We have promotional problems
Brand owners need to sharpen up their act when it comes to drinks promotions in pubs and bars, according to exclusive research.
A survey of more than 100 licensees carried out for The Publican by specialist marketing company Box Marketing reveals that while most publicans think pub
promotions are effective at increasing trade and introducing brands to consumers, many believe they are hard to implement and often fail to attract consumers' attention.
The survey reveals that brand owners have a lot of work to do to get promotions 100 per cent right. Problems with campaigns include too much complexity, lack of imagination and limited customer appeal.
These results are very significant, as the drinks promotion is as much part of the pub retail experience as handing a barman a £10 note or pouring the product into a branded glass. If you are a brand owner, whether you are selling into a pub, bar or supermarket, the retailer always wants to know how you will be promoting and supporting the product.
And you would think licensees would lap up promotions - after all, they are being given free point-of-sale material and sales mechanics to encourage customers to buy more product. Everybody wins.
But our survey shows there are problems with promotions - and there are many reasons for this.
Firstly, there is the feeling customers have been over-exposed to promotions, and as a result often find them stale and boring. Thirty per cent of respondents said many promotions offered to them did not appeal to customers, while 14 per cent called them "unimaginative".
Perhaps some brand owners have become aware of this overkill and have tried to come up with new, imaginative ways to engage the consumer - but often all they end up doing is making things too complicated. More than 20 per cent of respondents said they were too complex. Thirty-four per cent said promotions either "always cause problems" or "usually have associated complications".
Licensees believe brand owners have got caught between two stools - they either try too hard or don't try hard enough.
Roger Jackson, licensee of the Anglesea Arms in West Sussex, says he finds promotions a bit of a waste of time. "I put a lot of the promotions in the bin and keep the goodies, which I then give to customers who are loyal to that particularly brand," he says. "Promotions such as token collections I find get in the way of normal trade, and customers don't really respond to them either."
Another issue raised was licensees' belief that there should be better support for them when implementing promotions. Forty per cent said they never got effective telephone support from drinks companies, while 21 per cent said they rarely did.
Drinks companies often preach the need for greater communication and for retailers to educate themselves about the brand. It seems here it is the brand owners falling at the first hurdle in terms of communication.
Perhaps one nudge in the right direction is offered by the question that asks licensees which would be their favoured form of support from drinks companies.
While support literature and telephone support were rated highly, it was the 37 per cent who called for visits from representatives who came out on top.
Do you find drinks promotions are normally an effective way of increasing trade?
%
Yes 35
Sometimes 28
No 36
No answer 1
In the past six months how many drinks promotions have you implemented?
%
1 to 2 38
3 to 5 31
More than 5 9
More than 10 5
No answer 17
Do you normally find the supply of promotional merchandise and support material adequate?
%
Yes 49
No 34
Sometimes 14
No answer 3
If you were given a choice, what sort of support for promotions would you prefer from drinks companies?
%
Good support literature 21
Visits from representatives 37
Telephone support lines 10
All three of the above 31
No answer 1
Have you ever not implemented a promotion because you thought it unrealistic to implement?
%
Yes 54
No 42
No answer 4
