Event and promotional ideas for your pub

Retro food​

Where:​ The Tavern, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

Website: ​www.thetaverncheltenham.com​

Twitter: ​@tavernchelt

The idea:​Retro snacks are sold on the pub’s Bites Menu

How it works:​ Spam fritters are a constant on the menu but the pub also offers other nostalgic foods, such as Scotch eggs, from time to time.

Marketing: ​The iconic spam tin is used in a lot of the pub’s branding including on staff t-shirts, as well as on its menu paper and wall paper which the pub designed itself.

Be prepared:​ The pub uses locally-brewed Bobby Beer, its biggest seller, to make the tempura-style batter and serves the fritters in spam tins for extra novelty value. An accompanying Kilpatrick dipping sauce cuts through the richness of the fritter, contributing to the dish’s success.

Pay-off:​ The snacks offer accessibility to a wider range of customers at different times of the day. They also work well with the pub’s craft beer offering.

Key benefits: ​The fritters add an element of fun and set the pub apart as somewhere a bit different, providing a talking point and generating interest in the pub’s menu. They appeal to all customer types with women enjoying them just as much as men.

Advice:​ Stave off any negative associations, linked with school dinners of the past, by presenting the fritters in a modern and iconic way. General manager Natalie Fullard says: “Keep your ideas simple and fun. People who remember having hated them at school, or as a child, are quite often converted once they have tried ours.”

Best outcome:​ Approximately 30 portions sold per week.

Sports personality dinners​

Bar Sport, Cannock, Staffordshire​

Website:​ www.barsport.co.uk/cannock​

Twitter:​ @Barsport

The idea: ​To raise funds for vulnerable Midlands children, Bar Sport founder Scott Murray organises four-course dinners each featuring a sports celebrity speaker, such as legendary boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, every two to three months at Bar Sport’s Cannock franchise.

How it works:​ Tickets cost £50 to £200. The most expensive tier offers a VIP seat with a chance to meet the celebrity.

Marketing: ​Repeat trade is encouraged at each event, contributing to 300 seats selling out very quickly, including internet sales.

Be prepared: ​Good organisation optimises the experience, especially when autograph-signing is involved.

Pay-off:​ Sold-out events featuring opportunities to meet world-famous sports stars significantly raise the pub’s profile. Sugar Ray Leonard’s 45-minute motivational speech about his life, work and challenges was a huge success. Organisers were delighted that he offered to return next year with his friend and champion boxing colleague, Marvellous Marvin Hagler.

Key benefits: ​High-profile participants build repeat trade, usually selling out events. Leverage to attract sports legends rises incrementally. Leonard’s talk helped Thursday night wet sales increase about 10-fold, raising £1,000 for charity.

Advice: ​Offer affordable prices with VIP options. Start publicising and selling tickets for the next occasion at each event. Shout about sold-out events.

Best outcome: ​Frenzy of excitement when world-famous celebrities are booked