We are your good news bible
Calling all MA readers, calling all MA readers: is there any good news out there? Or is it really the end of the world and we're all off to hell in a handcart? Well, of course there's good news out there, plenty of it. There are many, many licensees doing rather well, and many more holding their own, which is itself a mighty achievement these days.
There are also a heck of a lot having a terrible time, and we don't for a moment want to minimise or ignore their pain. But we do want to get our editorial balance right, and we're conscious that many people doing well don't want to tell others about it. For a magazine that thrives on positive trade messages, that's frustrating.
So please do get in touch to tell us about what's going well for you at the moment. We are waiting eagerly to write about anyone who's got some good news to shout about. And so's the rest of the trade.
This perhaps unusual request (after all, we're actually pretty good at finding our own success stories, and publish countless each week) follows last week's front page appeal to share with us and readers any good-news stories that licensees, pubcos and suppliers are currently enjoying.
We asked in that very upfront way because we want to help more people in the trade realise that there is actually life out there. And also to show that by doing the right things, licensees can actually do OK, or better, even though these are the toughest times to hit us for decades.
To date, we've had one person get in touch! Disappointing to say the least. All the more so as we feel strongly that part of the problem facing us all these days is that we're forever talking ourselves into a state of catatonic depression about prospects.
It's the classic "talking ourselves down" syndrome, and it can be pretty damned contagious.
Some people say we're even better than farmers at seeing the black side to everything, and would rather confess to enjoying Big Brother than admit things really aren't too bad, everything considered. It's a terrible mindset — but one too many of us have as our default setting.
At Coca-Cola Enterprises these days, the pub trade guys have banished the temptation to bemoan our trade's fate. "Control the controllables, stop blaming Government or the economy, and let's just do the best we can do."
It's an admirable policy because it forces you to focus purely on the ways you can make the difference — and stops you from hoping something or someone is going to
come riding to your rescue. Ultimately, it's all down to you.
The more we hear about great things in the trade, the more we can see what an amazingly resilient beast the pub can be. And give ourselves the confidence to believe we can indeed survive and thrive. We're waiting to hear from you.
