Evolution and the power of branding

Say what you will about brands, but visit any high street and the surrounding areas and the power of the brands will smack you between the eyes.

Ask the people who walk the high street to name a pub/restaurant they visit on a regular basis and you're sure to hear the names Harvester, Beefeater, Toby Carvery, Wetherspoon, All Bar One — need I go on?

Few people will mutter the Kings Head, the Black Horse, my local. So when Mitchells & Butlers announce their withdrawal from 300 wet-led sites and Wetherspoon goes hell for leather to take on the breakfast market, you can bet your life that evolution is afoot and the traditional wet-led pub as we know it is all but doomed in its current guise.

We don't have to like what they stand for, but we do need to wake up, smell the coffee and look at the queue of people lining up for their £4.99 Sunday lunch.

This is the power of branding. It may not be gastro, but to the masses it offers value, has an air of stability and, to a certain extent, people know exactly what they're going to get for their £5.

Multi-million pound advertising budgets, PR gurus and a host of development managers think-tanking their way to the next big idea? Undoubtedly casualties will continue to mount in our leased sector. Sad as that may be, the bottom line in many cases will be the failure to evolve.

So what's the answer? Well, there's no magic wand, but in our case we've attacked at the very core of what we believe are the branded nationals' weakest areas: service, quality, cleanliness and style.

We cannot and will not try to compete on price. That's like Ronnie Corbett asking Mike Tyson for a fight — we all know who the winner would be.

I've seen many a pub offering a pie and pint for £3.99, two meals for a tenner and, yes, in isolation, some pubs will make a buck. But, for the majority, it's just not going to work because this tactic requires volume to produce the numbers needed on low-margin sales.

There are many pubs run by many good entrepreneurial retailers who are currently doing very well, but the majority of those will not be going the pie-and-pint route. Service and quality produce will be their selling points, putting the "H" back into hospitality and hitting the right note with each and every customer.

Value (not cheap) through quality and quality branding — I believe this is key to driving footfall, from the friendly welcome and the delicious food made with quality ingredients, to the visit to the fresh smelling loos and the polite thank you as people leave happy and contented.

People are still visiting pubs, but they are more discerning and looking for a whole new experience.