Cutter's Irish Pub: Not Just $1 Yings

Problem: Need to get late night back at Cutters on Friday and Saturday nights

So if you have ever been to The University of Georgia in Athens, Ga (the #1 party school in the nation), you know that you can end up wherever you want on any given night.  That's what makes the downtown scene in Athens so great.  There's live music, wannabe dance clubs, beautiful women, friends, pool tables, and your occasional late night UGA dog stand for those late night drinking munchies.  So how do you keep people to keep coming to your bar with so many options?


Thursday nights in Athens have always been my favorite night to go out. Reasoning: $1 Yings at Cutters BEST DEAL IN TOWN.  One of these thirsty Thursday nights I started talking to the bartender at the time about the music he was playing.  I said you got this, or this, and this?  He replied no, no, and no.  It really started to frustrate him.  But then I realized that Cutter's wasn't the typical rap sorority bar, it was something classier than what a lot of the other bars in Athens try to do.  Cutter's tries to focus on bringing back the music that you grew up on and on music that was real to the heart unlike the fake glamourous lyrics that are used today.  I got deep with the man at the time and before I knew it, we were talking about how both of us had cried at the Elton John & Billy Joel concert.  If anyone knows true music, it comes from the instrument and heart of devoting the time to develop a song into a symphony.  Turns out that bartender was the owner:  Patrick Depaolo.  Before I knew it, we exchanged numbers and I've been meeting with him periodically throughout the semester to understand how to better market his bar.

The question is: how does Cutter's attract more people late night?  The bar doesn't just want to be known as a start-off bar.  It wants to be the place where you know you want to end up

I started with some questions for Patrick and the bartenders.  Then, I've been doing a little market research as any good marketer would do and seeing why it exactly is that college kids aren't coming to late nights through the weekend.  Here is what I found so far:


College kids go to bars for cheap drinks, to meet new people, see friends, to dance, and enjoy music they like.


Main College Kids Bar Competitors:

1. Boarshead:great location, outdoor area, inside is dirty, bathrooms, tables and seats, and pool tables
2. Magnolias:Lots of sorority rap music.  They have an upstaris and a downstaris along with an outside area for smokers.  "$1-Well Wednesday" 
3. Allgood:upstairs and a downstairs, room to move, sweet tiki hut outside with diverse music
4. 90’es: Nsync, backstreet, and the era of the boy band age.
5. Loft: People who have been drinking a lot (lol), dance, dance, and dance.
6. Moonshine: upbeat music, recent college graduate bartenders that understand what is popular for college music in Athens
7. Sideways-upstairs and downstairs with Magnolias nearby.  Have live music now and again that includes great classical music.

Advertising: Advertisements in Athens Banner Herald and Red and Black.  Yet, more new media advertising has a strongth opportunity for growth here.

Big Holidays: Fat Tuesday, St. Patricks Day, Game Days, and Graduation!

Special Drink Promotions:  Happy hour is illegal and smoking in doors is not allowed.  
Mondays-$2 Guiness/Irish Whiskey
Thursdays-$ 1 Yuengling Beers

Are you a Gamer?

Cutter's has a Golf game, Pool, and Foozball

Current Music: 

Is meant to be diverse, but more oldschool from 70'es-90'es.  Favorites inlcude Beastie Boys, Biggie, Led Zeppelin, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and Elton John

Bar Atmosphere:

A Girls Bathroom appropriate, diversity, looking to grow, slammin bottles, college decorating, and irish pub.

Cutters needs to have more event marketing like a 5k run or biking event.  Word of mouth of special drinking promotions through bartenders, doorman, and clients is the quickest marketing tactic for increasing profit.  Live jam music in the corner and the future upstairs would be great with a karaoke night as well as a comedy night.  Cutter's should focus on sponsoring a UGA team as well as a UGA organization to increase brand awareness.  A Monthly flip cup tournament for college girls would be a huge success.  Some type of trivia night would also be excellent.  Mud wrestling Wednesday nights: mud is a huge promoter for events because people get dirty and loud.  Better social networking through Facebook, Twitter, and  blogs.  This bar needs to find the most obscure parties for people to celebrate, because everyone will celebrate the big holidays.  Newspapers restaurant review and putting yourself in TV interviews with Grady students. 


Food:
Delivery of pizza from Little Italy to those hungry customers would be great. 


Music:
Understand that current girls do like trending music artists such as  Wiz Khalifa, Eminem, Enrique Iglesias, Jay Cole, Usher, Gucci Mane, Rhianna, and other music that they are able to dance too.  Rap is huge for partying in the age of Generation Y.


Drinks: 
Appeal more to girls

The Personality of the Bar Needs to Drive Emotions: 

Need to develop a theme of the bar, besides dollar yuenglings.  Let a women college student control the music.  Frat guys that come into your bar need Non-sorority bartenderS.  Girls need male models.  Diverse NightIrish Pub-American Irish Taver Pub.

Have a liquor/beer company sponsor a special event in the month.   A Monthly flip cup tournament for college girls would be a huge success.  Some type of trivia night would be excellent.  Diverse Night Irish Pub-American Irish Taver Pub, but no food:You need  ads in what students read-Red & Black, Facebook, etc.  Have a liquor/beer company sponsor a special event in the month.  

Cutters Pub
120 E. Clayton St.
Athens, GA 30601
706-353-9800