MA500

Look to Dubai for inspiration says brand expert

By Nikkie Sutton

- Last updated on GMT

Outside the box: branding expert Aidan Keane urged operators to take influence from overseas
Outside the box: branding expert Aidan Keane urged operators to take influence from overseas

Related tags Multi-site pub operators

Operators need to look further afield than the UK, creative expert and founder of Keane Brands Aidan Keane told delegates at The Morning Advertiser’s MA500 event in Birmingham earlier this month (16 February).

Keane looked at the hospitality market and explored ways licensees could offer more than just eating and drinking as a reason to visit.

Are you in the club?

The MA500 club is open to multi-site pub operators and runs three nationwide events a year that include business-focused presentations from top experts and owner-operators.

Each event is followed by an evening networking study tour of new and exciting venues in the area.

To register your interest in attending the next MA500 meeting in Liverpool on 18 May 2017, email rachel. jneq@jeoz.pbz​ 

As a designer, former club promoter and DJ, Keane​ told operators to look outside of the box when it came to branding.

Go to the emerging countries

“Don’t go to London to learn. Go to the emerging countries where people are doing stuff that we haven’t even got in this country. it is so incredible,” he said.

Keane​ questioned the audience on change and asked how it should occur. “You should have a constructive discontent with the way things are,” he urged.

The C4 presenter also told delegates that there is more to it than meets the eye when it comes to organising a brand.

It's all about confidence

He added: “We know that it’s about texture, the local market, but we also know it is about confidence and how you fit into that.

“I’m not interested in pubs anymore and I’m not interested in restaurants per se. I am trying to move on.

“I’m looking for something new to love and there needs to be something new. I need stimulation.

“There’s another level we need to go to, which is this whole experience, like when I go to a pub, I’m buying social space.”

Related topics MA Leaders Club Marketing

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