Marketing mojo
Although de Vere’s Irish Pub is still a few months away from opening, Henry and Simon De Vere White are already hard at work pounding Sacramento’s streets, getting the word out any way they can.
Cyber marketing
The brothers have established a significant Web presence. For months, they have had a MySpace page up and running (www.myspace.com/deverespub) and Henry is a consistent presence on the industry social networking Web site Bite Club.com where he hosts the Bachelor’s Pantry video show under the pseudonym Hank the Tank. Of course, this is all in addition to the restaurant’s Web page which is currently still under construction but has a home page up and running (www.deverespub.com).
Truly mobile marketing
Most notably, the brothers have produced T-shirts that they are currently selling in hopes of circulating the pub name throughout the streets of Sacramento. Henry is selling the T-shirts in a savvy package that not only gets de Vere’s name out there but also drives customers through their door. For the reasonable price of $12, purchasers receive a T-shirt, entry into the pub’s grand opening party and a free beer once they are in the door.
Henry cautions that while he has high hopes for its efficacy, printing T-shirts is certainly not one of the more cost-effective marketing tactics the brothers have undertaken. “It’s expensive when you consider the printing. I got some sponsorship on the first round … .”
Charitable endeavors
Henry recently served as a driving force behind 6/9, an industry event designed to raise funds for Suzanne, a fellow bartender who has been unable to work for the past eight months due to a leg injury. Working with BiteClub.com, Henry toiled diligently to help line up an impressive list of event sponsors including Patron, Tuaca and Miller. In addition to this, dozens of local restaurants and other businesses donated goods and services to raffle off for charitable proceeds.
Henry and the 6/9 team collectively sent out about thousands of fliers promoting the event to industry employees, inviting them to show their support for a fellow bartender. A true labor of love, many of these fliers were hand-delivered to ensure that everyone had a full understanding of the spirit behind the event. The event was a success on several levels, uniting the industry for a night of relaxation and networking. Over 700 guests ultimately pitched in to help Suzanne.
While there was a de Vere’s Irish Pub booth set up at the event, 6/9 ultimately served a far greater purpose than this for the De Vere White brothers. It implicitly got their name out there to people within the industry, positioning them as a significant player before the pub’s doors even open. It also increased their word-of-mouth exposure, providing yet another venue for getting their name in the public domain. Although the De Vere Whites participated in 6/9 for charitable, rather than business reasons, getting out in the community and being as involved as possible in fundraisers is a primary, cost-effective way for restaurants—new or old—to market themselves.
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