Once upon a time, the placemat was a collection of local business logos: smelly paper and creepy graphics, not least because most of these logos were maddeningly ugly.
This is one of the most underrated articles ever. Over time it has undergone many changes above all thanks to the large chains which have somewhat taught how to treat customers and make them feel at ease: all in all , now everyone can afford to personalize items without spending a fortune.
Starting from the placemat is a great starting point to start taking care of those aspects related to communication that restaurateurs often neglect, even due to lack of time, the rest will follow by itself. I have been trying to locate various types of placemats and to find some strange and creative ones that I hope will be useful for both designers and companies.
The classic: the placemat for children to play
Many have not yet understood how fantastic it is to receive a placemat and a small gift for the children once they have been placed at the table. Let's take the Roadhouse placemat as an example, which manages to entertain even the craziest children! In short, parents greatly appreciate this type of gift. Why yes, the placemat magically becomes a gift, adding to the primary function linked to hygiene.
And you know, children often order once the product has been viewed: so why not print a placemat with the children's menus, to choose only by pointing with a finger?
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The placemat can contain games, a space to draw a little drawing, coloring characters, simple and fun quizzes that can also be useful for learning something
Less classic: the placemat for adults
Even grown-ups like to play: after all, those who go out do it to be with others or to eat something good and happy. Why not prepare a game to entertain them?
From a collection of typical local sayings to complete with the missing parts, quizzes, questions, proposed table games: creativity has no limits! among other things, each area of Italy has its own traditions, characteristics, habits and for this reason there is no standard model: the advice is to make both customers who come from outside feel at ease by letting them know the traditions, and to entertain the locals, regulars.
The one that everyone should print: the placemat that costs more.
- After the order, people often completely forget the sweets: a placemat with your main delicacies studded with calories will be enough to make even the least sweet tooth want sweets
- A placemat with the words: are you hungry like a wolf? ask the waitress for product X for only 2 euros more! So once the waitress arrives, she can quickly collect the requests-plus of the hungry!
- Do you have a new product? So why not offer customers the opportunity to get to know it and try it at a discounted price? You can use the placemat to promote it – after all, those inside are customers who will potentially come back again!
The placemat in depth
Are you particularly proud of the ingredients of your establishment? Do you use a very sought-after type of meat? Is the bread of your sandwiches special? Is the fish in your dishes locally sourced? Do you use a different cooking method from all your competitors? Is the cuisine ethnic and would you like to reassure skeptical customers about the origin of the products? You can make placemats that describe the quality and attention to ingredients and cooking methods. For example, in steak houses carnivores have a passion for choosing the right cut and perfect cooking: therefore the placemats become information sheets relating to the different cuts of meat.
The tactical placemat
Are you about to open a restaurant and would you like to have a feature that makes people remember you? Well, you could Print a placemat with a circular part where to place the plate… transparent! So as to change the design of your dishes every time, in a simple and alternative way!
The tablecloth-menu
Are the economic resources just at the maximum limit? Don't worry, you can print a very useful menu placemat. To be brought, of course, to everyone as soon as they sit down. In doing so, the restaurant is forced to seat customers as soon as possible and everyone will have the list of things to eat in front of them, for the whole meal! Surely, if kilos of tomato do not fall on the paper, they will still be able to read something delicious to order.
The interactive placemat
- The possibility of conveying information by scanning the QR CODE : from a simple discount to the arrival of a new product.
- Do you have an app dedicated to your business? Well, with placemats you can cheer up the waiting customers by making them play a game that they can unlock in the app, different every time. Upon passing the game, a gift and the possibility of accessing another episode. Obviously all by means of QR CODE.
The social placemat
Instagram and food have practically always gone hand in hand: the trend of publishing dishes, locations, frappuccinos has slowly spread, creating a real addiction.
Asking people to share a photo in the venue to get a reward? Why not! Or simply ask to stay connected through your "peak social network" in order to always keep loyal customers informed about events, news, discounts and everything that comes to mind? So let's do it with the placemat, shall we?
By now it is crazy not to use social networks in one's strategy: above all the millennials dictate the rules of the market. They are smart, they love digital and above all they use social media a lot. Also to choose the restaurant where to eat.
Eating is no longer consuming food but living an experience: design, colours, food presentation: millennials want to feed on the soul of the place.
The absurd placemat
Indeed this is a gem that few, like McDonald's, can afford. We are in Holland.
The "McDonald's Mc Trax" was launched in 2016 and allowed you to create a base using a special placemat on which it was possible to place your smartphone, connect it via bluetooth and press the placemat keys to create melodies, add effects and record your voice . Beatmaking is loved by young people and McDonald's intention is always the same: it wants young people to get used to spending time in fast food by spending their own money there, so that they become loyal and bring their children there once they become parents. And it takes the video to understand.
In short, as we have understood, it is time to be creative and to develop the full potential of our activities in order to increasingly retain customers, make them feel better, at home.
Surely calling a designer would be the best choice to get satisfactory results: why not do it right now?