Business benefits

Inspirational businesses have been celebrating after picking up prizes at this year's Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) Brewing Business Awards.

The event highlighted a range of innovative ideas ­ from brewers forging great new links with pubs to more than 1,000 Robin Hoods gathering in the same place at the same time!

Michael Hardman, SIBA's public relations manager, said the winners should encourage other businesses to follow suit.

"This year's winners are an inspiration and other breweries need to look at how they have organised their businesses and take note," he said.

"Everybody is now acutely aware that they have to do something to attract customers and stand out. That is making the standards of the awards go up year on year."

Here, we take a look at the high standards some of the winners of this year's awards, held earlier this month in London, have set.

Everards Brewery, Leicester

Winner: Overall Champion; Best Use of Electronic Media; Best Innovation

The biggest star of this year's awards was Everards Brewery, which won two titles plus the crown of Overall Champion.

The Leicester brewer was awarded the innovation title for Project William, which has seen the company team up with microbrewers to redevelop closed or struggling community pubs.

"What we have created is unique," said David Harrison, Everards' operations director. "It's not what people have done historically, but it's great.

"With the emergence of so many small breweries over the past couple of years we either had to see them as a threat or an opportunity. We took the latter opinion."

By working with small breweries Everards has been able to extend its reach into areas where it didn't previously operate, but that its partners are familiar with.

In return the small breweries are given the chance to buy pubs when before they did not have the capital.

SIBA judges described the approach as a breath of fresh air which has helped to "tear up the old stereotypes that have entrenched a them-and-us attitude" within the brewing business.

But David doesn't see the breweries as the main beneficiaries of the project. "The ultimate winners are the pub-goers who get their run-down pub re-opened," he said.

Everards has already re-opened five pubs with four different breweries, including Titanic of Stoke-on-Trent and Steaming Billy of Oadby, Leicestershire, and it is in talks with several more breweries.

In the five pubs already up and running, ales from both Everards and its new partners are on sale at the bar, and the name of the smaller brewery appears prominently on the outside of the pub.

Everards also picked up the Best Use of Electronic Media award for its Mission Enjoyable website. This scheme is essentially a mystery shopper initiative where customers evaluate services at Everards' pubs for a payment of £15 and then report back to headquarters.

Castle Rock Brewery, Nottingham

Winner: Best Public Relations Initiative

More than 1,000 Robin Hoods helped the Castle Rock Brewery win the Best PR Initiative Award.

By sponsoring a world record attempt to gather the most Robin Hood impersonators in one place, the Nottingham-based brewery brought a smile to the SIBA judges' faces.

"This was undoubtedly the silliest thing we have ever done and it turned out to be quite a mad day," said Colin Wilde, commercial director of Castle Rock.

"But it not only raised a smile, it also raised our brand awareness and our sales."

The project was kick-started by Dave Green, the manager of Nottingham Castle, who approached the brewery to ask for help in maximising awareness for his world record attempt.

Together they gathered a total of 1,119 Robin Hoods, smashing the previous world record of 606, and gaining the brewery an interview slot on ITV's Al Murray's Happy Hour.

"The day worked on every level for us," said Colin. "Our logo was on all the documentation, people were using our pub nearby and drinking our beers, and with the increased brand awareness our sales are now going from strength to strength."

As a small brewery with 23 pubs in the East Midlands, Castle Rock succeeded in turning the day into a unique and entertaining event attended by more than 1,500 people.

Colin said: "We are a local brewery with our headquarters in Nottingham so we wanted to get involved with a project in our heartland."

The Slaughterhouse Brewery, Warwick

Winner: Best Support for an On-trade Customer

Highly Commended: Overall Champion and Best PR categories

The Slaughterhouse brewery demonstrated that size is no obstacle to success by winning the Best Support for an On-trade Customer award.

The four-barrel microbrewery in Warwickshire, run by Peter Knell and Steve Ridgway, won The Publican-sponsored award for its Rare Breed Initiative which allows the brewery to offer support to its customers with an added personal touch.

"We wanted to come up with something that would support local pubs and, at the same time, give us a distinctive local branding," said Peter.

The initiative hinges on personal contact and the brewery forging a permanent bond with local pubs.

To be accredited as a Rare Breed pub, the premises must stock at least one of the brewery's beers.

In return, Slaughterhouse offers regular support and advice to the publicans, including inspections on the quality and presentation of the beers.

Customers drinking in Rare Breed pubs are also offered guided tours of the brewery to see how the beer is produced.

Peter added: "We believe this system will help to create a strong sense of loyalty to our beers.

"As a smaller brewery we can respond to our customers' needs in a way that bigger breweries simply cannot."

The initiative currently involves eight pubs, but Peter and Steve are in talks with more premises about extending the scheme.

Peter said: "We hope that winning the award will convince other pubs to become part of the initiative."

2008 Brewing Business Awards: full results

Overall Champion: Everards Brewery, Leicester; Highly Commended: Slaughterhouse Brewery, Warwick.

Best Support for an Off-trade Customer: Beeston Brewery, Beeston, Norfolk,

on behalf of the East Anglian Brewers' Co-operative.

Best Support for an On-trade Customer: Slaughterhouse Brewery, Warwick.

Best Public Relations Initiative: Castle Rock Brewery, Nottingham; Highly Commended, Slaughterhouse Brewery, Warwick.

Best Use of Electronic Media: Everards Brewery, Leicester.

Best Innovation: Everards Brewery, Leicester; Highly Commended, Iceni Brewery, Norfolk.

Best Promotion Initiative: Moorhouses Brewery, Burnley.

Best Packaging Initiative: Freedom Brewery, Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire; Highly Commended, Fyne Ales, Cairndow, Argyll.

Best Sponsorship: Wold Top Brewery, Wold Newton, East Yorkshire.

Best Launch: Wye Valley Brewery, Stoke Lacy, Herefordshire.

Best Point-of-sale: Freedom Brewery, Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire.