The Problem with “Everyone’s Doing It” Marketing
Another bar launches a 2-for-1 Tuesday, so you do too. A café down the road is all over TikTok, so you start drawing pictures on the top of your Guinness… But here’s the thing: if your marketing looks just like everyone else’s, it blends into the noise and gets lost. In hospitality, “copycat marketing” isn’t just lazy, it’s bad for business.
You can’t stand out if you blend in
Hospitality is a visual, emotional business. Guests choose your venue based on a feeling, not just price, location or menu.
When your Instagram, website, and signage look like carbon copies of your competitors', you become forgettable.
If you want to stand out, you need a distinctive identity. That means more than a logo. It’s your tone of voice, your brand story, your photography style, your menu design, your playlist. When everything aligns around a clear vision and identity, that’s when things click. That’s when you start seeing the kind of guests who get it and keep coming back.
Different venue, different vibe
Just because something works for a craft brewery in Hackney doesn’t mean it’ll work for your cocktail bar in Wimbledon. Your audience is different. Your atmosphere is different. Your goals are different.
Effective marketing starts with knowing your customer. What do they value? What are you offering them? Build campaigns around that, not what the café down the street is doing.
Trends don’t pay rent
We get it, TikTok is hot, and everyone is talking about going viral. So are funny signs, neon lights, and wild menu items. But trends fade. What lasts is strategy and consistency.
Ask yourself: Does this tactic serve our long-term goals? Are we building something sustainable, or just chasing short-term attention? If a trend fits your brand and entertains your audience, go nuts! But don’t force it. Chances are if you feel like you’re forcing it, your audience isn’t going to engage with it. You have to be authentic in everything you do.
Forget following the crowd. Let’s find what makes you worth noticing, and build marketing around that.
Preshift can help you cut through the noise and connect you with the right guests.
