Maximising Sport in Pubs

What is the future of sport in pubs?

By Stuart Stone

- Last updated on GMT

Maximising sport: Dom Collingwood of MatchPint talks about a fan's sporting expectations of pubs
Maximising sport: Dom Collingwood of MatchPint talks about a fan's sporting expectations of pubs
The first speaker at The Morning Advertiser’s 2018 Maximising Sport in Pubs conference at Stamford Bridge, Dom Collingwood, co-founder of event partners MatchPint, discussed what fans expect from a viewing experience, how they decide where to watch and what trends to look out for in the next five years.

Never forget the end consumer

A key piece of advice that Collingwood relayed from MatchPint data in January – involving 1,000 text responses to open-ended questions asked of their team, wider business, investors, partners and customers – was that in spite of all the good work the team are doing the 'end consumer', which is the sports fan, should be front and centre of any offering. 

Collingwood advised that it doesn’t matter how good operations and products are, it’s very difficult to maintain a sustainable sports pub model if a business loses sight of sports fans.

Three areas of competition

Collingwood highlighted three areas of competition that pubs are up against in attracting footfall around sports events.

Firstly, pubs need to compete with the stadium, viewed as the “ultimate place to consume sport”.

Secondly, the sofa. Pubs need to offer a better experience to the 8m Sky Sports subscribers watching at home – where technology is becoming increasingly advanced and beers by the can are increasingly inexpensive.

The third area of competition for pubs is the “on-the-go” market – which Collingwood compared to craft beer, stating: “A lot of people are excited by it, but not as big as you’d think.” As a means of watching sport, it is on the rise, however, only 2% of NFL Super Bowl viewers watched the action on their mobile or tablet.

Importance of creating drama and atmosphere

When MatchPint asked "what makes a great sports pub great?" the stand-out responses revolved around atmosphere and the presence of multiple screens – the top response.

Collingwood explained that given results from simultaneous or overlapping fixtures during this summer’s World Cup could influence the fortunes of England’s national team and therefore the mood of supporters, it was important for pubs to recreate the drama and tension through showing multiple games, or even match stats and live scores, on second screens.

He cited an example of simultaneous final day Premier League fixtures being shown in pubs featuring televised teams with a chance of winning the title as a prime example of how to create a great pub atmosphere from multiple matches.

Other factors that made a great sports pub included price or value – only 10% highlighted this – beer selection and quality, sound quality, and the size of screens – with multiple screens the preferred option.

Why do people pick the pub?

The most frequently highlighted point of difference between watching sport in the pub and watching at home was by far and away the atmosphere that watching sport in a pub generates.

However, another key reason why people choose to watch sport in the pub rather than at home was surprisingly, in Collingwood’s opinion, the fact that they like being with people – having a beer with friends in a social environment.

Beer was also flagged as a factor in picking the pub over staying at home, while a “tiny” number cited the fact that they don’t have Sky or BT at home as the most important reason – highlighting that pubs need to be aware they’re competing for the custom of people who already have sport available in home.

When compared to the stadium, while the atmosphere of being there in person is far superior, the fact that the view isn’t always as good as that picked up by broadcasters led many to plump for the pub.

What constitutes a bad experience?

The most common complaints about a bad sport viewing experience in a pub were that a punter couldn’t move, couldn’t hear, or couldn’t see – which was the most cited reason for a bad sport pub visit.

Different sports for different pubs

Just over a third of people surveyed stated that they watched different sports in different pubs. Given the atmosphere for a game of football is more high tempo than cricket, for example, it stood to reason, according to survey respondents, that different pubs and crowds were better suited to different sports.

According to Collingwood, knowledge is power. A common response when sports fans were asked whether or not they picked a different pub to watch different sports was that they “like being around people who know about what we’re watching” – meaning that fans would gravitate to pubs that more commonly attracted rugby or football fans, for example, depending on what sport they were watching.

This feedback has prompted some sport pub operators to introduce a daily five-minute sports briefing, in which staff are updated on nuggets of sports news that the punters will be asking about. This, according to Collingwood, makes customers feel their interests are valued.

Another reason behind picking different pubs for different sports was sound availability, and the fact that some sports, for example the Grand National, make almost no sense if watched without commentary, whereas football and rugby are far easier to follow.

Don’t just think about England

Collingwood highlighted that, although data from Euro 2016 showed average sales for England matches were £1,900 compared to £275 for non-England games, over the course of this summer’s World Cup the money would gradually stack up for pubs showing more than just games with home interest.

He highlighted that should England be eliminated in the group stage or in the first knockout round, there will be around 60 games in total not featuring the Three Lions. Therefore, if a pub achieves that average sales figure of £275 for every non-England game, they should rake in around £16,000 from this summer’s tournament.

“Even if England get to the final, there will still be bigger total sales available for the non-England games compared to the England games.”

While MatchPint found that 43% of sports fans were simply not interested in watching anyone besides England, more than half of fans could be persuaded to watch if value and drink promotions for non-England matches were on-point.

With whom, not where

When MatchPint asked sports fans to rank the importance of what game they watched, where they watched it, and who they watched it with, Collingwood admitted surprise at the overall result.

While more than two thirds stated that the game they were going to watch was the most important factor, unexpectedly respondents were more concerned by the company they watched sport with rather than the venue.

Therefore, while it’s still paramount to tell prospective customers, via channels such as social media, what games your venue is showing, it’s more important to pose the question of ‘who’ they’re watching it with, rather than ‘where’ – especially if it means generating added social traction via people tagging their friends on Facebook, for instance.

Customer service over competition

As part of the survey, MatchPint asked how exactly sports fans would find a pub to watch sport if they weren’t doing so at their local.

While common responses included searching on Google, or Google Maps, or even just walking around until they found somewhere, an interesting response, according to Collingwood, was that 30% ask their local or another pub for advice on where to watch.

Collingwood highlighted that by partnering with other local pubs, or pubs from the same stable, operators could drive sales and good sentiment by directing would-be punters to another site that’s showing sport that they aren’t.

He cited a Sunday evening example of the clash between La Liga football and NFL coverage. If two local pubs agreed that one of them would show the football and the other would show the NFL, they could recommend each other’s pub when asked for pubs showing the event they weren't.

The loyalty loop

Given, however, that it was most common for people to ask their friends where they were watching the game, Collingwood highlighted the 'loyalty loop' – the idea that at some point someone is going to ask one of your customers "where can I watch the game?” and that providing high quality of customer service and making them feel valued will ensure they give your pub’s name.

Rise of virtual and augmented reality

Collingwood flagged four emerging trends that pubs need to be aware of in the next five years, posing the question: “What is the world going to look like and can we get ahead of that?”

When asking sports fans about where sports pubs will be in five years, 40% replied, unprompted, that virtual and augmented reality would be a key trend in sports viewing – whether this be using virtual reality to second screen replays of key moments and settle debates among friends, or recreating the futuristic 360° 'touchline portal' used to transport fans to the touchline of a clash between Benfica and FC Porto this season.

Greater participation

Another emerging trend highlighted by respondents to Matchpint’s survey was increased sport fans' participation in pubs. The main form this could take, according to Collingwood, was voting or betting on what would happen next, recreating existing conversations between friends about the outcome of a penalty, for example, and 'gamifying' it.

Sound decision

Collingwood highlighted the trend of pubs offering personal sound choices during sports action. Whether this be choosing fan commentary over the polished in-game analysis of a Gary Neville or Jamie Carragher via the same headphone channel technology behind perennially popular silent discos, or zoning your venue so that weekend diners can enjoy a premium food offering in one area without having to overhear a blaring television showing football in another. 

Speed and ease of service

According to Collingwood, the ability to serve drinks quickly and eliminate queues in pubs was a very common point of feedback on how to improve a venue’s experience during a sporting fixture.

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