One innovative company is re-imagining napkins as a blank slate for companies that want to advertise – as well as a revenue generator (and cost saver) for bars and restaurants.
NapkinAds, founded just over two years ago, recently reached a business milestone by partnering with more than 100,000 restaurants and bars nationwide.
“Our partners pay us to advertise their brands on these napkins with witty, clever creatives, including their logos and call-to-action QR codes people can scan while they wait for their food and beverages to arrive,” said Matilda Henson, director of client partnerships at NapkinAds. “As the first company to offer this service, we've now proven that putting branded ads on napkins generate some of the highest engagement levels, compared with other forms of marketing.”
According to NapkinAds, the company currently distributes around 108 million branded napkins each month. And while the average person stays at a restaurant for 45 minutes, 93 percent of customers who have access to NapkinAds are reading the ads during that time. In addition, a total of 5.7 percent of people share the clever, branded napkin ads on social media after reading it, and three percent of customers scan the branded napkin QR codes to learn more.
“We're proud to help restaurants and bars across the country cut their napkin costs by using our branded napkins in their locations,” Henson said.
The New York-based company also announced the upcoming launch of a new service that will allow brands to self-serve their campaign creations, along with a targeting capability and reporting – all accessible on the same platform.
"This reporting and customization will be so robust that anyone can use it seamlessly,” said explained Henson. “Moreover, each month, we're currently providing all our partners with a thorough report of how many QR scans, social media shares, micro-influencers posts and impressions their campaign(s) yielded. Every quarter, we also provide our partners a brand lift study which includes our surveyors asking questions to a controlled group vs. exposed group of people who have seen their NapkinAds. This detailed report gives our partners a lot of insight into numerous metrics including but not limited to brand recall, brand recommendation, and top-of-mind awareness.”
Seeing restaurant and bar customers use of QR codes to access a menu during the COVID-19 pandemic is what inspired the NapkinAd founders to create the branded cocktail, lunch and dispenser napkins with a logo and clearly visible message to appeal to customers.
To learn more about NapkinAds, visit NapkinAds.com.
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