Whether its your 1st location or your 100th, record breaking grand openings can put your location on the map. Here is a condensed version of our article on 100 Grand Opening Ideas.

1. Grand Opening Ideas for
Record Breaking
Success
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2. Opening a new location is a
ton of work. Get noticed and
get customers to make a
right hand turn into your
business by focusing on
these 7 areas to attract
attention.

3. • Offline Marketing Tactics
• Partnering with Surrounding Businesses
• Bringing in Schools and Charities
• Getting the Word out with Media and PR
• Creating Buzzworthy Events
• Running Contests and Giveaways
• Boosting Sales with Upsells
Boost Grand Opening Awareness
by:

4. • Secure Attention Grabbing Advertising
– Americans drive over 3 trillion miles a year
– Your target market drives by your location every
single day
– Inflatable balloons, window graphics, flags,
pennant strings, the list goes on!
Offline Marketing at Your Location

5. • Make sure the inside of
the store is a fun
environment too!
– Hang your P-O-P, get a
professional
photographer to come
out, set up bounce
houses and food or
samples for customers
– Make sure your
customers remember you
and talk about you after
they leave – word of
mouth is vital for your
new business

6. Partnering with Local
Businesses
• Think Local!
– Get food trucks to come out for your event
– Hire local businesses to sponsor your event
• Florist, DJ, artists, product promotions. Make sure
they’re local
• Collaborate!
– Network with local businesses
– Run cross promotions – coupons, flyers, etc
• Promote with car clubs, how-to classes, movie theaters
• Quick Service Restaurants can partner with just about
anyone

7. • Give local businesses a
reason to work with you
– There has to be give and
take
– Give them special offers no
one else has
– Be mindful of their parking
needs and other issues
that might arise
– Feature other businesses
just like you would want to
be featured

8. Schools and Charities
• Local schools
– Ask the school band and color guard to come
out and perform
– Offer student ID discounts
– Give a percentage back to a local school
• Local churches
– Pass out coupons
– Advertise on their bulletin board

9. • Get involved in your
community
– Invite the local fire
department or police
department
– Invite local politicians
to come out
– Local charities can
help spread the word
about your new
business, offer to help
them with donations
or a give them a table
at your opening

10. • Get involved with the media
– Send out a press release
– Invite local food critics or bloggers to come
out for special pre-grand opening event
– Ask the local news to come cover the event
– Invite a local radio station to broadcast from
your grand opening
– Make sure you have a media kit ready with
facts and figures about your business, give
them something to talk about
Media / PR Tips

11. • The customers within a 5
mile radius are your hot
target market
– Target people within 5
miles of your location, that
is who will see you the
most
• Do something press-
worthy
– Offer the first 100 people
in line a year-long freebie
– Don't forget your ribbon
cutting ceremony!

12. • Social media
– Make sure you have a presence on
social media
– Run contests through Facebook:
Like our page and win, Share this
picture and win, etc.
– Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, the
list goes on
– Have a hashtag
– Encourage your customers to post
pictures and videos from your
event, they’re your best
advertisers!
Creating Buzz

13. • Hand out flyers at local
events
– Have special offers on the
flyers
• Schedule different events
for everyday of the week,
Grand Opening Week!
– $1 everything on 1st day, $2
on 2nd, etc.
• Give your guests something
to remember your event:
cups, hats, balloons,
anything to get the word out

14. • People love free stuff!
– Have a big drawing for everyone
who's in line and waiting for your
business to open
– Do prize drawings every hour
– Offer free food to get people in your
doors
– Promote contests and giveaways
on advertising flags
Contests and Giveaways

15. • Run a social media contest
– Picture caption contest – best one wins a prize!
– Get a percentage off when you post a selfie at the
grand opening
• Eat X-amount of spicy wings and get meal
comped and picture on the wall
• Coloring contest for kids - display them and have a
random drawing for free dessert

16. Other Ideas for Boosting Sales
• Make sure your staff is trained
– It may seem obvious but make sure
your staff is trained and ready to go
– You don’t want your guests’ first
experience to be a bad one!
• Account for the time of year
– Themes for each season
– There's a reason why consumers
love pumpkin in the Fall and ice
cold lemonade in the Summer!

17. • Encourage impulse buys
– Have a section for impulse
purchases right by the
register, people will be
tempted to buy more things
while they wait in line
• Upsell, upsell, upsell!
– Warranties, desserts, large
drinks, BOGO deals, the list
goes on. Boost your
average sale!
• Frequent buyer programs
– Your customers love to
save money and will come
back to you if they know
they are getting a deal

18. A record breaking grand opening means
pulling out all the stops to create a
memorable, buzz worthy event.
For more attention grabbing ideas,
visit AirAdPromotions.com
Takeaways