There is no room to be coy during Pornstar Martini Day. Take full advantage of this day to spice up your bar a little bit, and get your customers to keep coming back for more.
Pornstar Martini (aka. Passion Fruit Martini) enthusiasts, mark your calendars for National Pornstar Martini day on the 6th of September (6/9 - huzzah!).
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the iconic London-born cocktail. It’s a cocktail with a special place in our hearts at Funkin - the original Pornstar Martini contained FUNKIN COCKTAILS Passion Fruit Purée and we have worked hard to ensure the supply into the on-trade with a range of passion fruit-based products to satisfy the consumer demand for this tropical, naughty drink.
Pornstar Martini Day is all about; being daring, being yourself, and a nice splash of decadence.
Today, we touch on the background of this historic cocktail, talk about activation techniques, consumer behaviour, and give you all the details to get the party started in your bar.
History of the historic cocktail and its maker
The Pornstar Martini is a drink that has been present in the world of cocktails for 20 years. In foggy London, where it was born, the Pornstar Martini sure knows how to bring some bright colours to town.
The original version of this drink was created by Douglas Ankrah, who sadly passed away at the age of 51. However, Douglas is one of those people who take "gone but never forgotten" to a new level, as his legacy lives on in every Pornstar Martini that is poured in the bars and homes across the world.
Legend has it that Douglas was inspired by a bar in Cape Town called Mavericks, and with many tweaks, the Pornstar Martini was born. The original version used just four ingredients; vanilla sugar and vodka, passion fruit liqueur, and Funkin Cocktails Passion Fruit purée.
In 2018, the drink was named the UK's Favorite Cocktail and continues to top the chart with over 15% share of all cocktails sold in the UK’s on-trade in Q1 2022.
A foray into sales psychology: how does occasion-based marketing work?
Due to the popularity of Pornstar Martinis, if you have them on your menu, they’re likely to be one of your best sellers. So you’re probably questioning why you should make the effort to drive sales of an already star performer. Well…
People love to shop when there's a sale or special event, even if the prices aren't really that much lower, but why? According to sales theories from consumer research, this is related to cognitive and activation processes in the brain. Research results indicate that this can be used as a business benefit, as long as they are used correctly.
Activating processes are associated with internal excitement and stress. These processes include emotions, motivation, and attitudes. So, if you advertise something as a limited event, you will activate these processes in your guests mindframes, since they will feel the pressure of knowing that it is an event that is not going to be repeated for a while. As an example, think of the Pumpkin Spiced Latte at Starbucks which often outperforms the menu regulars, but is only brought back for the A/W season.
You can use this technique to target new customers and convert them into regulars. But the key is to get the potential customer to take action. Your main objective can be anything from driving sales on quiet days, more social media traffic or engagement to conversion of cold leads to customers.
Now you’re probably wondering what activating and cognitive processes have to do with occasion-based marketing. It’s like this: your customers often take a passive role in communication and have little interest in engaging with advertising - basically choosing to purchase their usual dish or drink in the usual quantity. This means that you need to use your advertising to arouse the interest of the consumer. To do this, you can use some easy activation techniques.
Easy activation techniques
Pornstar Martini Day is a brand new retail occasion, to be added to the list with the old well-known retail occasions such as Christmas, Valentine’s day, and Mother’s/Father’s Day. These have shown us that occasion-based marketing excites, creates positive associations, and subsequently - drives sales.
There are different activation techniques to elevate Pornstar Martini Day, but the key is that whatever it is, make sure it's limited. It has to make people feel that if they don't go, they're missing something, and they'll have to wait a long time for a chance to experience it again, so building desire is key.
Before the event, promote it both digitally and in-venue, announce a giveaway to attract more customers, and create a special menu - both drinks, and food if your venue sells that. In the case of food, you can give it names related to the occasion or use edible decorations. For the drinks, you also choose to be within the theme.
How to apply this to Pornstar Martini Day?
Check out some strategies to implement on the day as well as for advertising your activation:
1. Limited edition menu additions
Small, limited edition cocktail menus which have tweaks on Pornstar Martini would work perfectly and help you get through some of the old spirit stock on the back bar. You can excite and delight even the most hardcore Pornstar Martini fans by bringing your own venue’s personality and creativity to the guest’s favourite drink. Give your Pornstar Martini that strawberry burst, or simply tweak it to include a shot of rose sparkling wine on the side. We have a few ideas in mind in order to help you out.
2. Offer something extra
Consider offering a complimentary Pornstar Martini shot or bomb for bookings of 4+ people (it means you can make 1 pornstar martini and divide it between 4-6 shot glasses). This should get the thirst going and encourage ordering more. The small acts of generosity as such are also crucial in building relationships and enhancing customer loyalty.
3. Focus on your audience
When advertising your activation, it’s important to bear in mind who your target audience is and how you can best reach them (e.g. in-venue advertising, via social media or newsletter, or third-party websites like Groupon, etc). We know that cocktail consumers are predominantly female so consider how you can reach your target consumer best via social media and post about the upcoming retail occasion at least 2 weeks in advance on your own pages to drive bookings.
The countdown to put your Pornstar Martini Day plans in place has started…
We have developed some digital and in-venue assets you can use to announce Pornstar Martini day celebrations. Print posters and hang them up in your loos a few weeks in advance, post these assets on social media, and add further activation details as needed.
Blog archive: How to create appealing twists on classic cocktails
Find exciting and appealing twists on classic cocktails in our in Trade Hub's Cocktail Recipes section.
