Pub & Bar preview: Publican goes live

A new kind of interactive Pub & Bar Show will help you build a better business, writes Phil Mellows.

Pub & Bar 2006, at London's Olympia from April 11 to 13, promises to be a trade show like no other. More than just a collection of stands and talking heads it will give the visitor the kind of experience that will make a difference to the way they run their business back at the pub.

Across the show licensees and pub operators will be invited not simply to look and listen but to take part. And at the heart of things, expressing just what this new kind of Pub & Bar is about, will be Publican Live.

The idea is so simple it's amazing nobody thought of before. If it's a show for publicans why not have real working pubs to demonstrate best practice and the latest business-boosting ideas?

Two fully operational temporary pubs will showcase the ultimate in pub design and working practice. One a community-type outlet, the other a stylish gastropub, they will be open for business for the duration of the show and as well as serving lunch will host quizzes, talks and tastings.

Here are some of the features you will find:

• Schweppes cocktails:​ Soft drinks now represent around 14 per cent of an average pub's profit and trade trends point to further growth. To help visitors think about how to seize this opportunity, Coca-Cola Enterprises will be serving Schweppes cocktails and highlighting a checklist for excellence in soft drinks retailing. By measuring your business against this checklist you will hopefully walk away refreshed with some profitable new ideas.

Clicker Quiz:​ Officially launched at the Pub & Bar pubs, Clicker Quiz gives the audience the chance to fully participate in a "millionaire"-style interactive quiz using on-screen video clips and animations. Contestants give their answers using handheld electronic pads and the quizmaster controls the whole show from a touchscreen, enabling it to be tailored to a pub's needs. Clicker Quiz has the added advantage of being bang up to date and featuring today's news and the people making it - sports stars, celebrities and famous faces.

Live quizzes at the show start each day at 1pm, 2.30pm, 3.30pm and 4.30pm.​

Snacks to sample:​ Walkers will be serving its comprehensive range of crisps and snacks including Quavers for the kids, Nobby's for the lads and Walkers cheese and onion for the masses.

Perfect pints:​ The pubs are fitted with Filton Autotilt stillages to ensure smooth cask tilting thanks to a unique five-coil spring in the lift.

Take a seat:​ Fern Direct, Pub & Bar Show's official furniture supplier, will be furnishing the pubs with a range from traditional tables and chairs in the community house to designer chairs and tables in the
gastropub. It will also be giving visitors the chance to win £2,000 of its stylish South Pacific teak or leather furniture in a prize draw. Visitors can enter the competition simply by filling in the official entry forms in the pubs.

Noise control:​ New licensing laws mean pubs have to be careful these days about noise leaking into the surrounding community. The Jbn Sound Ceiling has been installed at the pubs, demonstrating its ability to direct sound straight down to the dance floor, where it is needed, reducing sound by a half only one or two metres away. It works through a modular speaker system in, or suspended from, the ceiling of your venue. Why not check it out for yourself?

Register now!​

Pub & Bar is held across three days at London's Olympia:

Tuesday, April 11 10.30am-5pmWednesday, April 1210.30am-5pmThursday, April 13 10.30am-4.30pm

Register for free today at www.pubandbar.co.uk​ or call 01923 690642.

Don't forget your mobile​

Before arriving at the show registered visitors will receive a text message from INTATV, which is presenting its new entertainment system. Have the message scanned at the entrance to Olympia, collect a voucher and take it to The Publican Pubs or the Entertainment Zone and you'll have a chance to win some great prizes including a trip for two to New York and a 42-inch Samsung plasma screen, plus special offers.

The Publican Live sponsors​

SchweppesJamesonWalkers Clicker QuizINTATVFern FurnitureFiltons Brewery ProductsBritish American Tobacco BOCSound Ceiling UK

Your Passport to Profit​

To make your visit to Pub & Bar really worthwhile and to help steer you through a route where you'll pick up lots of ideas, we are giving every visitor their own Passport to Profit.

Simply get your passport stamped at each of the main Experiences at the show and, when it is complete, exchange it for a book of vouchers containing a variety of special offers for use both at the show and afterwards.

What's more, Opticard Payment Services would like to buy you a drink! At the front of the passport you'll find a special loyalty card which will give you £2.50 off your bill when you spend £5 or more at The Publican Pubs.

Try it and see for yourself the Opticard service at work as your card is swiped and your discount applied.