Money makers: promotional and event ideas for your pub

Where:​ Old School Bar and Kitchen, Mount Hawke, Cornwall

Website: ​www.osbk.co.uk​

Twitter​: @oldschool_bk

The idea: ​Tuesday night create-your-own burger menu.

How it works​: Guests can choose their burger type, bun, sauces and extras to create their ideal burger.

Marketing:​ The pub drives the majority of its marketing and promotion through digital methods using web-based advertising on its site, as well as PPC search marketing. Weekly interest is built by posting on the pub’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds, encouraging customer engagement by persuading diners to upload pictures of their burger creations. A monthly competition offers the designer of the most creative uploaded burger a free burger meal. Offline marketing methods used include monthly leaflet drops, in-house advertising and occasional advertising within locally circulated press. 

Be prepared:​ The burgers are made in-house using locally sourced ingredients and the pub’s own secret recipe. A range of six burger types are accompanied by a selection of cheeses, including Tintagel smoked cheese and Cornish Blue, as well as less traditional extras such as black pudding and chilli con carne.

Pay-off:  ​Between 150 and 190 burgers are sold each week; attracts customers from further afield; concept has grown to form a large part of the business’s gastro pub identity.

Key benefits​: Attracts mid-week trade – Tuesdays can sometimes now be the pub’s busiest night of the week; drives awareness of the pub and its restaurant.

Advice:​ Ryan Sutton, marketing consultant for the freehold pub which is owned by brother and sister team Martine Derry and David Clilverd, says: “Make sure your idea is solid and directly appeals to the diners you are expecting to attract. Keep the idea simple and be sure to get the basic elements right.”

Best outcome​:​ Tuesday night takings are up by around 150%.

Where:​ Plough, Harborne, Birmingham

Website: ​www.theploughharborne.co.uk​

Twitter: ​@PloughHarborne

The idea: ​Buffalo wings, sold by the kilo, served every Sunday evening.

How it works:​ The wings are cooked to order and are served on greaseproof paper, on a metal tray, with a side order of celery and blue cheese dip. Customers looking to enjoy the messy treat are also provided with a finger bowl of hot water and a roll of thick kitchen towel.

Marketing: ​The concept, which the pub has branded Lickin’ Chicken, was turned around in a week, with posters displayed in-house and social media advertising, on the pub’s Facebook and Twitter pages, generating a big response to the campaign within hours. After a busy lunch and afternoon service, the pub’s tables are rebranded between 5pm and 6pm ready for the Sunday evening chicken promotion.

Be prepared:​ The wings are sourced by the pub’s butcher, Roger Brown, to a very specific brief.

Pay-off:​ Appeals to a broad cross-section of customers, but in particular to younger guests; between 30kg and 60kg of wings are sold at the pub every Sunday evening.

Key benefits: ​Boosts Sunday evening trade; offered the pub a point of difference when first introduced (since then, other venues in Birmingham have also introduced a wings menu.)

Advice: ​ Lee Coliandris, recruitment, events and marketing manager at the pub, says: “Find the best supplier you can and be very specific about the type of wings you want. A lot of places in the past haven’t really nailed it, serving small wings with hardly any meat on them.”

Best outcome:​ Sunday evening footfall has doubled, with customers prepared to wait up to 45 minutes for a table.