In this blog post we’ll discuss unique marketing ideas for restaurant owners and operators on the Fourth of July.
Holidays are a fun and easy way to market your restaurant, entice new customers to visit, and offer unique specials or deals to your regulars.
With Fourth of July fast approaching, now is the perfect time to create a Fourth of July marketing plan for your restaurant.
Stumped for unique ideas to advertise your restaurant this Fourth of July? We’ve got your covered. Consider any or all of these ideas…
5 Unique Fourth of July Marketing Ideas for Your Restaurant:
- Plan your advertising in advance
- Shake up your food to-go options
- Go red, white, and blue
- Partner up with local businesses
- Embrace the fun
Plan your advertising
Fourth of July is the perfect time to market your restaurant, release one-time-only specials, and communicate with your customers.
Before the holiday hits, consider how to maximize multiple avenues of advertising. Digital marketing efforts will drive the most ROI for your restaurant and are cost-efficient.
Digital marketing options to consider:
- Send out an e-newsletter that highlights your restaurant’s Fourth of July specials
- Push out an email blast hyping your Fourth of July specials
- To promote pre-orders, consider offering order-ahead customers a special digital code for a free menu item, 10% off their order, or other amazing deal.
- Update all of your social channels with Fourth of July hours and specials. Also, be sure your profile links lead directly to your online ordering page.
- Update your website with a banner or pop-up that promotes your Fourth of July specials and hours
Shake up your food to go
If the weather is nice, most people love to spend Fourth of July outside. In order to capture the picnic or outdoor party crowd, consider offering menu items to-go that would translate well to an outdoor setting.
Your restaurant could try offering holiday to-go items like:
- Foods that taste delicious when served lukewarm
- Combo meal specials that feature a main course, side dishes, and a dessert. Make this Fourth of July combo enough to feed a family or small group of friends.
- To-go pitchers of drinks or cocktails, along with cups
- Consider pre-packaging your most popular, well-traveling menu items (i.e. sandwiches, sides, deserts) so customers can swing by your restaurant and grab items for carryout fast.
- If your restaurant offers catering, be sure to create a Fourth of July catering package to convince tired hosts to order from your restaurant instead of fussing with cooking.
Go red, white, and blue
This Fourth of July, consider how your restaurant could incorporate red, white, and blue into your menu items.
Red, white, and blue themed menu ideas:
- Create a unique dessert with red or blue fruit (or red and blue food dye)
- Offer red, white, and blue speciality drinks
- Rename or slightly tweak menu items to reflect the holiday, i.e. “Firework Hot Wings”
- Switch up your takeout bags or napkins to feature flags, fireworks, or red, white, and blue
- Add a free mini flag or box of sparklers to every takeout order
- Provide free flag stickers or pins to in-house customers
Partner up with local businesses
In order to truly maximize the marketing potential of Fourth of July, consider teaming up with other local businesses to cross-promote.
Here’s a few fun ideas to cross-promote your restaurant with other locals businesses this Fourth of July:
- Serve a local coffeehouse’s beans and brew on the holiday. Any customer who orders a cup of local coffee could also receive a special coupon for a discount at the coffeehouse in the future.
- Add a local brewery’s special Independence Day brew to your draft list
- Offer a local winery’s wine by the glass. Any orders of the local wine could also include a ticket for a discounted tasting at the winery.
- Serve a local distillery’s liquor in a speciality cocktail.
- Tuck special coupons for a spa or salon’s services in with the check.
- Advertise in a local “Fourth of July” coupon booklet or flyer, packed with coupons or promos for participating local businesses.
Embrace the fun
If you want your marketing and advertising efforts to deliver major ROI on the 4th, you also need to make sure your restaurant is the spot to be on the Fourth of July. For customers lacking holiday plans, or the energy to host, a restaurant offering great specials and deals is the natural choice to celebrate.
But, how do you create a warm, inviting atmosphere at your restaurant on the Fourth of July? It’s simple: think like a host and make fun your focus for the night.
How to host the best Fourth of July event in town:
- Decorate the inside and outside of your restaurant with red, white, and blue decorations
- Offer special live entertainment like a band, DJ, or trivia
- If you have televisions in your restaurants, see if you can stream the local fireworks show. Or, consider playing stock footage of fireworks to set the mood.
- Create Fourth of July themed games for the tables: crosswords, puzzles, trivia, or MadLibs style word games are all fun and family-friendly.
- Embrace your outdoor seating options. Set the mood with twinkly lights, flags, or other red, white, and blue decorations.
- Consider a giveaway at the end of the night, like a gift certificate to your restaurant.
- If your restaurant has a view of the local fireworks display, be sure to advertise this fact and require reservations for any outdoor seating.
