To be remarkable as a brand is one thing, but to be top-of-mind is another. Top-of-mind means your brand is the first thing that pops up when somebody thinks about- or encounters something. For example, when someone says ‘phone brand’ to you, you’ll likely think ‘Apple’ or ‘Samsung’. Or maybe you go straight to ‘iPhone’. Similarly a specific brand will pop up in your mind when you’re thinking about cars, or supermarkets, or sneakers.
And of course, you’d like to have your brand pop up when people think ‘restaurant’, ‘café’ or ‘hotel’ (whatever is right for you). But how do you do this? There are many roads to top-of-mind, and the truth is: you need to walk multiple of them to get there. There is not one success formula. Now I can hear you think ‘damn, so why should I even be reading this?’. Well, because I still have some helpful tips for you to craft trigger-related top-of-mind messages.
Since there are so many options to work with triggers, I’ve split this post up in 3 parts. This first one is about day-related triggers. The second one will be about emotion-related triggers, and the third one about situation-related triggers. Good luck!
Taco Tuesday – or even more specific, day-related triggers.
From Taco Tuesday to Fries Friday and Sandwich Sunday: days can be amazing triggers. Think of a day you’d like to promote your business more, a day where you’d like to have more people coming through the door. Then create a trigger around that: a slogan or sentence. Top it off with a discount, special or contest.
Some examples? Sure, no problem. Let’s create some ideas for the fake burger restaurant ‘Burger Inn’ in, for example, Amsterdam. The burger place would like to get more visitors on Monday, since the restaurant is almost empty on those nights.
- First night, burger night: start the week off right at Burger Inn.
- Better Mondays are Burger Mondays, at the Burger Inn.
- Make Monday a win at the Burger Inn
- Mondays are for Burger Inn
- Thank God it’s Burger Inn Monday
Okay, so some slogan ideas right there. Now think of the special or discount that could go along with it.
- A 2×1 deal
- Second drink for free
- 50% discount on dessert
- Free fries with your burger
- One topping on us
- A special Monday burger: only available on Monday
The last idea plays with another underused marketing initiative (at least, in daily hospitality): scarcity. Make people feel like this is their only chance + they’re special if they get it. Give them that insider-feeling. A burger that’s only available on your lowest-occupancy day of the week? Bet that works.
But I don’t do burgers…
Of course, these specials and deals may not work for you if you’re either a completely different kind of restaurant or if you’re a hotel or accommodation provider. So start thinking more broadly: events, music, movies, dates? What attracts people to your property? Could you host:
- Monday night, date night at [your name] (Movie night? Discount on your rooms? Free bottle of wine?)
- Tasty Tuesday in the kitchen at [your name] (give people a chance to meet the chef, to ensemble their own meal, or again, a special menu?)
- Wild West Wednesday at [your name]: free beer with your meal?
Et cetera. Tons of ideas. So many options. Try to play with alliteration. But important: add YOUR NAME in the slogan. It might sound a little off, but if you don’t use your name, it gets to generic. Many studies have examined slogans with triggers and the more specific, the more word-of-mouth-marketing the slogan generated. Even if you would’ve never guessed it beforehand.
Did you enjoy this post?
I’m trying my very best to put out content that helps you, the owner, designer of manager of a hospitality brand, to bring your business to the next level. All posts on Tremento are created with hospitality brands specifically in mind. Articles talk about practical tips and inspiration for social media, design, photography and more.
In case you want to be updated automatically on new articles, then become a member of the Tremento Tribe.
