Does Your Business Brand Include Video Gaming?

In any competitive business market, strong branding is critical for success - it helps customers know what to expect from your business and acts as the driving force behind your business’ pursuits to meet those expectations. Whether your business established its brand a long time ago, or is still trying to find its voice, there are many benefits to evaluating and honing in on the brand identity of your bar or restaurant.

As an establishment with slot machines, it’s also important to consider how you include video gaming as a part of your brand. Too often, businesses ‘set it and forget it’ with their video slots, rather than incorporating gaming into their identity. 

Developing Your Brand

If after reading the above you’re not feeling sure about your business brand, it can’t hurt to complete a branding exercise. Consider the following questions, trying to focus on what makes your bar or restaurant stand out from the competitors (that includes your gaming/gaming area!).

1. Who are you?
• What do you offer?
• Who are your competitors?
• How are you different/the same as your competitors?
2. Who is your target market?
• Who is your target customer?
• Who is your target player?
• Are these two targets different or the same?  
3. What special benefits do you offer?
• Does your bar or restaurant fill a need or solve a problem?
• What makes your gaming area a place where people want to be?
• What is the atmosphere of your your bar or restaurant?

Developing your brand can get much more involved than the above questions, however these should help you start thinking in the direction of understanding what your business offers that no one else does. If it helps, try to think back to your mindset when you first opened your bar or restaurant. Think of how inspired you felt when you first decided to open up your own establishment.

Once you can put that into words and describe it, you have a brand. The next step is communicating it!

Communicating Your Brand

Understanding that your brand explains who you are and what you offer, of course the next step should be to communicate it with current and potential customers. Your brand should be communicated through your written and visual content. It should be a guiding hand to help you remain consistent in your aesthetic – this is important to not confuse patrons.

Your business’ social media and website are a great place to start. Try posting images of your bar and gaming area on your website, accompanied by words or statements that relate to your brand.

Sometimes all it takes is a little creativity and working with what is readily available to you. Take the Brass Key Lounge in East Peoria, for example. They have branded their bar as a time capsule to preserve the history of East Peoria. This concept is unique and holds a special place in the hearts of people who have called the area home. Since starting this concept, the Brass Key Lounge has seen increased sales and consistent growth in gaming revenue.

If you want more, check out this article on how to make your branding not suck.