Boost Your Profits with Drink Coaster Advertising
Competition for your customers’ attention can be fierce. In fact, according to research, the average U.S. consumer in 2007 saw about 5,000 ads a day. Although we may not have the exact figures for 2021, we do know that with 10 million advertisers on Facebook alone, the rise of smartphones and social media has no doubt caused consumers to see more ads than ever.
With so many companies clamoring for your target market’s attention and so many mediums in their faces, how can you cut through the noise?
The answer is right at your fingertips - drink coasters.
For the past 100 years, companies have used drink coasters for successful brand messaging. Instead of competing on social platforms or buying expensive ad space, drink coasters are fun, accessible, and can be quite memorable. Read on to discover why coasters need to be a part of your marketing strategy.
How Drink Coasters Got their Marketing Start
Coasters are one of the oldest forms of marketing still around today. The beginnings of the coasters go back to the 1760s, where they were used in Germany to protect tables from glasses of beer. The first record of a company advertising on them is in 1920. Watney brewery created coasters with its logo to promote its ale throughout the United Kingdom, and many other breweries followed suit.
While other forms of advertising from that same era have mostly fallen by the wayside, coasters continue to explode. Today, there are close to 5.5 billion coasters made every year worldwide. But coasters go beyond just beer and soda - businesses from all industries use them. Bars, restaurants, and drink companies from all over the world love printing their logo on coasters. Why you may ask? Every time someone picks up or sets down their glass, they’re going to see the brand right in front of them. Not to mention, coasters can be collectibles, with people bringing home their favorite ones – I mean, who doesn’t love FREE stuff?
Top 5 Advantages of Drink Coasters for Marketing
Even 100 years later, coasters continue to be an effective form of advertising used to drive sales revenue, foster brand awareness, and improve consumer engagement. Not only should you consider using drink coasters to protect those pricey table surfaces, but it can also be leveraged as part of your branding strategy. Here’s why:
1. Drive brand awareness
Say hasta la vista to those traditional social media posts and banners because they are not the only means of promoting your brand! Coasters go beyond practical and aesthetic use because they can also be leveraged as branding material. If you have a kick-ass logo, do not hesitate to place that front and center of the coaster.
Cool designs will only entice your customers even more and persuade them to bring them home as memorabilia. Keep in mind that it’s important to choose the perfect shape for your coaster so it fits the form of your logo – would your logo look better on a circle or square-shaped coaster? If you want to dazzle your customers, even more, consider creating holiday-themed coasters! That will for sure get the crowd going!
2. Reach customers in the right environment
The right advertising technique matches the perfect message with the correct market but also needs to reach said market at the right time. When your customer is hurried, and under stress, they won’t be paying attention to your ad.
Drink coasters are perfect for reaching customers during the right moment. They are more likely to remember your messaging when they are relaxing, unwinding, having a drink, or grabbing a bite with friends. Your audience will be more present than, say, when they are mindlessly scrolling on their phone or in their head on the way to work. It’s a critical moment that can get your message seen.
3. Extend customer engagement time
Considering the average consumer will spend 45 minutes with a drink coaster, businesses have the rare opportunity to get considerable time in front of their target audience. Compare those 45 minutes to social media, video ads, or billboards where you have just a second or two.
Coasters are effective because customers willingly spend a lot of time looking at them. They have time to read and absorb the messaging, play with them, and they see the brand multiple times in one sitting. Coasters get much more time in front of the customers than almost every other medium of marketing!
What’s the other benefit? Coasters have two sides!
If you are using one side of the coaster to simply showcase your brand, the other side can be used to upsell or drive return visits. For example, include food and drink specials, specialty days (i.e. half price apps on Thursdays), upcoming band dates, QR codes, etc. The list goes on!
Coasters give establishments the ability to not just get in front of customers but offer a second advertising option.
4. Drink coasters offer advertising flexibility
Most forms of marketing are very restrictive. Ads for online platforms are typically only useful for specific types of media, videos don’t have multiple uses, and billboards are generally limited to the roadside where they are located.
Coasters offer flexibility that many other forms of marketing can’t compete with. You can use them at bars, restaurants, weddings, as well as a number of other events. If there are drinks, coasters are fitting. Plus, customers can take coasters away with them if they want to remember them later or just happen to need more coasters at home. They can also function as a business card and a useful product to keep their tables clean all at once.
5. Control costs in marketing efforts
Many forms of advertising and marketing require a significant investment upfront before brands can even see if it is successful. Drink coasters offer a lower-risk form of marketing for brands to test out before investing significantly.
Most other forms of marketing, such as online ads or billboards, require companies to make recurring payments. However, the great thing about coasters is that they are a one-time expense! Brands only need to re-purchase when they run out instead of a monthly, quarterly, or annual regular fee.
If you’re unsure what marketing method works best for you (or have commitment issues), coasters are a great one-time investment to help control costs!
3 Drink Coaster Ads That Work
Drink coaster advertising is not limited to brands involved in the food and drink market. Coasters provide a great partnership opportunity with other businesses. Here are 3 examples of brands that use coasters as advertising tools in clever and effective ways.
Lyft
Imagine you’re enjoying yourself at a local brewery and realize you forgot to bring a designated driver. As a responsible drinker, you know you need to call a ride home. Conveniently located under your glass is a Lyft coaster. The coaster not only provides a resting place for your drink, but also has a promo code to get you home safely at a discounted rate.
DraftKings
Offering free coasters at a local sports bar for sports betting businesses is a great way to reach your target consumers. DraftKings’ coasters feature a special offer for potential customers to help bring in new business.
San Antonio Review
Coasters with QR codes allow brands to advertise their business without overcrowding the coaster surface area. For a literature business, placing free coasters with QR codes in a local bookstore is a great way to reach target consumers and encourage brand interaction.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is drink coaster marketing?
Drink coaster marketing is when brands use coasters as a tool to grow brand awareness and promote offerings. Adding coasters to your marketing mix is an easy and cost-effective way to boost sales.
Are coasters cost-effective?
Yes! Coasters are a great way to promote your brand at a low cost.
What are the different kinds of coasters?
Coasters come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and materials. At Stomp, we offer square and circle coasters in either paper or pulpboard.
Can I add QR codes to coasters?
Of course! QR codes are a great way to encourage interaction with your brand beyond the physical coaster. Use our design tool to quickly create and add a QR code to your coasters.
Drink Coaster Advertising Delivers a High ROI!
Drink coasters reach target audiences at the perfect time, get more viewing time from customers, work for a multitude of places, and are a low-cost method of marketing. They can play an integral role in a branding strategy because they offer the kind of advertising that more modern methods can’t keep up with.
So, I guess you can say “out with the NEW, in with the OLD”. Even after 100 years, drink coasters are still hard to beat when it comes to increasing brand recognition and fighting through the marketing noise.
Need to get the perfect coaster branding for your business? Contact our support squad to get started today. StompStickers offers a number of options to help you find the right drink coasters for your company. Check out these eye-catching, head-turning drink coasters today!
- Marketing Team
