Euro 2004 extra: Team effort

Adam Withrington explains how one brewer has teamed up with a pubco to help licensees score during Euro 2004.

Unless you have been living on another planet for the last six months you will know that Euro 2004 is just around the corner. No doubt the brewers that supply your beer have been throwing promotional material at you like mad, and your pub company has probably lectured you about the importance of "football tournaments" too. Annoying isn't it?

So it's nice to see a brewer and pubco team up to provide something constructive for licensees to get their teeth into when it comes to improving their sport offer.

The Carlsberg Academy is a venture which has been launched by Carlsberg in conjunction with Enterprise Inns and it aims to help licensees make the most out of live sport in their pubs during Euro 2004 and beyond.

More than anything Carlsberg wants to be identified by both the trade and consumers alike as the brand of live sport. It is the official beer of the Football Association, the England team and the FA Cup. And it's also the official beer at football clubs such as West Ham, Southampton, Birmingham, Sheffield United and Middlesbrough.

For Euro 2004 it has produced masses of merchandising under the banner "Your Country Needs You" - and it wants to take the campaign right into the grassroots of the trade. Carlsberg marketing controller Adam Young's aim with the Enterprise initiative is clear: "To build up the brand in the estate".

"Diageo has the Perfect Serve and Interbrew has its quality initiative. We want to be the drinks brand of live sport," Adam explains.

The Academy consists of a series of workshops held at Enterprise pubs across the country, and with Enterprise licensees from surrounding towns all invited to attend. Once there they are split into small seminar groups and are spoken to by members of the Carlsberg team on ways of improving their sporting offer.

The campaign was launched earlier this year and it is already going so well that Carlsberg is looking at rolling it out in other pub estates next year.

The secret of its success appears to be Carlsberg's commitment to following up the lessons learned at the initial workshop.

"We revisit all the pubs that take part in the academies and make sure that we reinforce the messages and lessons," says Richard Ball, customer marketing manager at the brewer.

"There is so much competition now. Look at the working men's clubs that will be organising 200-seat viewing areas during Euro 2004.

"You need to be inventive with your sports output. It isn't enough any more just to chuck a TV in your pub and turn it on."

Enterprise Inns has teamed up with Carlsberg because it believes that enough is not the full potential of sport is not being utilised in its pub estate.

"We are committed to helping licensees make the most of this opportunity," says regional director Chris Jones. "Euro 2004 will be huge for the trade. There will be big England games on Sunday, Thursday and Monday evenings, normally quiet times for pubs."

Make Euro 2004 work for you​

The Academy session at the Man of Trent pub in Nottingham found the Carlsberg team buzzing with ideas. The company conducted six months of research into how licensees can make the most out of live sport in their pubs and hit on several key areas to target.

Here are just three of them:

• Floor service​

Serving at tables will increase the amount of beer you sell during a match. In a normal situation someone will have one drink before a game, nurse it during the first half, make a mad dash for the bar at half-time, nurse that drink for the second half and then maybe have a drink afterwards. That's three pints. With table service people will drink more - and it stops them smuggling in bottles of vodka. External communication​

Carlsberg's research showed that for England's Euro 2004 qualifiers against Macedonia and Slovakia there was a 35 per cent increase in sales in pubs that made the effort to advertise the games with posters and banners outside.

Directors' box​

This initiative starts with the licensee holding a raffle during an earlier live match. Whoever wins will be able, with some friends, to sit in the "directors' box" for the next big game. The box may be a part of the bar that is sectioned off with a private TV. You can give the winners free food and drink at half time or table service all night.

What do licensees think?​

Here's what two licensees thought of the Carlsberg Academy

• "I found it very useful, it had lots of good ideas. To be honest we already have table service, which works really well - you just get more from the customer despite the fact we are rammed on match days.

"I introduced the directors' box idea and it works great. We get loads of people going in for it every week - they're all jealous of the guys watching the footie on the best TV in the pub."

Tony Murphy, Throstles Nest, Old Trafford, Manchester​

"There were no massive new ideas but it was a kick up the backside for everybody. It made me look at my own pub and improve my offer.

"So I have done things like trim down my food offer on match days to something more appropriate, such as chicken nuggets in baskets, and we have introduced pitcher deals. It has streamlined everything and now we are more geared up for the big occasions."

Mike Costello, Pear Tree, Preston​

Case studies​

Carlsberg is also tracking the performance of some other sports pubs during Euro 2004. Here's how a couple of them are gearing up for the opportunity.

• The George, Chipping Sodbury, nr Bristol​

Licensee Mike Harrington (pictured)​ has been using sport to boost business at the high street pub for the past eight years.

"I am a huge sports fan myself - plus I have the added bonus of extra income for the bigger events," he says. "We spend around £1,300 per year on sponsoring local sports teams and we support whatever sport is on the television. Our customers are very versatile but we do find that sales are greater during football matches."

Mike describes Euro 2004 as "the biggest event in this year's sporting calendar" and the pub has offers and promotions going on throughout the tournament, including drinks promotions, a barbecue and a disco. Carlsberg is decorating the bar for him and providing free beer and promotional material.

The Sandon, Anfield, Liverpool​

The Sandon has a close affiliation with Liverpool FC having been the pub where the club was originally formed and licensee Gemma Hindley (pictured)​ has used sport for seven years.

"We have a large following of Liverpool fans who come to the pub and we provide entertainment for them in the closed season too," says Gemma.

"Although we mainly support any football events that are showing, and football tends to have the best atmosphere, we have also focused on rugby with the help of Tetley's."

With Liverpool's own Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen and Jamie Carragher in the England squad Gemma expects the Sandon to attract a big crowd for Euro 2004.

"We will be showing all the games and on the days England are playing we will be hosting special events including drinks promotions, a barbecue and outdoor activities. We are hoping the tournament will create an exciting atmosphere and boost sales by 50 per cent," Gemma add