Marketing Whiskey: Top 4 Advantages of Using Games in Promotion

The alcohol industry is a challenging business. Many current trends pose huge challenges in the said industry. The shifts that are happening are present in all corners of the world. Thus, it explains why marketing whiskey and other alcoholic drinks become more demanding each year.

With that said, it is very crucial for businesses in this industry to innovate and find new ways how to retain and get new clients. And talking about unique drinks promotion, we’ve come across Diageo’s whiskey marketing strategy.

Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands across spirits and beer. Scotch is the brand’s largest drink category, producing over 100 individual scotch brands, including the world’s best-selling Scotch whisky, Johnnie Walker.

Prestige Offer from Diageo

Customers have the chance to get a set of Diageo Whiskey Tasting and Mahjong Set upon purchasing Diageo Single Malt Whiskey worth HK$4,800. This limited edition offer runs from July 25, 2022, until stocks last. This promo is exclusive to Hong Kong only.

Other board game ideas to include in your whiskey promotion:

This branded board game is made from Sapele and pinewood materials known for their durability. You can ensure that you can use this custom board game in your marketing in the long run.

Branded Board Game Idea: 5 Marketing Rules to Win Over Competitions

The smooth wooden table is easy to carry when travelling, ideal for small spaces and does not require batteries. This set is ideal for family entertainment, birthday party, and Christmas!

Board Game Manufacturers: How Custom Board Games Are Made?

Advantages of Using Board Games in Promotion

Appeals to Baby Boomers

Invented in the 19th century, elders are most likely familiar with or even already mastered the art of playing mahjong. As a game of skill and luck, many older people are highly engaged with this board game. It is said to help stave off loneliness and depression among older people and is a great way to sharpen their minds.

Thus, including board games in any kind of promotion, targeting baby boomers is a sure win in the market.

Makes a Perfect Free Item for Shoppers

Receiving free items ignites the enjoyment and excitement of shoppers. As people love playing mahjong, getting this board game for free would definitely stir their interest.

Therefore, if you want to get your customers’ attention, utilising board games as your PWP, GWP or as an in-pack merchandise would make your business memorable.

Great Way to Upsell

The key to a successful upsell is offering relevant products. Likewise, urgency is a smart trigger to nudge people to buy the upsell. If you offer the upsell for a limited time only or in limited quantities, then make sure to highlight it in your marketing.

For instance, whiskey tastes better when drinking it with friends. Similarly, playing mahjong becomes more enjoyable when you have something to drink. These two indeed make a perfect combination in marketing whiskey.

Perfect Premium Gifts for Clients

While trying to please your customers in-store, why not also try to impress your big-time and high-end business partners? Sending a bottle of whiskey would do, but adding some fun and premium gift sets can make your connection stronger.

Playing board games with your clients is a good way to engage with them, exchange opinions and get to know them better, whilst earning their trust more.

Take a look at how other brands from different industries have utilised Mahjong in their promotions:

In alignment with their campaign of spending the year of the tiger happy together, Coca-Cola offered branded game merchandise, a limited-edition Hong Kong Mahjong set as the primary customer incentive idea. Read the full story here:

Customer Incentive Ideas: 5 Valuable Tips from Coca-Cola PWP Promo

Drinking beer and playing a customised game like Mahjong is something that goes well together, and we love how Blue Girl beer has taken advantage of this opportunity to include this in its beer promotion strategy.

Blue Girl Captivates HK Consumers With CNY Beer Promotion Strategy

Seeing the beer promotion above from Blue Girl beer reminded us of this purchase with purchase promotion we featured before from San Miguel in Hong Kong.

This in-store promotion idea from the brand involved a unique point-of-sale display and giving away a branded Mahjong set!

San Miguel Beer Promos: What Makes Dry Swimming A Hit in Hong Kong?

Back in 2016, customers received a free Guinness Mahjong Set with every purchase of Guinness’s Foreign Extra beer crates. How does this offer elevated the brand’s St. Patrick’s Day promotion? Read more about it here:

Reasons Why Guinness Mahjong Set Is The Perfect St Patricks Day Promotion

DBS Bank Ltd is a bank incorporated in Singapore and has more than 100 branches that can be found island-wide. In 2013, the bank came up with an innovative way to encourage more people to bank with them with a custom Mahjong set. Here’s how!

DBS Offers Custom Mahjong Set as Giveaways!

The China Construction Bank, the second-largest bank in the world by market capitalization offered a tiered promotion to its new customers offering exquisite Mahjong sets or cash rebates way back in 2011. What made this promotion successful? Read our article:

Promotional Mahjong Set by CCB Bank

Similar to Mahjong, Domino is a tile-based game in which players attempt to score points by playing matching tiles on an open layout.

You can also use this branded game idea to revamp your giveaway marketing strategy. Check out how brands leverage the domino game on their promotional stunts:

Take a read and discover the unique aspect of this branded domino set by Disney! What made this promotion a total buzz in the market?

Branded Domino Set by Disney

Kaufland, a German hypermarket chain once came up with a clever marketing strategy relating to the Movie Ice Age 4. Read the full article:

German Real Domino promotion GWP

Cockburn’s Port, one of the world’s top brands of Portuguese fortified wine, offered a special promotion in the UK Tesco stores back in 2011. Check out how the brand smoothly incorporated a domino set into its GWP offer.

Promotional Set – Cockburn’s Ports and Dominoes GWP

Final Thoughts,

Everyone wants a good deal. They want to get the best value out of the money they spend. Thus, when customers buy an item offering free merchandise, it’s hard for them to resist. That’s what good marketing looks like. It tempts customers. It never allows shoppers to leave without availing of the product being promoted.

Thus, if you’re looking for ideas to hook your customers using your promotional products, you could never go wrong with custom board games.

Fortunately, the ODM Group can assist you in producing all types of marketing tools you need. Our almost two decades of experience make us an ideal partner for local and international companies.

We produce a wide variety of promotional product ideas. From promotional gift packs, branded promotional gifts, gift with purchase ideas, and seasonal promotional products to POS display units. Name it; we create it. Our product designers from Mindsparkz are here to assist you in choosing and designing the custom products you need. Contact us today to get a quote.