Marketing

Deep Throat beer label 'offensive and utterly unnecessary' says Ladies That Beer

17-Oct-2017 By Georgina Townshend

Members of beer group Ladies That Beer have slammed an Italian brewer for marketing its Deep Throat beer using a drawing of a woman with a corncob rammed down her throat on the bottle.

In association with Sky Sports

Sky Sports launches video competition for licensees

09-Oct-2017 By MA editorial

Sky Sports has launched a video competition for UK licensees to celebrate its upcoming ‘Winning Weekends’ – a tantalising line-up of top sport during big weekends and packed days of action that no other broadcaster can offer.

My Pub: Great British Pub of the Year 2017, Eagle & Child

05-Oct-2017 By Georgina Townshend

At the beginning of September, Glen Duckett, landlord of the Eagle & Child, in Ramsbottom, Lancashire, lifted the award for Best Pub of the Year in the Great British Pub Awards 2017, after first being named Partnership Pub of the Year. Here, Duckett...

Opinion

Pete Brown asks 'What price a good pint?'

04-Oct-2017 By Pete Brown

At £3 a third, Brooklyn Brewery’s rich, nuanced Cloaking Device is not a rip-off, it’s an astounding bargain

How publicans really feel about customers abusing Wi-Fi

28-Sep-2017 By Georgina Townshend

As publicans continue to adapt to consumer demand, should pubs allow customers to stay for hours using the free Wi-Fi despite only buying one drink? Or, would they be right to ask them to leave?

9 things landlords claim about their pubs

22-Sep-2017 By Georgina Townshend

From being the oldest pub in the village, to having a ghost, or having royalty over for tea, every pub has a story – some of which they appear to share with many others.

Gen Z are key to future success of pubs, licensees must work to attract them

18-Sep-2017 By Claire Churchard

The pub industry must engage with Generation Z to ensure its survival because this age group are the customers of the future, MA500 delegates heard at the latest event in Edinburgh last week (Thursday 14 September).

Wine Tipster explains how pubs can capitalise on growth in grape interest

11-Sep-2017 By Claire Churchard

Wine is a key offering in your pub. As customer interest in and knowledge of wine and grape varieties grows, expert Neil Philips, aka The Wine Tipster, reveals how pubs can boost wine profits.

Liverpool's first micropub is put on the market

08-Sep-2017 By Michelle Perrett

Award-winning one-room Merseyside pub up for sale. 

Community Pubs Minister praises Pub is The Hub for helping North Yorkshire local

05-Sep-2017 By Georgina Townshend

A Yorkshire pub that has opened a village shop and a bakery in its bar, thanks to Pub is The Hub, has been hailed by Jake Berry MP because it has enabled him to buy an Italian aubergine – "possibly one of the most unusual items to be found in a pub...

My Pub: Hare & Hounds, Birmingham

05-Sep-2017 By Georgina Townshend

Around 10 years ago Adam Regan and his partners rescued the Hare & Hounds from disrepair. Since then, acts such as Ed Sheeran and Ellie Goulding have graced the pub – helping it to win Best Entertainment Pub at last year’s Great British Pub Awards....

What sports pubs need to know about the transfer window

01-Sep-2017 By Tommy Leighton

Last night, Sky Sports’ Jim White loosened his bright yellow tie, took a long, deep breath and brought another hectic transfer window to a shuddering halt. But what will your customers be talking about in the coming weeks and months? And were your local...

Pubs are a dog owner's best friend

30-Aug-2017 By Fred A'Court

‘Walkies’, it seems, means more than just taking the pooch for a stroll. Almost all dog owners (95%) pay a visit to their local pub and more than a quarter (26%) drop in more than once a week, according to the latest research.

Pub advertises job with ‘lousy work conditions with no benefits’

30-Aug-2017 By Georgina Townshend

A Surrey bar has employed reverse psychology to recruit new people by advertising for bar staff willing to work for “mediocre pay and horrendous hours”.

More than just child’s play

25-Aug-2017 By Emma Eversham

You don’t have to install a state-of-the-art soft play centre, radically adjust your menu or ignore other customer groups to attract the family market to your pub

Staycations grow hospitality sales by more than 8%

25-Aug-2017 By Nicholas Robinson

Brits are now more inclined to holiday in the UK, providing the on-trade with a substantial boost, although the uncertain economic climate is preventing them from really splashing the cash.

Licensed Trade Charity Golf Tournament heats up for final

24-Aug-2017 By Fred A'Court

Star Pubs & Bars has qualified for the final of this year’s Licensed Trade Charity Golf Tournament which takes place at Abbeydale Golf Club, Sheffield on 11 September.

Opinion Pete Brown:

Great British Beer Festival is 'same old, same old'

24-Aug-2017 By Pete Brown

Did you go to the Trade Day at the Great British Beer Festival this year? Pete Brown shares his experience and it's not as glowing as the organisers might have hoped.

My Pub: The Boot, Sarratt

23-Aug-2017 By Georgina Townshend

Zoe Eliasson’s parents met at the Boot, which dates from 1739, and she worked there as a teenager. Since taking over in 2010, she and her chef partner Nick Idle have invested heavily in the pub, which won a Great British Pub Award for Best Family Pub last...

Paddy McGuinness hands £5k to ‘Only Ordinary by Name’ pub winners

21-Aug-2017 By MA Editorial

Paddy McGuinness, comedian and star of ITV’s dating show Take Me Out, presented £5,000 to the national winner of John Smith’s ‘Only Ordinary by Name’ pub competition, which echoes its ale marketing campaign launched last spring.

Need to know: Floyd Mayweather v Conor McGregor boxing match

21-Aug-2017 By MA Editorial

More than 1m boxing fans flocked to the pub to watch the Anthony Joshua v Wladimir Klitschko boxing match in April, making this month's (August) Floyd Mayweather v Conor McGregor fight a tempting prospect for licensees.

Night Tube praised for ‘positive effect’ on eating and drinking-out businesses

21-Aug-2017 By Georgina Townshend

A year after its launch, the Night Tube in London has been praised for the positive effect it has had for eating and drinking-out businesses in an “otherwise burdensome operating environment”.

Work to rebuild 'historic' Carlton Tavern begins

17-Aug-2017 By Georgina Townshend

Work has started on a historic pub that Westminster City Council demanded must be “rebuilt brick by brick” after it was illegally knocked down.

Overseas tourists make beeline for pub accommodation, finds research

17-Aug-2017 By Fred A'Court

Pubs are sewn into the very fabric of Britain, and it turns out that foreign visitors think so too.

First pub in England believed to be run by a church opens

15-Aug-2017 By Fred A'Court

For local people living near a Norwich pub, their prayers may have been answered.

Pubs can save thousands through recycling scheme

15-Aug-2017 By Fred A'Court

Pub companies can save up to 16% on their packaging recycling costs through a scheme promoted by the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), it is claimed.

Respect your elders: How to attract older customers to your pub

11-Aug-2017 By Phil Mellows

The ‘grey pound’ is worth £320bn in the UK and represents a growing age group with diverse needs. So how can pubs tailor their services to attract older people with money to spend and plenty of life to live?

Survey shows the ‘most important features’ of Britons’ ideal pub

11-Aug-2017 By Georgina Townshend

Brits are looking for something more sophisticated from the pub these days, according to a new survey, with fruit machines and fags falling right to the bottom of their wish list.

‘Naked waitresses flirt with you’: when pub advertising goes too far

10-Aug-2017 By Georgina Townshend

As the promise of the perfect pint no longer seems to be enough to get punters through the door, boozers have begun to resort to weird and, sometimes not so wonderful, ways of getting people in. With a recent spate of pub signs going viral for all the...

Hungry Horse school bag promotion earns rap from ad watchdog

02-Aug-2017 By Ed Bedington

Greene King has come under fire from advertising watchdogs after promotional leaflets for a Hungry Horse site was sent out in school bags.

ALMR chief joins London's Night Time Commission

28-Jul-2017 By Georgina Townshend

The chief executive of the Association of Multiple Licensed Retailers (ALMR) has said she will "provide a voice for eating and drinking out" after accepting a mayoral invitation to take a seat on London's Night Time Commission.

Men discuss issues at the pub, not on social media

27-Jul-2017 By Fred A'Court

When it comes to talking about serious issues with friends, men are more likely to want to discuss them in the pub than on social media.

Spotlight: survey lays bare the fears of licensees

26-Jul-2017 By James Wallin, MCA

An annual survey of readers of The Morning Advertiser shows a sector struggling to keep up with the demands of a changing consumer base. Here we detail their concerns and look at what solutions are offered in MCA’s UK Pub Market Report.

St Austell works with local archaeologists on pub restoration

25-Jul-2017 By Fred A'Court

A West Country brewery has been working with county archaeologists during a multi-million pound restoration of a 400-year-old pub and former hotel.  

London mayor’s 24-hour vision aims to boost night-time economy

25-Jul-2017 By Claire Churchard

Pubs in the capital can expect to receive a boost in trade as Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has pledged he will plan for the city’s nightlife in the same way he does for daytime activities, as part of a newly launched 24-hour vision for London.

New study reveals 'ongoing importance of pubs' to the UK

21-Jul-2017 By Georgina Townshend

More than half of all pubgoers champion their local pub as the place for food and drink, with one in five visiting between once and three times a week, a study has found.

Special feature: The lessons of Upton Park

20-Jul-2017 By Roger Protz

East End pubs around the Boleyn Ground in Upton Park, lived and died by their claret and blue credentials, so it’s little wonder a year after West Ham upped sticks and moved to Stratford that some have already put the shutters up.

Huddersfield pub aims to take JD Wetherspoon’s ‘biggest UK pub’ title

20-Jul-2017 By Georgina Townshend

A new pub in Huddersfield believes it can beat JD Wetherspoon’s claim to have the biggest boozer in the UK.

BBPA releases latest operating cost guide for pubs

11-Jul-2017 By James Wallin, MCA

Operating costs for tied pubs accounted for between 33% and 40% of total turnover last year, according to the British Beer and Pub Association's (BBPA) latest edition of its operating cost guide.

50th co-operative pub opens in Theresa May’s constituency

07-Jul-2017 By Georgina Townshend

A local in Prime Minister Theresa May’s constituency has become the 50th co-operative pub in the UK after residents rallied together to save the community site.

Pug Pubs puts expansion plans on hold

05-Jul-2017 By Michelle Perrett

Pug Pubs, the three-strong pub chain, has put plans for rapid expansion on the backburner to focus on its current operation.

Publican responds to complaints over 'sexist' art work

28-Jun-2017 By Fred A'Court

Little did he realise how true it was when new licensee Mike Hales wrote on his website ‘It’s all going on at The Top Lock.’

Action group 'on the verge' of regaining pub

27-Jun-2017 By Fred A'Court

Villagers may be on the verge of getting their pub back after a 14-year battle involving a brewery, their local MP, a five-day public enquiry and council planning officers.

The Big Interview: Craft Union's Frazer Grimbleby

26-Jun-2017 By Ed Bedington

At the time the smoking ban came into force, many suggested it was the final nail in the coffin of the traditional wet-led pub. But 10 years on, a new operation has emerged which is leading the crusade to put wet led back on the menu.

Seven things pubs can do to attract elusive Generation Z

21-Jun-2017 By Georgina Townshend

The latest challenge for pub owners is attracting Generation Z, people aged 18 to 24, who are addicted to technology and their phones.

A breath of fresh air: how the smoking ban has changed the pub trade

19-Jun-2017 By Claire Churchard & Georgina Townshend

The smoking ban became a fact in England on 1 July 2007 with an unprecedented impact for pubs. But how has the trade changed in the past 10 years since it came into force?

‘Pre-election jitters’ partly responsible for dip in managed pub trade

19-Jun-2017 By Georgina Townshend

Britain’s managed pub operators saw a 0.7% dip in like-for-like sales in May compared to the same month last year, according to the latest figures from the Coffer Peach Business Tracker.

Sky price rise limited to 5% to account for spiralling business rates

16-Jun-2017 By Michelle Perrett

Sky has revealed that it is to increase prices from 1 August 2017, but promised that no pub would see an increase of more than 5%.

My Pub: The Anchor at Walberswick

14-Jun-2017 By Phil Mellows

The Anchor at Walberswick sits in an idyllic spot overlooking Suffolk’s coastal marshlands; its expansive gardens rolling down to the beach. Yet it wasn’t until Mark and Sophie Dorber took charge of the Adnams Brewery-owned outlet a dozen years ago that...

CMA finds Heineken-Punch deal ‘reduces competition in 33 areas’

13-Jun-2017 By Claire Churchard

Heineken’s proposed acquisition of 1,900 Punch pubs “could reduce competition in 33 areas across Britain”, according to an initial investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).