Phone-based “adult edutainment” games, apps and trivia systems can help operators and brands engage with guests.
People are already in the habit of looking down at their phones while in bars and restaurants. Why fight the habit when you can leverage it?
Data has shown that guests are interested in eatertainment. It stands to reason that edutainment will also resonate.
Many people probably think of arcade games, cornhole, bowling and live music when it comes to eatertainment. Guests can enjoy all of those with full drink and food menus, allowing operators to keep them at their venues longer (or for their entire night out).
Just over a fifth of Americans have indicated that they’ll spend more money at an eatertainment venue than a nightclub. They want to enjoy fun and engaging activities along with their food and drinks.
Outfitting a bar or restaurant that wasn’t intended to be an eatertainment venue originally with games can be costly and take away valuable square footage. This is where adult edutainment comes in handy.
Check this out: Anticipating Guest Needs: The New Normal in Hospitality
Trivia has long been a staple game of bars. Who among us hasn’t visited at least one bar in our lifetime and played Buzztime Trivia? Those who have Orange Door music video systems can take advantage of Orange Door Pub Trivia.
Trivia can keep guests ordering food and drinks for hours. Orange Door Pub Trivia, for example, is a two-and-a-half-hour video trivia show. Dedicating a night to a recurring trivia night engages groups of guests to return over and over.
Some operators are already set up to take advantage of dedicated trivia systems and their gaming devices. But others may be more interested in having guests use their own devices, the phones they bring everywhere with them.
Apps like Triviamatic allow users to create trivia events, form teams, gather at participating bars and restaurants, and play real-time trivia games on their phones. Operators don’t need to spend money on full trivia systems and tablets, they just need to promote their support of Triviamatic and encourage people to gather to play at their venues.
At least one highly visible beer brand has realized they can leverage edutainment for engagement. Their latest adult edutainment campaign can be leveraged—and indeed has been already—by bar and restaurant operators.
Miller Lite has partnered with Vatom Labs to enhance their Know Your Beer campaign with an edutainment promotion. Miller Lite’s Great Taste Trivia features 12 multiple-choice questions about beer in general and Miller Lite specifically via a game played on legal-drinking-age adults’ phones. Miller Lite is offering $50,000 in total prizes, and people are playing in more than 230,000 bars and restaurants located throughout the United States.
Check this out: Eatertainment is the New Nightclub: How Guests are Changing Nightlife
Players earn a prize of $5 from Miller Lite for answering all 12 trivia questions in a series correctly. The prizes are awarded via SmartMedia objects managed by Vatom Labs. This edutainment promotion will run through September and just half of the prizes—10,000 $5 rewards—have been awarded so far.
Operators can jump on adult edutainment promotions and trivia events to enhance guest engagement. The key is choosing the right type of edutainment promotion with which to align your brand. This can mean creating and hosting dedicated trivia nights with specific systems and devices, encouraging trivia communities on apps to play at your venue, or joining established trivia- and edutainment-based campaigns.
In the case of Great Taste Trivia, Miller Lite wants to be the top-of-mind beer choice among players in your bar. The benefit to an operator is leveraging trivia in a unique way to entertain and engage their guests, and five dollars from guests who win a prize to put toward a Miller Lite.
Guests are already in the habit of interacting with mobile devices basically everywhere they go. Make that type of interaction fun for them and make it work for you when they’re at your bar or restaurant.
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