wednesday nights are busier than the weekends. The ladies obviously love it and so do the men since the promotion brings the ladies in. One word of caution on ladies night: it's very easy for the bartenders to scam. What they do is accept a cash payment for the full price ticket, then apply the ladies night discount thereby pocketing half the cash. The only way to prevent this is to keep a very close eye on the bartenders.

Good Luck,

James

[Lauren Tyson]

A lot of people don't know this, but Ladies' Nights are illegal in California (considered discrimination). Also, liquor licensees and their employees can't give away free drinks or anything free in connection with the sale of an alcoholic beverage (considered illegal "free goods"). As far as happy hours, they are technically legal, but they promote intoxication. Better to have a "hungry hour" where appetizers are free or offered for a low admission price. This brings in patrons and keeps intoxication down.

Disclaimer: This is intended as useful information based on my 29 years experience with California ABC, and not legal advice. I recommend anyone in the business of selling alcohol consult their local ABC office or lawyer if they want professional assurance that my information, and your interpretation of it, is appropriate to your particular situation.

[Fifth Avenue]

Yes it is illegal in California. It is still happening just not called LADIES NIGHT anymore


Cheers,

T

[ca. club owner]

sometimes you just have to go around the rules... We use to do things like, " skirts get in free " haa " summer dresses get in free " That way women still got in free it was just based on there outfit. I mean if some idiot in action wants to come up with a skirt on. Yea we would let the fella in, but we neva had anyone try that.. You just have to adjust what your doing..

The whole ban started here in San Diego, they had some stupid ass college kids go to clubs on ladies night. And would argue the issue. They got the news involved in it and everything. And sure enough there went the ladies night promo's.. I remember the word out was cash for beating up the 3 guys who caused all the headache.. haaa But at the end of the day, the promo was gone.. But hey if you been around this business long enough. You figure out ways to get around the new rules.. Like we used to say.. " dont get up set, get set up "


Money Talks In All Languages

[Lauren Tyson]

Best to run any promotional ideas past your lawyer or local ABC office so as not to put your liquor license in jeopardy. What you may think isn't discrimination (violation of 125.6 Business & Professions Code) could be.

125.6. (a) (1) With regard to an applicant, every person who holds
a license under the provisions of this code is subject to
disciplinary action under the disciplinary provisions of this code
applicable to that person if, because of any characteristic listed or
defined in subdivision (b) or (e) of Section 51 of the Civil Code,
he or she refuses to perform the licensed activity or aids or incites
the refusal to perform that licensed activity by another licensee,
or if, because of any characteristic listed or defined in subdivision
(b) or (e) of Section 51 of the Civil Code, he or she makes any
discrimination, or restriction in the performance of the licensed
activity.

Source: California Business & Professions Code

[ladiesnights]

I have an answer to all your problems. Just visit my website and you can go from there. It is http://www.LadiesNights.com You will be able to search all 50 States for Ladies Nights with ease. See what other states are doing and what specials venues are offering! Great site...


PS. Please remember that ladies nights are as discriminating as; Kids Eat Free, Senior Citizen Discounts, Emergency Works Discounts, Singles Nights, And Family Nights, Etc.. Would hate to see all these go!!! If it werent for ladies none of us would have been born, we love are ladies - so give them a night.

Thanks,
www.LadiesNights.com

[Lauren Tyson]

Ladiesnights,
Sorry, but you're wrong. Ladies nights ARE illegal in California. Other states may differ. And you're not doing the 11 California venues you have listed on your website any favors. If they're offering Ladies Nights, they are violating of Sec. 125.6 B&P Code. These violations are just waiting to be found by ABC investigators or local law enforcement. They may find them on routine patrol, or complaints from disgruntled employees or competitors, or in conjunction with an investigation on some other issue. If proven (and this is not a tough case to make), it could mean either a suspension of their liquor license or if they're lucky a fine in lieu of suspension. A lot of people don't realize Ladies' Nights are illegal in California. But they are.
www.theliquorlicenseadvisor.com

[realityrox.com]

The biggest problem I see with trying to build a night that is generally slow is the venue operators ability to be consistent. Marketing 101 would say people have to know what is going on if you want them to come....so if you start a specific night and it is starting out slow - BE CONSISTENT. Don't change it up...people need marketing to know they are supposed to be coming there on that night. That doesn't generally happen over night. Even if you are sending them facebook invites and doing radio even - people need to hear it for a while to REMEMBER that is where they want to go that night....too many operators will just change it a month in because they aren't seeing returns...you will never have consistency in numbers if the operator doesn't keep it consistent themself.

On the next note, NO CHEAP DRINKS. CHEAP DRINKS BRING CHEAP PEOPLE.

My 2 cents...

[Michael Black]

Some quick thoughts:

Target ladies with something more interesting than drink discounts. Actually, that goes for everyone that you target. Jen is right: "Cheap drinks bring cheap people".Why not get the women in because they are willing to pay for the promotion like a fashion show, the decor, staff, dj, etc?

Don't ever call it "Ladies Night" which is passe. But, that being said, there is nothing illegal about ladies nights as far as the name goes.

The problem is by not offering any discount on cover or drinks to everyone and often the local laws state that it must be all night long. That is, it could be called ladies night but the guys must get the same pricing. Yeah the skirt trick has been around since people cried foul, but it's still sexist and men have shown up in kilts and you may have drag queens in larger metro areas. You could possibly just market pretty pink cocktails discounted with a feminine name, but with that or with general discount drinks for women, drinks will be bought and handed off to men too.

Most important and what most people just don't seem to get is that it's not about woman, men, old, young etc.. but about the discrimination. A men's night could discriminate against women as much as a black club could discriminate against whites or hispanics. It's the discrimination that is wrong not the age, race, sex,etc.. Some minorities actually believe that they can not discriminate and that only Whites can be racists. If you were a predominant straight white male bar or club and charged more for a lady, an African American, someone in a wheelchair, a Muslim,gays,etc it would be an outrage. So why isn't it with a male? Because it's long been accepted in society that men pay and yet at the same time women have fought for equal rights. There lies the dilemma.People want it both ways.Why not have an "Hispanic Night" where only Hispanics get the drink and cover discounts? No?- this is the same as typical Ladies Nights it's just based on race instead of gender. You may target Hispanics with Hispanic music, bands, Latin dancing and drink specials, but they should be for anyone interested in the promotion and not just Hispanics. See the difference?

BTW,while I understand what you are saying, I respectfully disagree that "Kids Eat Free, Senior Citizen Discounts, Emergency Works Discounts, Singles Nights, And Family Nights, Etc" are all the same and all protected under the law. They are not all the same.

[Lauren Tyson]

Michael

You're right, the discrimination comes into play in the unequal prices/services (e.g., drink and cover discounts), and not the title of "Ladies Night," per se. My previous post probably wasn't detailed enough. While drinks may be advertised at reduced prices, these specially-priced drinks cannot be made available only to certain groups of persons (see below):

"51. (a) This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the Unruh
Civil Rights Act.
(b) All persons within the jurisdiction of this state are free and
equal, and no matter what their sex, race, color, religion,
ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, marital
status, or sexual orientation are entitled to the full and equal
accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in
all business establishments of every kind whatsoever...."

Source: CA Civil Code; see also 125.6 Business & Professions Code (in my previous post)

(This is not intended as legal advice.)

[Kepi]

Wow, this seems to be political correctness gone to the absolute extreme.... so if I wanted to open a bar that catered only for ladies, where they could drink, dance, enjoy themselves and not be bothered by the usual round of drunken guys I would either find it impossible to get a licence or be closed down very quickly

How about if the weeks events included a guys night to even the balance or make it twice as bad???

[Michael Black]

Californian Laws
Wow, this seems to be political correctness gone to the absolute extreme...

No, they are following larger US laws that have been around for decades. Ever hear of the Civil Rights Act of 1964? Google it.

so if I wanted to open a bar that catered only for ladies, where they could drink, dance, enjoy themselves and not be bothered by the usual round of drunken guys I would either find it impossible to get a licence or be closed down very quickly

How about if the weeks events included a guys night to even the balance or make it twice as bad???
__________________

No, there are bars like this and generally they cater to lesbians. You can do it as long as you don't prevent men from entering (assuming it's not a private club), charge more to the men, or discriminate against them because their sexual preference happens to be straight I too don't like over political correctness, but what we are talking about are basic rights for all and no discrimination against anyone.

[Phil Novara]

Ultimately, isn't ladies night designed to attract men anyways? Its not a big secret that men usually spend more $ in a bar. Packing a bar full of women one night of the week almost GUARANTEES men will follow. Filling the establishment and raising sales.

I attended college at Mizzou. There was a bar that ran a ladies special every Thursday night. They would allow the women in for free starting at 8pm for bottomless cup. Then at 10pm the men were allowed to go in for $10 bottomless rails/beer. Bottomless lasted till midnight and they were open until 1:30am.

Lets look how this plays on the point of ladies night. The place WAS PACKED with women every Thursday by 10pm. The line for guys to get in started forming around 9pm and was ALWAYS full. They survived for years only open 3 nights a week from their Thursday night ladies special.

Now, Im not saying you would want to deal with all the problems that came along with this set up. Simply just proving a point of what ladies night is intended for. To bring along guys who are willing to spend money just because women are already there.

[Curtis James]

We partnered up with with a local salon/spa and started giving away packages on our ladies night. Tanning minutes, nails, treatments of any kind pretty much the women seem to like.
Try getting them to buy like..10-20 packages at once to see if you can get some sort of price break.
We ended up paying $45 a package and the salon did them up all nice and fancy with the various items..be it product or gift certificates or whatever.
Give them a ticket when they come in the doors at the start of the night..give one or two packages away in the evening..don't run it at a set time every week..change it up, but obviously keep it later in the evening, that way they stick around if they really want to win.
Just an idea.

That's a great idea!

[Conrad Solomon]

how would one find out if it is illegal in PA?

[Kaya1181]

My boss just asked me to come up with ideas about a Singles/Ladies night. I have read some good ideas on here...and some annoying "who knows the law better than others". What I really want to know is what works. The Government is going to take our money no matter what we advertise...lets just get them in the door. With that said, I like the spa ideas and big groups get free appetizers (or drinks take a hike if you have a problem with that). My issue is we host trivia night and its keeps existing customers in so we eventually pack out the bar...but how do we get singles in without making them feel…well...alone?