Star unveils 'biggest ever' events support package
The pubco revealed it has invested £240,000 into curating it’s “biggest-ever” package of free events supports in 2024 to help licensees give people more reasons to visit pubs during the cost-of-living crisis.
Despite having less disposable income, consumers still have an “appetite to enjoy key occasions” in pubs over the year ahead, according to research from Star.
The findings revealed almost a quarter of consumers were likely to visit a pub for St Patrick’s Day, while seven out of ten of 880 survey respondents said they were “seriously considering” going out for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and the Easter weekend.
Memorable experiences
In addition, recent figures from Greene King showed St Patrick’s Day was the most popular event for pubs in 2023, with some 700,000 pints pulled across the day.
To help pubs maximise these opportunities, Star said it has planned to introduce the provision of promotional kits for these events and for Father’s Day, on top of packs for international rugby and football tournaments and Halloween.
Star Pubs & Bars retail director Cathy Olver said: “People want to treat themselves and, with less money to spare, are looking for an excuse to do so.
“They are seeking out memorable experiences to get value from their spend and are increasingly planning their socialising rather than being spontaneous.”
The packages include point-of-sale materials such as posters, bunting and Instagrammable selfie frames; QR codes linking to downloadable digital assets; suggestions for activities; insights and sales data on food and drink stocking from Star’s Just Add Talent managed operator pubs.
Boost sales
Additionally, the firm said it would also offer multi-sport kits that licensees can use to increase visibility of the full range of sports screened to help establish their pub as a “place to watch sport in advance of major sporting events in 2024”.
The kits have been designed to drive bookings in advance and, where possible, extend events over several days.
For example, St Patrick’s Day’s point-of-sale promotes the whole weekend, whilst Valentine’s materials encourage people to “love your local this February in addition to visiting on the day”.
To aid their 2024 planning, licensees can reserve all the kits they want in January for the whole year’s events.
Olver added: “Calendar events are a great way for pubs to tap into these trends and boost sales, and our free promotional support has been created to maximise the opportunities.
