What’s another name for a perfect storm of riot and laughter? A pub crawl! And if you’re looking to orchestrate one, you’re in for a treat.
Here are the two pillars of organizing an event
- Planning
- Marketing
And we’re here for you with some excellent tips to plan and promote your pub crawl ideas like a pro. So, let’s dive into the chaos, one bar at a time!
How to Plan a Well-Managed Pub Crawl
Who says planning a pub crawl can’t be as fun as the crawl itself? The magic lies in the details when you’re arranging this mad fest.
1. Pick Your Pubs and Forge a Sustainable Partnership
Start by choosing and approaching the pubs that you can visit during the crawl. In addition to discussing your event’s details, they may propose group discounts for your attendees or some exclusive offers on food and drinks.
Alternatively, your event could attract new patrons to the pubs, so it’s a win-win scenario. Just bear in mind to encourage responsible drinking to ensure your attendees don’t make a mess in the pub.
When choosing the pubs, consider:
- The vibe of the pubs – Cozy, lively, or a mixture of both. Prefer pubs with the energy you want your event to exude.
- Alcohol variety – Beer, whisky, wine, or some signature cocktails – decide on the type of drinks that will be served.
- Snacks – Eating will help prevent the dreaded next-day hangover. And let’s not overlook the fact that your attendees will be quite level-headed to enjoy the event with slower alcohol absorption.
A little piece of advice: Consider providing a variety of welcome drinks at each pub to cater to the diverse preferences your attendees may have when it comes to drinking.
2. Plan and Schedule Your Route Smartly
Select pubs that are conveniently closer, easily accessible by walking, or a short pre-booked bus journey, so that it isn’t too chaotic for your attendees to move between them.
Pad your schedule with extra time between stops to account for unforeseen delays, settle bills, and ensure everyone’s ready to leave.
And if it’s feasible, plan your final stop near a late-night public transportation hub for convenient commuting.
3. Assess Group Size to Ensure a Smooth Experience
The next step is to decide the number of attendees you will include in your event to ensure that your selected pubs can accommodate your party size.
Irrespective of the size of your group, take into account that it will get increasingly difficult to manage a half-drunk crowd.
4. Prep the Bars in Advance to Avoid Chaos When You Arrive
This goes without saying that it is imperative to give a heads-up to each place ahead of time as it helps them prepare better to host you.
Make sure to inquire about booking a specific area for the group and communicate your ETA and party exit plan with them to let them prepare and manage their resources effectively.
5. Make it Fun by Choosing a Theme
Here’s an awesome way to escalate the excitement and thrill of your event – pick a theme! You can find some dope ideas for your pub crawl to choose one that perfectly fits the vibe of your event.
Spread the word and encourage your attendees to don different costumes or bring props and accessorize to their hearts’ content. Let their imagination run wild!
To add that dash of whimsy, you could collaborate with the pubs for themed decorations or themed drinks and snacks and some hilarious games.
Pro tip: You can give a free Martini to the best-dressed person at the event!
6. Break the Ice Between Attendees (MUST DO)
In your pool of attendees, you may have a shoal of fish along with some solo swimmers. To foster a sense of camaraderie, consider ways to help everyone feel comfortable and at ease in each other’s company.
Check out these cool ways to kick-start conversations:
- Provide name tags and arrange seating in a way that encourages mingling.
- Initiate a round of introductions where everyone shares an interesting fact about themselves.
- Introduce fun icebreaker games or activities like getting all the attendees to talk to the ones they don’t know for 2 minutes each or a little pub trivia.
- Above all, be approachable as an organizer. Set a welcoming tone by initiating conversations with your attendees, and watch the others follow!
7. Host an Award Ceremony at the End of the crawl (If It Suits Your Taste)
There’s nothing more disheartening than watching your attendees either decide to stay put at one of the initial bars or, worse, take a cab home early *sigh*.
To avoid this heartbreak, here’s a catch – incentive! Inspire your attendees to hit all the stops by hosting an award ceremony at the last pub.
You could create entertaining and lighthearted categories, like “Dancing Dynamo” or “Social Butterfly”, and award the participant that gets the maximum votes from the attendees.
This little incentive will ensure that the event ends on a happening note and encourage future participation of people in your events.
8. Stick to a Plan, but Also Prepare for Backup
Try to be on schedule, but since it involves drunk people, the chances of plans going haywire are relatively higher. Not only that, unprecedented changes will require you to be extremely flexible throughout your event.
In case of surprises, be quick to find alternatives and switch pubs, or arrive early at some (after notifying them, of course).
Don’t stress too much about it, though. Things change, and mishaps happen. Just have backups!
Promote Your Pub Crawl with the Right Approach
Now, let’s talk about the marketing side of things. Unless you want to organize a pub crawl for a specific group, you might want your event to stand out and increase its visibility.
According to the Organizer of Singapore Pub Crawl – Mogan: Only 20% of their attendees are localites.
What does this implicate? Yes, you need to know your target audience better. People who attend pub crawls are mostly travelers who want to explore the city’s nightlife.
Here’s how you can spread the word to your ideal audience –
1. Map Potential Hotspots Where Your Target Audience Would Hangout
Start with creating a list of places where your target group might be. Some of them may be:
- Airport Lounges or Information Desks.
- Accommodations like Hotels and Hostels.
- Places where tourists seek information about local activities and events, like Tourist Information Centers.
- Popular tourist attractions that generate high tourist footfall.
- Visitors of cultural events or festivals may have an interest in exploring local nightlife.
- Places like famous eating joints, restaurants, or cafes where people gather, particularly in the evenings, may offer a range of probable attendees.
2. Collaborate with Online Travel Websites and Tourism Entities
Travel guidance platforms like Tripadvisor, Booking.com, and others can be highly rewarding for promoting pub crawls. Partnering with them can expand the reach of your event, exposing it to a larger, diverse audience.
Expert tip: Team up with the local guided tour services as well if you can. No one can understand tourists’ interests as they do, and hence, visitors often trust their recommendations.
3. Posters and Banners Work. Period.
Create and display visually appealing flyers and posters using vibrant colors and catchy taglines, along with mentioning essential event details.
Collaborate with participating pubs to display your posters prominently inside the shop. This is a great way to get the buzz going, especially among their frequenters.
Other than that, target high-traffic areas and public places, like
- Cafes and Restaurants
- Accommodations and College Campuses
- Airport Lounges
- Tourist Information Centers
- Concerts or Local Events
Caution: Before you blanket the town with flyers and posters, remember that a sprinkle of permission goes a long way to keep your party popping without the party poopers!
4. Be Grateful for the Digital Era
Harness the power of social media by identifying where your target audience hangs out the most. Whether it’s Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or Twitter, make sure to focus the maximum of your efforts there by, maybe, collaborating with influential social media pages that are dedicated to promoting local tourism.
You can whip up eye-popping posts, give sneak peeks of what’s in store, and jazz it up with polls, countdowns, and exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpses. Oh, and don’t forget to tailor your content to fit each platform’s style.
Another game changer – hashtags! Tag your digital material with custom hashtags and trendy ones that match your event’s vibe. It’s how you get people to find your content and dive right into the chat!
5. Leverage Event Listing Platforms
If things mentioned above got a little too overwhelming for you, make use of event listing platforms!
Here’s how they can benefit you:
- Attract more attention by getting your event featured on Google.
- These platforms have a wide user base, which enhances your event’s visibility among interested audiences.
- Elevate your reach by using their marketing tools like analytics, email campaigns and newsletters, and social media integration, among others.
- Strengthen your credibility as attendees trust these websites for reliable information.
6. Get Your Website to Sell More Tickets
You could use a super cool and catchy website to funnel your traffic and sell tickets online. It will not just bolster your event’s credibility, but also ensure a robust, growing customer base.
See to it that the website speaks vibrancy and looks as happening as a pub crawl is.
Check out the Singapore Pub Crawl website to inspire your own. You can use the Event Website Builder feature of AllEvents for the rocking branding of your event.
Takeaway
Planning and promoting a pub crawl isn’t just about logistics – it’s about curating an experience. The real magic happens when laughter echoes through the night, and friendships are forged over a shared pint.
Basically, it all comes down to how your attendees feel during and after they attend your event.
So, when orchestrating your next pub crawl, think beyond the pubs and drinks, promote responsible drinking, and let an unforgettable adventure evolve.
“The main purpose of a pub crawl is to foster relationships and make friends. The going might get tough, but you have to keep going forward. Never forget what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Make sure your attendees are having the time of their lives, and you’ll have a successful event.“
– Mogan, Organizer of Singapore Pub Crawl
