Planning themed parties at your venue takes much more than decorations and costumes. Kelly Skillen of KMA Consulting Group provides some helpful tips to make your club’s event be seen as an experience.
(NOTE: This story was written by Kelly Skillen and appears in the May 2025 issue of ED Magazine.)
During my company’s development program for managers, Next Level Leadership, we always pose the question, “Whose job is it to market your venue?” We rarely get the answer we’re looking for, which is, “Everybody’s!”
Marketing, like all other aspects of our business, should be an expression of our organization’s culture—a culture rooted in pride. Before we think about promo teams, event calendars or social media schedules, we should do something simpler but not necessarily easier: create an environment so special that our leaders, cast members, marketing specialists and even our entertainers are enthusiastic enough to share it.
Sharing might mean a post on Instagram, a branded t-shirt worn to the gym or a conversation overheard at a bar. Today, sharing is marketing, which is why your marketing force is potentially larger than you think. We’re so passionate about this topic, we established our own course called MEPA (Marketing, Events, Promotions and Advertising) Bootcamp (Bootcamp stands for getting your ass kicked.)
Today, we’ll drill down on the topic of events as a way to share with our guests and encourage sharing on our behalf.
Why plan events?
As operators, it’s our job to throw a party every night. You might say, “No one cares about a Beach Body contest or Christmas in July—we have T&A. It’s about old-fashioned hospitality and entertainment!” It’s not that you’re wrong. It’s that you’re missing the point. Events are an expression of pride in our venue—let us show you what we can do! But they also provide content—something to share on a billboard, on social, at the dog park or in the club. Events are both the WHAT and the WHY.
Approach events with intention
Every event – every piece of marketing – should have intention behind it. Specifically, it should have at least one of the following three intentions:
- Increase guest volume
- Increase guest spend
- Increase guest loyalty
That’s it! For example, our Throwback Thursdays, which rotated amongst eras from the 20s to the 90s, featured costumes, music and pricing from the past. It encouraged volume because drinks were discounted. It also encouraged loyalty, since we became the Thursday night go-to for many locals.
Meanwhile, our Ball Dropper bottle package on New Year’s Eve was positioned as a value play—order a bottle of Belvedere, and get a bottle of Moet for a few dollars more. The package along with the rest of the menu was supported by vendors and that particular Moet was new. Yet guests spent more than they would have on products that might have otherwise gathered dust on our shelves.
Pro Tip: Packages and product pairing generally raise spending rather than lower it.
When planning an event, ask yourself, “what is my intention?”
Conceptualize in advance
We design our calendars annually, which means planning starts in early fall. (Don’t be afraid of the p-word; there is always room to slide in new or topical ideas later.)
- Start with fixed calendar events, like holidays. Note what your competitors— including mainstream venues—are doing before you lock in dates! Does it make sense to go head-to-head or launch a week earlier?
- Build your calendar around sports. Tap into local pride. Most guests who are not attending a live event prefer to watch it in a sports bar—position your venue as the unofficial after-party.
- Fill empty spaces in your calendar with your events—Black ‘n Blue Ball, Get Lei’d, Naked Carnival and always, your Anniversary Bash, which happens on whatever date you’d like it to.
Don’t eff up the execution!
Lots of good ideas fall apart when it comes to execution, it’s one of the two reasons we give up on events. (The other, of course, is laziness.) Printing a thousand 4-by-6’s for St. Patrick’s Day and offering free admission to anyone wearing green will not get the job done. For everyone else, events require the following:
- Fun campaign with CALL TO ACTION
- Drink feature
- Food feature (if permitted)
- Entertainment element
- Decorations
- Dress guidelines, accessories and/or merch
Giveaways Switch your 4-by-6’s to 2-by-6’s—better for promo. Provide your cast with invitations for their guests, add audio drops and in-house video loops, spread “secret” passwords on social media, use your cast as “flyers,” and send a branded promo team to your town’s parade, bar crawl or high traffic area with chips that can be redeemed at the club.
Wrap your arms around ROI
We’ve built events on $500 and $50,000 budgets; knowing what and when to spend is important, so is profit analysis. Events shouldn’t cost the venue more money than they make. However, when considering return on investment, we offer you the same advice we’d give to a new entertainer: think beyond tonight.
The idea is to get the guests’ attention, start a conversation and maybe get them to fall in love with us a little. A good club is consistent; guests go because they know exactly what they will get. A great club continually surprises and delights; guests attend because they can’t wait to see what’s happening tonight!
Give everyone something to share—in person and online—and you’ve created the most powerful marketing machine in the world. The best part?
That marketing machine is free.
For more information on KMA Consulting Group, visit www.kmaconsultinggroup.com. For legal advice, contact Devon M. Lyon at 562-216-7382 or dlyon@work-safe.biz.
Six Quick Tips When Throwing A Holiday-Themed Event
by Neil Kluttz of KMA Consulting Group
Halloween: Fetish or alternative showgirl—Rubberdoll, Angel Beau and Saint Anique have been standouts. Consider scheduling the week before everyone else.
Christmas: Spend money on a high-end headliner/porn star early in December. Tie in a charity and get your vendors involved.
Independence Day weekend: This is challenging in most markets. Ask your agent for upcoming performers who do fire shows—insurance permitting!=
St. Patrick’s Day: Two ways to go—book little people, but book them early! Or go with a beautiful redhead like Lauren Phillips who’s willing to work with your theme.
Valentine’s Day: Alternative, all the way. The Suicide Sirens want to be your Valentine!
Other major events: Besides your Holiday Charity Ball, spend money on your Anniversary Bash and during multi-day expos/events in your town. If it’s three days, try a triple bill.
