NTK (Need To Know)

Blackpool, Lancashire When you run one of Blackpool's busiest town-centre-venue pubs, marketing and promotion are key elements to the success of the business. Britain's biggest tourist and entertainment resort might attract millions of night-time revellers each year, but it does not mean licensees and club operators can take their customers for granted. Indeed, most venues are constantly searching for golden nuggets, the eye-catching event or attraction to get the punters through the door. Normally, it's not too difficult to fill the 1,000-capacity NTK on key, busy weekends during the height of the holiday season. But like all operators, keeping the NTK's tills rolling on less busy evenings is more of a problem and often demands clever marketing and high profile promotions. NTK manager Michael Sugden's idea for boosting slow-moving Tuesday nights ended up with the bar hosting a promotion that now ranks as one of the most popular, and financially successful, in its history. When NTK teamed up with Budweiser to launch a weekly "King of bachelors" fun evening that was modelled on TV's Blind Date series, nobody was prepared for the impact the event would have. At the end of the four week run, takings at NTK were up 75% on normal Tuesday nights and showed a massive 90% rise on corresponding evenings the previous year. Michael explains: "It proved to be the most successful promotion we have ever staged and NTK has done quite a lot of these over the past four years." The key to the success of the promotion was back-up sponsorship from local radio station Wave, which provided the essential publicity, and Ryanair, which sponsored a weekend-away prize for the lucky winning couple. The pub's employees were also given incentives to push sales of Budweiser in return for a range of branded merchandise as a reward. "We named the promotion King of bachelors' after Budweiser's King of Beers advertising strapline and the whole thing took off as soon as the opening night got underway," says Michael. "It was a fun event coupled with the essential Blind Date element that kept the interest and the intrigue right up to the last minute on the final night. The winning couple won a fabulous weekend break, which was guaranteed to keep interest going right until the very end." He adds: "A lot of people need credit for the success of King of bachelors because it needed everyone pulling 100% to ensure the success of a promotion like this. There were lots of winners over the four weeks ­ the sponsors, NTK, our staff and the customers who thoroughly enjoyed themselves." Budweiser's reward for being involved was considerable. Sales of the American beer rose by 50% over the four weeks to prove that a good sponsored promotion is far more than just a branded support advertisement.