Marketing

Fight the good fight: The on-trade has long suffered from government taxes that seem to avoid hitting supermarkets - but a campaign group bids to help

How pubs can fight back against taxation

By Nikkie Thatcher

Pubs are still facing strong headwinds of financial pressures from all angles but campaign group Long Live the Local are fighting the battle to put the on-trade back on a level playing field.

Perfect base: pubs have been heralded as an ideal place from which holidaymakers can explore Britain

Pub sales to take off amid staycation boom

By Stuart Stone

The increasing number of British holidaymakers staying at home rather than jet-setting overseas can boost pub accommodation sales this summer.

Tell me why: TripAdvisor users have given a plethora of reasons they visit the review site

TripAdvisor still important to consumers

By Nikkie Thatcher

Like it or loathe it, almost three quarters (70%) of consumers say they use TripAdvisor because of its descriptive and helpful reviews, a new global study has found.

Destination pub: The Swan is set in a beautiful part of the country and has won plenty of tourism awards

My Pub: the Swan, Bampton, Devon

By Gary Lloyd

Located on the boundary of Exmoor National Park, the Swan has been gliding very smoothly under the stewardship of licensee Paul Berry and his wife Donna

Close-knit village: The Hail Weston Community Pub Society refused to allow the last pub disappear and now owns it

My Pub: the Royal Oak, Hail Weston, Cambridgeshire

By Gary Lloyd

The Royal Oak has become a standard bearer of pubs but it was almost a pub that never meant to be. Tony Baker, one of The Hail Weston Pub Company directors, reveals all about the fight the community took on.

Care from pub: the Woolpack at Wainfleet came to the aid of victims of the floods

Pub comes to Lincoln flood victims’ aid

By Nicholas Robinson

Victims of a flood caused by torrential rain in Wainfleet, Lincoln, are being supported by local pub the Woolpack Hotel after many residents were driven out of their homes.

Reputation: is your online reputation right?

Sponsored by Reputation.com

How to manage social media reviews

By The Morning Advertiser

Social media and review sites means a pub’s reputation is under constant scrutiny. Hospitality marketers from the pub and restaurant sector met to discuss how businesses can manage their online reputations and enhance them.

On the up: weekend pub visits have returned to growth

Weekend pub visits rise 2.8%

By Nikkie Thatcher

Brits visiting a pub at the weekend have increased by 2.8% over the 12 months to 30 April 2019, while weekday visits have dropped by 0.2% new data has found.

Down the rabbit hole: Jessica Tomkinson runs the Mad Hatter

A look at the Mad Hatter in Oxford

By Gary Lloyd

You may think you’ve gone mad at this speakeasy-style pub and licensee Jessica Tomkinson may well agree, but let me tell you something, the best people usually have

Identity crisis?: 'If people can go in and have a few pints in a decent bar without feeling as though they should be ordering food, then it’s a pub.'

Opinion

When is a pub not a pub?

By Sophie Atherton

Sophie Atherton wonders if the pub is in the eye of the beholder after a friend has a confusing experience

Gin boom: maximise your sales as the category continues to grow

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Gin sales overtake vodka

By Nikkie Thatcher

Gin sales are overtaking vodka for the first time in the UK and it is flavoured gins that are driving this trend forward – and there are no signs of the category slowing down. The latest issue of The Morning Advertiser, which is out today (10 June), has...

Norway! Yes way!: Egil Johansen opened the former Admiral Taverns site 10 years ago

My Pub: the Kenton, Hackney, east London

By Gary Lloyd

When Egil Johansen grew tired of his marketing job in Norway, he took over the Kenton pub in an area of east London that was pretty raw 10 years ago. After an overhaul, the business has won an array of honours

New attitude: most of the issues that affect pubs could be solved if they were viewed differently according to Karen Errington

Guv'nor

Why is the pub industry so undervalued?

By Karen Errington

Making food pay is a tricky business as the margins are tight and fragile according to Karen Errington, the chef-owner of The Rat Inn in Northumberland

Time to think: the key to handling a crisis is to not panic

MA500

Death and drugs: how to manage a PR nightmare

By Nicholas Robinson

A crisis can lead very quickly to bad publicity and could easily break a business if not handled in the right way, according to two public relations bosses.

Force for good: CAMRA wants its new campaign to unite businesses to promote pubs for summer

CAMRA wants a ‘summer of pub’

By Emily Hawkins

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has written to pubs across the country to participate in its ‘summer of the pub’ campaign.

Summer loving: the good weather over Easter helped drive drink sales (image credit: omgimages/gettyimages.co.uk)

Easter heatwave boosts pub sales

By Nikkie Sutton

The high temperatures of the 2019 Easter weekend helped push sales in pubs and bars by 5.3% but restaurants saw a 19.4% drop when compared to last Easter, new research has found.

Pay and display: There’s not a lot worse than no-shows at your premises – your site is empty, staff are doing very little and there’s no money to pay them

Spotlight

Should pubs use deposits to tackle no-shows?

By Nikkie Sutton

Customers that fail to arrive after booking a table are a bugbear for operators across the hospitality trade but could charging a deposit be the answer to this problem?

Shiny happy people: Will Jago Johnson, Bert Thomson, Megan Pattinson, Emma McClave, Andy Mounsey and Maroula Dawkins (l-r)

My Pub: The Star, Godalming, Surrey

By Gary Lloyd

Great British Pub Awards finalist the Star in the commuter belt of Godalming, near Guildford, is renowned for its cider offer and lovely garden facilities too. Licensee Andy Mounsey tells us more

'Sense of opportunity': 'We all have opportunities within our business to make them better. It may be a simple coat of paint or getting the garden tidier' according to Matt Slocombe of the Crown Inn

Guv'nor

Pubs must strive to be better despite cost pressures

By Matt Slocombe

Whether freehold, leasehold, tenanted or managed, operators have to keep looking at ways to get better, says Matt Slocombe of the Crown Inn in Woolhope, Herefordshire - winner of the best cider pub at the John Smith's GBPA 2018

Creativity: unique outdoor and alfresco areas are more likely to increase customer dwell time and make it onto social media

How to make your outdoor space 'Instagramable'

By Stuart Stone

Hot off 2018’s record-breaking summer and with hard-to-reach Gen Z-ers and Millennials favouring shareable experiences and mindful drinking, the future looks bright for operators getting creative with their outdoor space.

Pub love: Pub is the Hub boss John Longden outlines how the funding will benefit licensees

£190k funding boost to support rural pubs

By Nikkie Sutton

Rural pubs across the nation will be expanded to include Post Office facilities, grocery shops and libraries following £188,000 of Government funding.

International Women's Day: PR & Marketing

International Women's Day

The women at the top of on-trade PR and marketing

By Stuart Stone

Those in PR and marketing know everything about the businesses they support. The people who head a company's PR departments or own their own businesses are in enviable positions. Here six women at the top of the on-trade PR game tell their stories.

Minimal growth: overall consumer spending across the on- and off-trade grew by just 1.2%

Spending in pubs slows to 7.4%

By Nikkie Sutton

Pubs reported “unusually low growth” in consumer spending of 7.4% in February, new data has revealed.

Gin: Co-founder of the Stillery, Bury St Edmunds, Tim Blake, explains what makes the Best Spirits Bar what it is

My Pub: the Stillery, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

By Emily Hawkins

For a speakeasy style site unassumingly tucked away, the Stillery has made a big name for itself. Co-founder Tim Blake explains how a spirit of curiosity motivates the team at the Bury St Edmunds-based establishment.

Bend the rules: How has pub marketing and advertising changed?

How has pub marketing changed?

By Emma Eversham

There are so many rules around advertising now, be them from the Advertising Standards Authority or the Portman Group. Here we highlight some of the defining moments in marketing and advertising and look at how regulation and legislation has changed the...

All grown up: the team at the Botanist in Coventry, 'have high standards, work hard, innovate relentlessly and smile a lot'

My Pub: The Botanist, Coventry

By Robert Mann

At a time when the happiness and wellbeing of communities is threatened by pub closures, the latest branch of the Botanist demonstrates what a modern operator has to deal with these days. Sales manager Laura Gardner explains.

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KENT - HIGH QUALITY FAMILY FRIENDLY PUB

£ 60,000 - Leasehold

Busy location on coastal main road Extensively renovated detached public house Five trade areas (100)  Sizeable refurbished 4-5 bedroom accommodation Newly created beer garden (125) Established and popular business...

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