artfelt media the creative bureau Proposal // The Haus
A new lounge glowing on a Lagos street at night, guests arriving under warm lights
Prepared by Artfelt Media Services // The Artfelt Collective

THE HAUS

Grand Opening, Entertainment & Pre-Launch Strategy

LocationAbesan / Ipaja Axis, Lagos
Grand OpeningThursday, 1 October 2026
Test NightFamily & Friends, date to confirm
Doors4:00 PM
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Read the plan
I

The setup

What we are actually building, and who it is for.

01THE OBJECTIVE

Another lounge is not the plan.

THE HAUS should not simply open as another lounge in the Abesan and Ipaja area. The objective is to establish it as a recognisable neighbourhood entertainment destination. A place people know for good music, good energy, good food and drinks, and programming that actually turns up every week.

1

Create awareness before opening

By October 1 the neighbourhood should already be talking. The launch begins in August, not on opening night.

2

Make October 1 land

One strong first impression, properly staged, properly staffed and properly documented.

3

Build a weekly culture

Programming that keeps people coming back long after the opening crowd has gone home.

The area already has an active nightlife market. THE HAUS has to compete on experience and consistency, not on having a DJ every night.

02BRAND POSITIONING

A neighbourhood lifestyle lounge.

Built around music, entertainment, food, drinks and community. The personality has to be legible from the street and from a phone screen, so we are fixing it early.

Stylish but accessible Energetic, not chaotic Social Music-led Community-driven Instagram and TikTok friendly Casual hangouts and special occasions

Positioning line

Two directions. Pick one to see it live. Final selection happens once the brand direction is approved.

Where the neighbourhood comes alive.
A confident group of young Nigerian guests standing together in a dimly lit lounge
Personality // assured, social, unhurried
II

Before the doors open

August and September. The quiet work that decides whether October 1 is busy.

03PHASE 1 // AUGUST

Build the foundation.

Ten things have to be true before we can start talking publicly. The message at this stage is deliberately narrow: something new is coming to the neighbourhood. We do not reveal everything at once.

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04THE HAUS PASS

Not a 10% off card.
A membership object.

The discount card is a strong idea and it should be expanded. Instead of printing something that says "10% OFF" and hoping, we produce THE HAUS PASS: a card people want to keep in their wallet, and one that reports back to us.

THE HAUS
The Pass // Abesan / Ipaja
Opening
01.10.2026
@thehaus // IG  TT  WA
Possible offers
  • First drink discount
  • Food and drink combo
  • Free welcome drink before a set time
  • Birthday month offer
  • Bring a friend incentive
  • Opening week discount
Click the card to flip it

Where the cards go

Rather than handing them out at random, cards are placed where the catchment area already spends its time.

BarsLoungesRestaurants Salons and barbersGymsFashion stores Student hotspotsEvent vendorsCommunity networks
Fresh idea // unique codes

Every card becomes a trackable channel

Each distributor gets a different code. When it is redeemed, we know exactly where that customer came from. Pick one.

A matte black membership card passed between two hands inside a warm barbershop
Distribution // the card should feel like an invitation, not a flyer
05THE BIG SCREEN

A permanent attention machine.

The large screen at the front of the building is one of the most valuable assets in this launch. It should not just advertise October 1 and then go quiet. It should become a reason to look at the building every single day.

COMING SOON
Live simulation of the pre-opening rotation

Three jobs, in sequence

Before opening

Name, date and location on rotation, then a hard countdown. 30 days. 14 days. 7 days. 3 days. Tomorrow.

Opening week

Entertainment lineup, food and drink offers, DJ announcements, special performances, handles, QR code and tag prompts.

Every week after

Short entertaining content, not only adverts. "Who has the best party anthem?" "What is your first drink at THE HAUS?" "Tag your crew." The screen becomes part of the experience.

A large red LED screen glowing on the front of the venue at dusk, one person watching
The street reads it first

Before anyone walks in, the building has already introduced itself.

06TEST NIGHT // FAMILY & FRIENDS

A rehearsal, not a party.

Before the grand opening, THE HAUS hosts a controlled test night. The purpose is not celebration. It is a live operational rehearsal, and its job is to expose problems before October 1 does.

A small invited group seated in a half-empty lounge while staff run a service rehearsal
Half a room, full attention

Who is in the room

  • Family and close friends
  • Business associates
  • Selected influencers and creators
  • Key community personalities
  • Selected event planners
  • Potential corporate partners
  • Entertainment industry contacts

Feedback we collect on the night

A short form, four questions. What did you love? What needs improvement? What would make you return? What would make you recommend THE HAUS?

Sixteen systems under test

Tick them off as the night runs. Nothing here should be discovered for the first time on opening night.

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III

October 1

Independence Day already gives people a reason to go out. We give them a destination.

07GRAND OPENING // 1 OCTOBER 2026

Seven hours, built in waves.

October 1 is an advantage. Independence Day is already a night out in Lagos, and past Independence programming shows the date works far better around music and culture than as an ordinary Thursday. The programme below stays flexible enough for the room to breathe.

4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Soft arrival, early vibes
DJ, content creators, photos, food and drink experience, guest networking.
6:00 PM
Official welcome
6:15 PM
THE HAUS story
A short welcome from management.
6:30 PM
DJ set
7:30 PM
Hypeman and interactive session
8:00 PM
Live band performance
9:00 PM
Special guest performance
9:30 PM
Cake, champagne, the opening moment
The photograph everyone leaves with.
10:00 PM
Headline entertainment
11:00 PM onwards
DJ and party
A packed dance floor of guests with arms raised under red and amber lights
The 11:00 PM room
08OPENING-DAY ENTERTAINMENT

Do not spend it all on one act.

A single expensive headline act gives you one peak and a long flat night. Splitting the budget across four phases gives the evening a shape.

Phase 1
DJ
Warm the room, set the tone, let people arrive.
Phase 2
Hypeman
Wake it up, drive participation, promote the offers.
Phase 3
Live band
The centrepiece. The reason people say it was special.
Phase 4
DJ
Carry it late, hold the floor, close the night.

Live band shortlist

ActStatus
Adedoyin Most PreciousTo be contacted and costed
Mide The MusicianTo be contacted and costed
Ebony BandTo be contacted and costed

Selection criteria

Quality of soundStage presenceReads the room RepertoireProfessionalismEquipment needs Set durationFeeAvailability Works with DJ and hypeman
A live band performing on a small lounge stage with a vocalist and saxophonist
Phase 3 // the centrepiece
09ENTERTAINMENT STAFFING

A roster, not a scramble.

THE HAUS should establish a resident entertainment roster rather than sourcing entertainers from scratch every week. Three DJ levels, one database, no last-minute panic on a Friday afternoon.

Resident DJ

Regular weekly presence. The sound people come to expect.

Feature DJ

Higher profile, booked for special nights.

Headline DJ

Major events and special occasions only.

A DJ working a controller in a warm lounge with red wall glow behind
Resident sound // the weekly anchor

What the database holds

NameContactFeeAvailability GenreEquipment needsCrowd strength Social mediaPrevious venues

Hypemen

A hypeman should not simply shout all night. Same roster approach, different brief. THE HAUS needs people who can read a crowd, promote the specials, drive participation, create social media moments, work with the DJ, and sell next week's event from the microphone.

A hypeman on stage with the microphone raised, commanding an excited crowd
The microphone is a sales channel

Every night should end with the room knowing what is happening next week.

IV

The habit

The opening is one night. The business is the other fifty-one weeks.

10WEEKLY PROGRAMME

Seven nights, seven reasons.

Consistency is the whole strategy. When the week has a fixed shape, people stop asking whether anything is happening and start planning around it.

Monday

Easy Haus

After-work and chill. A low-pressure evening: soft music, food and drink offers, games and conversation. The night that proves the place is open even when nothing is on.

Soft musicOffersGames
Relaxed guests seated on a terrace under warm string lights
Tuesday

Haus & Hustle

Business and young professionals night. Afrobeats and Amapiano at conversation volume, structured networking, drinks offers. The night that brings the corporate bookings in later.

AfrobeatsAmapianoNetworking
A group of stylish young professionals together in a lounge
Wednesday

Midweek Unwind

Ladies, couples and social night. DJ, games, heavy content capture and special offers. Built to be filmed.

DJGamesContentOffers
A content creator filming a vertical video inside the lounge
Thursday

Haus Thursday

Afrobeats and Amapiano, full volume. This is the night we build into a major weekly traffic driver, and the one the opening date already gives us a head start on.

Traffic driverAfrobeatsAmapiano
A DJ mixing under red light
Friday

Friday at THE HAUS

Peak nightlife. DJ, hypeman, a guest DJ on rotation, bottle and table offers. The highest-revenue night of the week and the one that has to run flawlessly.

Peak nightGuest DJTables
A packed dance floor at peak Friday night
Saturday

Haus Live

Live band plus DJ. This should become the signature entertainment night, the one people describe to other people. If only one night is famous, make it this one.

Signature nightLive bandDJ
A live band performing on the lounge stage
Sunday

Sunday Social

Relaxed, family friendly, social. Live acoustic or a lighter band, football where appropriate, food, games and an early-evening atmosphere. The night that makes THE HAUS a neighbourhood place rather than a club.

AcousticFootballFamily
Families and couples relaxing on the terrace at golden hour

Thursday is Afrobeats. Friday is party. Saturday is live band. Sunday is social. That predictability is what creates habit.

11MONTHLY SPECIALS

Appointment entertainment.

On top of the weekly rhythm, five fixed points in every month that people can diarise.

First Thursday

THE HAUS EXPERIENCE

Last Friday

HAUS PARTY

Last Saturday

HAUS LIVE

First Sunday

SUNDAY SOCIAL

Monthly

Guest DJ, celebrity or live performance

12FOUR FRESH IDEAS

Turn customers into the marketing.

Four additions that cost very little to run and compound over time. Each one turns a one-off visit into a reason to come back, or into someone else's first visit.

01Community

HAUS FOUNDERS

Invite 30 to 50 early supporters, called Hausmates, and give them a Founders Card. Priority invitations, selected discounts, birthday recognition, early access to events, VIP treatment on selected nights.

These become the first layer of THE HAUS community, and the first people to defend it.

02Referral

BRING YOUR HAUS

A customer who brings five new people earns a selected food or drink benefit. Simple, countable, and easy to run from the bar.

The goal is to turn customers into promoters without paying for reach.

03Recurring revenue

BIRTHDAY CLUB

Build a database of customer birthdays and market to it. "Celebrate your birthday at THE HAUS." Packages can carry a table, a cake partnership, decor, photos, special music and drinks.

Every birthday brings a group. This can become a major recurring revenue stream on its own.

04Yield

HAUS TABLES

Three clearly priced tiers. Standard Haus Table for smaller groups. Premium Haus Table with better seating and drinks. Haus VIP with premium location and dedicated service.

Exact pricing to be set once management confirms beverage costs and target margins.

An overhead spread of suya, asun, puff-puff and cocktails on a dark slate table
Table packages // the offer has to look like this before it is priced like this
V

The neighbourhood

Reach that actually converts within the catchment area.

13INFLUENCER STRATEGY

Hyper-local beats big-name.

We should not spend the entire influencer budget chasing major Lagos names. Abesan is a substantial residential community within the Ipaja and Alimosho axis. THE HAUS needs creators who can actually influence people inside the catchment area.

Local lifestyle creators

People already posting food, nightlife, Lagos lifestyle, things to do and local discoveries.

Community pages

Pages covering the surrounding communities.

AbesanIpajaAyoboEgbedaAlimoshoMosanBaruwa

Micro-influencers

Smaller followings, far higher local density. Cheaper and more persuasive.

Entertainment personalities

DJs, hypemen, MCs, dancers and content creators who already draw a crowd.

A young creator filming a piece to camera on a gimbal inside the lounge
Give them something to document

Do not pay creators to say "come to THE HAUS". Give them an experience to document, and let the story do the selling.

Activation sequence

30 to 14 days out

THE HAUS FIRST LOOK

Selected creators get food, drinks, photos, video, behind-the-scenes access and a branded content opportunity.

7 days out

Creator countdown

A coordinated seven-day drumbeat across every account at once.

Opening day

Live coverage

Arrival, venue, food, drinks, entertainment, crowd and the opening moment.

After opening

Organic return

If the weekly programme is good, creators come back on their own for the regular nights.

14CONTENT STRATEGY

Seven pillars, starting now.

Content should begin before the lounge opens. The construction site is content. The empty room is content.

01

THE HAUS IS COMING

Construction, setup, transformation.

02

MEET THE HAUS

Introducing the brand and what it stands for.

03

MEET THE ENTERTAINERS

DJ, hypeman and band introductions.

04

HAUS FOOD

Food and drink, shot properly.

05

HAUS PEOPLE

Guests and community.

06

HAUS NIGHTS

The weekly entertainment record.

07

HAUS MOMENTS

Short clips built for TikTok and Reels.

15PARTNERSHIPS

Mutual promotion, not sponsorship requests.

The approach matters here. We are not going around asking for money. We are offering audience in exchange for audience.

Drinks brandsFood brandsFashion brands BarbersSalonsGymsHotels Event plannersDJsPhotographersContent creators
VI

The proof

What we are up against, what we do next, and how we will know it worked.

16COMPETITIVE OBSERVATION

The corridor is already busy.

The local market includes Uptown Sky Lounge, Booms Place, La-Pace Express Bar Lounge & Hotel and other bars and lounges around the Abesan and Ipaja corridor. A newer venue, Pyramid Lifestyle, is positioning around food, cocktails, karaoke and nightlife in Ipaja. THE HAUS needs a clear identity, not simply another room with music and drinks.

The key differentiator

Consistent entertainment.

Anyone can have a good night. Very few venues in this corridor have a reliable week. That is the gap, and it is the one thing a competitor cannot copy quickly, because it takes months of not missing.

The goal is for people to ask:

"What is happening at THE HAUS this weekend?"

Rather than:

"Is anything happening at THE HAUS?"

17PROJECT TIMELINE

August to October 1.

Five stages. Each one has to close before the next carries its full weight.

August
Foundation: brand, socials, rosters, research, design
Early September
Confirm roster, teaser campaign, card distribution
Mid September
Announce date, teasers, countdown, test-night invites
Late September
Test night, review, heavy social, final confirmations
1 October
Opening
August
  • Brand positioning
  • Social media setup
  • Entertainment database
  • DJ and hypeman recruitment
  • Band enquiries
  • Influencer research
  • Card design
  • Screen campaign
  • Content production
Early September
  • Confirm entertainment roster
  • Confirm October 1 performers
  • Launch teaser campaign
  • Begin card distribution
  • Start influencer relationships
Mid September
  • Announce opening date
  • Release entertainment teasers
  • Begin the countdown
  • Invite test-night guests
Late September
  • Test night
  • Content capture
  • Operational review
  • Final entertainment confirmation
  • Heavy social campaign and countdown
1 October 2026

THE HAUS
GRAND OPENING

18IMMEDIATE ACTION LIST

What happens this week.

Five owners, twenty-eight actions. Tick them here as they close.

// Management

// Entertainment

// Marketing

// Operations

// Sales

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19SUCCESS METRICS

A full room is not the only score.

The opening should not be judged only by how crowded October 1 is. A packed opening followed by an empty second Thursday is a failure with good photographs.

Pre-launch
  • Social followers
  • WhatsApp contacts
  • Cards distributed
  • QR scans
  • Influencer reach
  • Test night attendance
Opening
  • Number of guests
  • Tables sold
  • Revenue
  • Average customer spend
  • Food and drink sales
  • Social mentions
  • Content generated
Post-opening
  • Repeat customers
  • Thursday attendance
  • Friday attendance
  • Saturday attendance
  • Birthday bookings
  • Private events
  • Social growth
  • Customer referrals
The big idea

Do not launch THE HAUS once.
Launch it every week.

October 1 is the introduction. The real business begins on October 2. If we can make people associate THE HAUS with good music, reliable entertainment, good service and something interesting happening every week, we will have built more than an opening event. We will have built a habit.

THE HAUS
Where the neighbourhood comes alive.