It's summer and the time of year for vacations and that means bars and restaurants will be busier this time of year for many tourist based areas. One of the best ways to attract new patrons to your bar, lounge, club, or restaurant is to offer something free, such as a free drink. Giving out free drink tokens around your local area is a cheap and extremely effective way to promote your establishment.

FREE DRINK TOKEN OPTIONS

Wooden drink tokens are among the most traditional drink chips available. They can be printed on both sides and customized with your logo. Pros of wooden tokens include the cheap price point and the natural, renewable material of the product. Cons of these wooden coins would be that because they are made of wood, they soak up liquids which can leave water marks on the tokens. And we all know that bars and tables always have water sweat rings which these drink tokens can soak up.

Plastic Drink Tokens is another option if you want to offer a free drink token to attract new patrons. One of the pros of the plastic drink chips is that they are waterproof and don't soak up liquid. They can also be printed on both sides and the pricing is very inexpensive. The plastic token option is light in weight. Cons of the plastic is that because they are manufactured, they are not as eco-friendly as the wooden drink tokens.

Overall, both options are great choices to promote your bar. One sure way to get new customers is to offer something free. Statistics prove that over 86% of those who redeem a free item end up spending additional money at your establishment. Additionally, very few people go and drink alone. They go with friends and their friends will also spend money at your bar. It's important to get into the mindset that giving away something free to attract new customers is not a loss, but a marketing expense.

MARKETING IDEAS FOR BARS USING TOKENS

• Free Draft Beer
• Free glass of House Wine
• Free Well Drink
• Free Cover
• 10% Discount off total tab
• Regulars Discount
• Buy 1 Get 1 Free Drink
• Good For VIP Seating
• Good For 50% Off 1 Appetizer
• $1 Off Drink Purchase
• $5 Off Drink Purchase
• Skip to Front of Line Pass
• 2 For 1 Drink Purchase
• Free Cover For 1 Friend

OTHER BAR IDEAS USING WOODEN OR PLASTIC TOKENS

• Give away a certain dollar amount in drink tokens for prize winners for in-house contests. In reality, only a small percentage will be redeemed.
• Sell bundles of drink tokens in advance for a special price that is lower than buying one drink at a time. Here again, you can count on not 100% of the drink tokens being redeemed.
• Promote a typically slow night by making the drink tokens only redeemable on a specific night.
• Sell VIP tokens, which give the patrons special privileges, such as no waiting in line to get in, a dedicated server, a reserved table, discounted drinks, or other special privileges.
• Throw out drink tokens at local parades.
• Pass out your free drink tokens at local festivals and large public events.
• Sell tokens with a free drink offer for a specific cause, such as a local charity or to benefit a national disaster fund. Patrons will be more loyal to you if you give back to their community.
• Give a free drink token for those who spend more than x amount of dollars in one transaction as incentive to come back. If they are spending that much, you do want them back and offering 1 free drink won't hurt you.
• Use the tokens as a perk for your live entertainment. Give each band member a couple of tokens they can redeem for drinks. Once word gets around that you supply free drinks, you will never have to look far again for good entertainment.
• Have a different colored chip for each month with an expiration of only the month and last day of the month. This way, your patrons won't bank up 20 free drinks and have a party at your bar on your dime. For example, for January, you can have a Blue chip that expires on 1/31. By not printing a specific year on the drink tokens, you can use them again the next January and save money.

FAQ'S ABOUT DRINK TOKENS

What are drink tokens? Drink tokens are simple round tokens, typically made of wood or plastic that can be custom printed to offer a free drink at your bar, club, lounge, pub, or restaurant.

Can you offer anything else besides a free drink on the drink tokens? Yes, see some of the ideas above. Of course, if you offered anything else other than a free drink, we wouldn't call them drink tokens. :)

What size are drink tokens? They can come in several different sizes. The most common drink token size is 1 1/2", but the plastic options also come in 1 1/8", 1 1/4", and 1 5/8" diameter to fit your needs.

Can you print consecutive numbering on the drink tokens? We can on the plastic tokens, but not the wooden tokens. Consecutive numbering is great if you want track your tokens for commissions or effectiveness of your token distribution. It is also great for fairs and festivals.

Can you drill holes in the drink tokens? We can offer drilled holes on the plastic drink tokens in the following sizes: 1/8", 3/16, 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" diameter.

Do you offer different colors for the drink tokens? The plastic tokens come in 14 different colors with the option for custom colors for larger orders and an additional fee. The wooden nickels are only available as natural wood.

Do you offer rush service on the tokens? Yes, rush service is available. Just give us a call to inquire about our current production schedule to make sure we can meet your in hands date.

Can you print full color on the tokens? We do have a specific plastic token for which we can print a full color design.

My logo is a specific PMS color. Can you match that imprint color? Yes we can. We do offer PMS matching service at an additional fee; however, we offer several stock colors that are sure to fit the needs of the majority of our clients.

Is shipping cheap for the tokens? Absolutely! since the tokens only weight about 4 to 6 pounds per 1000 tokens, shipping is extremely affordable!

Do you offer design services for the tokens? We certainly do! We have a team of expert graphic designers that can help create an effective and awesome layout for your tokens. We love to design commemorative token designs that will be used as souvenirs. For this purpose, we will recommend one of our more premium, metal coin options.

Do you offer poker chips that we can use for drink tokens? We do offer the heavier and thicker, casino style poker chips with a full color imprint. These heavier feeling chips are great for an upscale feel.

I don't need many chips, do you have a minimum for your drink tokens? The minimum for the wooden tokens is 1000; however, the plastic token minimum is only 250 pieces, which is sufficient for most budgets. If you need less than 250 tokens, we can offer the Poker style chips at an even lower quantity!

Related Articles: Wooden Drink Tokens Plastic Tokens Custom Token Ideas to Promote Your Business, School, or Event