The best ideas are often the simplest, and this is one of those where you think, ‘why didn’t I think of that?’.

If you’ve ever been to a nightclub (who hasn’t), you would have had your hand stamped as proof of admission or to gain re-entry to the club.

Some bright spark took that unbranded idea and turned it into advertising space, connecting nighclubs and companies targeting late night revellers, such as cab companies.

Australian Passout Marketing is one such company giving them exposure to over 2.5 million people aged 18 to 32 each year, and venues are given a cut of ad revenues.

The Enigma nightclub in the Hotel Marriott in India stamped the phone number of the local cab company on club goers. It proved so effective the idea was copied by the Mumbai police and other clubs.

Does your business target late night revellers?

Full story at Springwise »

Related: Personal Stamp Ad »

Posies Café owner Jessie Burke wrote a blog post about losing $8,000 on a Groupon campaign, after the Portland, OR-based eatery offered $13 worth of food for $6 on March 9, 2010.

“It has been the single worst decision I have ever made as a business owner thus far,” she wrote in her blog.

Here are some of the takeaways from her blog post:

• Over the six months that the Groupon coupon was valid, Jessie met many, many wonderful new customers;
• Jessie also met many terrible Groupon customers that didn’t follow the Groupon rules: they used multiple Groupons for a single transaction, and argued with her about it with disgusted looks on their faces;
• Some Groupon coupon customers tipped based on what they owed – 10% of $0 is zero dollars, so tossing in a dime was them being generous;
• The interactions with the few bad Groupon customers jaded her staff; and
• Jessie believes that service industry businesses, such as hairdressers and beauty clinics, do quite well with Groupon coupons because it is just the cost of time – they are not paying for a product for resale.

I think Jessie’s blog post offers some valuable lessons for all small businesses who are considering a Groupon-like promotion.

These lessons include:

• Groupon-like promotions can deliver a rush of new customers;
• Some coupon-buying consumers will try to take advantage of the rules and use multiple coupons for a single transaction;
• Coupon-buying consumers may not tip as well as regular customers;
• You must inform your employees of what to expect from coupon-customers: If your employees have a better expectation of what to expect from coupon-customers (such as less tips), then your promotion is more likely to be a success; and
• Seriously consider whether a Groupon-like campaign is right for your business? Would the flood of bargain-hunting coupon-consumers use up resources which would otherwise be used to service your regular customers?

Has Jessie’s story made you reconsider whether you should run a Groupon-like promotion?

Full story at the Posies Cafe blog »

The University of Colorado used Groupon to try to fill some of Folsom Field’s 53,000 seats for this Saturday’s game against Iowa State.

The campaign ran on November 3, offering $65 tickets priced at just $15. Up to eight tickets could be purchased per individual buyer. They looked at the deal as a loss leader to recruit parents with children who couldn’t normally afford entry to a game. Once inside the stadium, they knew people with ticket vouchers would spend on popcorn, hot dogs, nachos, and beverages.

The effort targeted a subset of Groupon’s Denver area e-mail audience, which totals 270,000 subscribers. They were hoping to see sales reach 2,000 tickets. They didn’t quite get there, but still moved 1,177 tickets in less than 24 hours.

The Buffaloes from Boulder, CO, are not the only college football team to employ Groupon this season. The University of Kansas ran a $60-tickets-for-$25 deal on September 21 in one of the more recent examples, selling 913 tickets for a Novomber 6 Jayhawks match-up against Colorado, in Lawrence, KS. And in August, Boston College sold 2,762 tickets on Groupon, while North Carolina State moved 1,362 tickets.

Professional sports teams are testing Groupon, too. The Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, and Cleveland Indians each ran one-day campaigns during this past MLB season. And on November 6, the New Jersey Nets sold 989 vouchers ($100-tickets-for-$35) while giving area fans a choice of up to five games this season.

If you trouble filling seats for your next event, you might want to consider running a campaign on a group-buying site like Groupon to fill some seats.

Full story at ClickZ »