2023-04-23 18:32:36
“I know that, I know, it’s… Johnny Hallyday!!! It is 10:15 p.m. on Thursday evening and the atmosphere is as festive as it is studious in the large hall of the Little Atlantique Brewery (LAB), a now essential brewery in the Bas-Chantenay district of Nantes. Several hundred people, a pen in one hand, a beer in the other, listen, hoping to recognize a maximum of the 40 titles played by the DJ, perched upstairs. Sofia, who came with her colleagues “to have a good time during her farewell drink” has already ticked several boxes on her special “musical bingo” grid for “recoveries”. But there is no time for the young woman to complete her line of five pieces that a competitor is already running towards the host: the first batch, a pitcher of beer, has been won. Nothing is lost, there is still the rest of the grid to complete… and a minute behind the bar to gain.
Lately, musical games and general knowledge quizzes seem to be making a comeback in cafes and bars. While some managers organize them from A to Z, others turn to Cotton, a company which decided to give these traditional events a facelift by offering a turnkey solution. “The games create fun, friendly moments, and help attract customers thanks to regular meetings, says Romain Vénisse, president and co-founder. The problem is that it takes a lot of time to prepare them. We therefore offer easy and tailor-made tools, which can be personalized: we have more than 5,000 questions of general knowledge in 200 themes for quizzes, 70 different playlists for bingos…” For a monthly subscription of 69 euros, he allowing the organization of one session per month, the establishment has access to an app allowing the facilitator, generally a staff member, to be guided through all the phases of the game.
Launched during the Covid, the service has already attracted 250 bars all over France, with events almost every evening, after work or a little later in the evening. On the site, more than 15,000 player profiles are registered, the most addicted of which regularly compete in interbar competitions. A success that delights Romain Vénisse, a former café owner who embarked on the adventure of creating a business after having prepared games himself every week for years, on Excel spreadsheets. “There is a real community that is created like the one I had gathered at the time in my café-concert, he assures. The quizzes have this little spirit of competition that makes you want to come back, to do better. Bingo is much more festive, it energizes an establishment. And it boosts consumption. »
“I come every week”
At the LAB, Clément, the programmer, confirms this. Anyone who no longer has time to prepare their playlists, therefore regularly drawing from those of Cotton, also appreciates the technical assistance of the application when it is necessary to check the grids of the overexcited participants. With one eye, he compares the title numbers grayed out on his screen, and those that have been checked off by the players on the sheet of paper. “I do it in memory but sometimes, when there are people, we go up to 300 bingo cards, so we must not be mistaken, smiles the host. Especially since people win, always in a good atmosphere and to have fun of course! We see the same faces coming back, many do not want to miss this appointment. »
This Thursday, one of them has booked a table. “Since I discovered the game a year and a half ago, I come every week, assures Clément, 35, a tray of fries and several grids in front of him. It’s super nice, good kid, we eat, we drink…” Opposite him, a friend moves his arms to the rhythm of a cover of Cloclo’s popular song. “You see, he didn’t want to come at first… and in the end, he had a blast! »
After bars, Cotton hopes to deploy its games in hotels, holiday centres, but also in companies during seminars or communication events, and why not… in retirement homes.
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