Branded Bar Stools for Beverage Companies, Attorneys, Dealerships, Restaurants and More
Some promotional products get handed out at an event and disappear a week later. Others become part of a space and stay there for years.
Custom printed bar stools definitely fall into that second category.
We've done custom bar stools for a variety of clients over the years and I continue to love them because there is just so much branding space to work with. The entire seat can basically become your canvas. Depending on the style, you can also add logos or artwork around the side of the seat and even onto the backrest.
They also have surprisingly low minimum order quantities which opens them up to a lot more businesses than you might expect. You don't have to order 100 custom logo bar stools or furnish an entire restaurant to make a project worthwhile. Sometimes a handful placed in exactly the right locations can make more sense than ordering hundreds of traditional promotional products.
So, who should actually be using them?
Spirit, Beer and Beverage Brands
This is probably the most obvious fit for custom branded bar stools, and for good reason.
If you're a beer, tequila, bourbon, vodka, seltzer or other beverage brand, getting your branding into the actual environment where people are ordering and drinking your product is incredibly valuable.
We've seen beverage companies use promotional bar stools in bars, restaurants, tasting rooms, liquor stores and event spaces. They can become part of a larger point-of-sale marketing program alongside items like branded umbrellas, barware, coolers, signs and other custom bar merchandise.
I especially like these for newer and emerging spirit brands.
You don't need to be a major national liquor company outfitting hundreds of bars. A growing tequila or bourbon brand could order a smaller quantity of custom logo bar stools and place them with a few of its best accounts. The bar gets great-looking new seating and the beverage company gets a branded piece that customers are going to see over and over again.
That's a pretty good trade.
Personal Injury Lawyers and Other Local Businesses
This is one we've actually seen firsthand.
We've worked with personal injury law firms that order custom printed bar stools and distribute them to local bars. It's a really smart form of local advertising when you think about it.
Instead of another billboard or sign competing for someone's attention, the law firm's branding actually becomes part of the bar. People sit on it, walk past it and see it every time they come back.
And this strategy certainly isn't limited to personal injury attorneys.
Criminal defense attorneys, bail bond companies, insurance agencies, real estate companies, contractors and other local service businesses can use branded bar furniture the same way. Find the establishments where your target audience already spends time and give those businesses something useful that happens to prominently feature your logo.
With the lower minimum quantities available on many of these stools, this can work especially well for local marketing campaigns. You may only need a few stools in a few really good locations.
Automotive, Powersports and Dealerships
There are certain environments where a custom bar stool just looks right, and automotive is definitely one of them.
Car dealerships, motorcycle dealerships, RV dealers, boat dealers, performance shops, tire shops, custom wrap companies and aftermarket automotive brands are all great fits.
We've seen how much effort dealerships and specialty automotive businesses put into their showrooms and customer areas. A few custom logo swivel bar stools around a counter, showroom or customer lounge can make the entire space feel more finished while reinforcing the brand at the same time.
They're also great for partner shops and high-value customers.
If you're an aftermarket brand selling through independent shops, for example, providing your best dealers with custom branded seating gives them something genuinely useful while putting your logo inside their business every day.
And let's be real, a good-looking automotive bar stool is also the kind of promotional product somebody might actually want in their garage or home bar.
Restaurants, Sports Bars and Hospitality
Restaurants and bars don't necessarily need another company to sponsor their stools. They can turn the stools themselves into part of their branding.
A restaurant logo across the seat, a sports bar logo wrapping around the side or a custom design that ties into the overall theme of the space can look really sharp.
There is also a lot of opportunity here for hotels, resorts, golf clubhouses, country clubs and other hospitality businesses. And if you're looking at outdoor spaces, we've seen the same idea work really well with custom branded Adirondack chairs. We've done these for country clubs, and they're another great option for breweries, beverage brands, restaurant patios, resorts and other outdoor hospitality spaces.
Between custom bar stools indoors and branded Adirondack chairs outdoors, you can turn the actual furniture people are sitting on into part of the overall branding of the space.
One thing I like about this category is that the company ordering the furniture doesn't necessarily have to be the business using it. A beverage distributor can provide custom bar stools to a restaurant. A liquor brand can place branded seating with its best accounts. A local company can sponsor seating at a golf clubhouse.
That creates a lot of different possibilities for custom promotional bar furniture beyond simply furnishing your own office or restaurant.
Sports Teams, Booster Clubs and Fan Spaces
This is another category where I think custom stools are underused.
Sports teams, universities, athletic departments, booster clubs and alumni organizations have some really cool opportunities with them.
Think about a college logo or mascot taking up the entire seat of a bar stool. These could look great in donor lounges, stadium suites, athletic facilities, alumni spaces, tailgate setups and sports bars near campus.
They're also substantial enough to work as a donor gift, raffle prize or auction item.
A custom T-shirt is nice. A bar stool with your team's logo on it that ends up in someone's home bar for the next ten years is a completely different type of branded product.
Barbershops, Tattoo Studios, Gaming Lounges and Other Branded Spaces
Really, any business where the physical space is part of the customer experience should consider custom printed seating.
Barbershops and tattoo studios are great examples because aesthetics matter so much. Gaming lounges and barcades can incorporate custom stools into their overall theme. Boxing gyms, MMA facilities and fitness studios can use them around front desks or lounge areas.
We've also seen businesses use branded stools at trade show booths and experiential marketing activations. Instead of renting generic furniture, you can actually make the seating part of the display.
The common denominator is pretty simple: if your space has a counter, bar, lounge, booth or waiting area, there's probably somewhere a custom stool can work.
The Entire Bar Stool Is Your Canvas
This is probably my favorite part about selling these.
You're not dealing with a tiny imprint area tucked into the corner of a product. A bar stool gives you a big, highly visible area to actually do something with the artwork.
For a classic option, our Swivel Bar Stool with Single Ring gives you branding across the seat top and side.
If you want something a little more substantial, the Double Ring Swivel Bar Stool gives you that traditional bar stool look with plenty of room for your logo and branding.
Then there is the Double Ring Bar Stool with Back, which takes the branding even further with decoration opportunities on the seat, side band and back.
That's why I wouldn't automatically approach one of these projects by just dropping a small company logo in the middle and calling it a day.
You have room to get creative.
Use your brand colors. Go big with the logo. Incorporate a tagline. Create artwork specifically for the seat. If you're a beverage brand, make the stool look like it belongs in a bar rather than like someone simply added a logo to a piece of furniture.
When the branding is done right, the stool itself becomes part of the decor.
You Don't Need to Order 100 of Them
This is probably the biggest misconception with custom printed bar stools.
People see a product like this and assume it only makes sense for a huge national rollout. That's really not the case.
Many of the custom bar stools we offer have low minimum quantities, which makes them accessible for smaller programs and individual locations.
You could order a few for your dealership showroom. Place a handful with your best bar and restaurant accounts. Add branded seating to your trade show booth. Give them to top distributors. Put them in a company lounge. Create one for a raffle or auction.
Or, yes, order a larger quantity and build an entire placement program around them.
That's what makes this category so interesting. A national beverage brand can find a use for them, but so can a local law firm, dealership, restaurant, barbershop or booster club.
And unlike a lot of traditional promotional products, a good bar stool isn't going into someone's junk drawer.
It's staying out in the open, with your logo right there with it.
Check out our full selection of custom printed and branded bar stools, or reach out to us if you need help figuring out which style, branding area or quantity makes the most sense for your project.