How in-pub entertainment keeps customers in your venue

In-home technology and increased competition from rival leisure operations have made it more challenging than ever for wet-led pubs to attract customers.

Providing entertainment with a competitive edge is one way to stand out and there is no shortage of companies with packages to help them do so.

Leeds-based Owdoo supplies Rock and Roll Bingo, which takes the principles of bingo, but replaces the calling of numbers with song extracts that players have to match to the names of songs and artists on their game card.

The company supplies the cards, pre-formatted CDs and song sheets to check off the answers and the songs can be played over the pub’s own sound system. The game requires the usual music rights licences but no gambling licence is needed.

Commercial manager Phil Larman says: “Many venues like to utilise a DJ to run Rock and Roll Bingo.

“However, this is, by no means, essential because the entire game is self-contained, including an introduction to the crowd that details how to play.

“All that is required by anybody who is running the game is to press play and pause, and to check off which songs have been played to validate a claim.”

The minimum pack price is £65, which yields a potential profit of £200 based on a selling price of £1 per ticket, Larman adds. The next pack up costs £100 and doubles the potential yield to a pub.

Larman says that the game is “incredibly simple to run” and adds: “It is a very social game that has the ability to get everybody involved and is a huge draw for customers to visit venues that are able to offer it.

“It appeals to all ages and we are able to provide packs that will target certain age groups if necessary.

“We also have a range of PoS items that will enable pubs to effectively market their event and make sure that they achieve the maximum potential.”

Larman says one customer, the Myrtle Tavern in Leeds, reported an increase in bar sales of up to £1,000 on nights they were running the game.

He adds: “Entertainment is a fantastic way of driving footfall and increasing the dwell time of customers in the venue.

“Rock and Roll Bingo can be used in such a way to ensure that customers are staying in the venue and continuing to spend money at the bar when they might otherwise leave.

“In this way, it is not only profitable from ticket sales but also an increase in bar takings.”

Game on

Innstay’s Beebox pub entertainment system provides a full range of services encompassing background music, karaoke, on-screen games, live news feeds, social-media feeds and in-house advertising.

Marketing manager Helena Wade says: “The package is designed to attract people to the venue and keep them in longer than usual. This package works particularly well before and after sports matches. Licensees can use either the push button games or on-screen games to persuade people to stay in their venue instead of moving on.”

She adds that Beebox’s track record sets it apart in the field of technology-driven entertainment provision.

“It was built by licensees, for licensees so it is very easy to use and offers all of the tools needed for a modern pub,” Wade says.

“Beebox offers many different packages and allows licensees to build in the services that they need the most without paying for aspects they’re never going to use.

“Pubs that utilise products such as Beebox in their daily trade can turn their site into a community hub with events running throughout the week.

“Customers are looking for added value for the money they spend and options such as push-button games allow customers to believe they are getting this.”

Sister company Bob Rudd helps pubs get the most out of their pool tables by running tournaments with a package that includes professional standard balls and cloth.

“Pool tables are undervalued pieces of pub gaming equipment,” says Wade.“We have conducted studies that show that pool matches and tournaments not only drive income to the other machines located in the site but also increase bar sales.

“These packs are designed to attract pool teams to the venue, creating regular midweek trade.”

Wade adds: “Effective entertainment is what sets your pub apart from the competition.

“Often pubs have tools such as pool tables that they are under utilising. Sweat your assets and make them work for your site. This may need a little more effort, but the benefits can be huge.”

Savings made

Mediatheme supplies The Entertainer, a system that provides a range of entertainment options including karaoke, race nights and Disco Bingo.

Sales director Ian Ball says: “Our advertising suite helps our customers advertise their own offerings as well as attracting lots of profitable commercial advertising.

“We have a lot of unique games including pig and Afghan [hound] racing plus linked bingo.”

The outright purchase price is £1,795 plus VAT and an extra £118 plus VAT for monthly content and support fees.

John Griffin, licensee at the Northumbrian Piper in Newcastle, said the pub received £4,000 in local ad revenue within two months of installing the system.

Griffin adds: “We have also saved a substantial amount of money by not now having to pay for expensive DJs and quizmasters, etc.

“We have substantially increased our wet sales business by offering a much wider variety of entertainment, which our regulars love.”