No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service

No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service: this is a sign you might see at the doors of shops, restaurants, and gas stations throughout the US during the summer. It means that you can’t enter and you won’t be served if you are shoeless and/or (for males) shirtless. Other similar signs include “no bare feet, please,” or “shoes and shirt required,” or “welcome young people-but not with bare feet.” 

These signs sprang up in businesses as a reaction to the hippie culture in the 1960s and ‘70s; they were a means of keeping hippies out of their restaurants and stores. 

Interestingly, these No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service signs still exist today in a few businesses as a reminder that you can’t enter without being in the proper dress code. It’s not about hippies anymore. I guess people sometimes need to be reminded to wear their shoes and shirts. 

Fishbowl Marketing

Fishbowl marketing is a business card drawing. It’s when an establishment sets out a fishbowl (usually near a cash register) inviting you to drop in your business card for a chance at winning a prize: a free meal, a gift certificate, or a free service, depending on the business. If you’ve ever dined in a casual restaurant, attended a trade show, or shopped in a local store in the USA you may have encountered this type of promotion.

As a customer, I love fishbowl marketing because it requires no effort (dropping your business card in) and the chances for winning are good because most restaurants have weekly drawings.

As an owner, this simple marketing idea promotes a business locally at minimal cost, it builds good PR (public relations), and it gathers the names of businesspeople who happen to be your customers. If the business is a restaurant, the winner of a free meal is likely to bring others.

My family has been particularly lucky at fishbowl marketing. In recent years the prizes won have included the following:

- lunch for the office at a local Mexican restaurant (this prize was won twice!)
- a $10.00 restaurant gift certificate
- free drinks
- a Happy Hour (including 5 large pizzas, 3 appetizers, and 50% off drinks)
- 40% off my luggage purchase


Those prizes were won locally here in Milwaukee and, of course, I am loyal to these businesses. They provided a wonderful surprise and continue to receive valuable word-of-mouth advertising. Fishbowl marketing can have a great impact for local businesses. I suggest trying it in your part of the world.