On the trail of more trade
Consumers today seem to need a good reason to drink in the pub, and one brewery has come up with one such reason.
Just under 400 East Anglia pubs are currently involved in an ale trail organised by locally-based Woodforde's. With the ale trail finishing at the end of this month, many licensees taking part say it has driven extra drinkers through their doors this summer.
Pubs in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire have featured in a pocket-sized Woodforde's Pub Guide. It encourages drinkers to visit the participating pubs, pick up credits for each Woodforde's beer they buy, and cash these in for branded merchandise in the brewery shop.
The guides have been distributed to 14,000 consumers registered as Woodforde's Club Members, and are available at participating outlets.
Around 700 regular stockists of Woodforde's ales were invited to take part, and it seems puzzling why a greater number of them didn't say yes. Participants had to commit to stock at least one Woodforde's beer for the duration of the ale trail (June 20 to September 30).
They were not charged, unless they opted for a larger listing and a picture of their pub in the guide. This would have set them back £25, whereas Woodforde's boss Mike Betts claims the brewery has invested around £20,000 in the scheme.
How helpful such initiatives are to pubs is highlighted by one licensee who says he has benefited.
"In a day and age when it's tough to persuade people to come to your bar, with no outlay from us, this has pulled customers in," says Tim Wood, licensee of the Jubilee in Norwich.
"Too many suppliers ring up saying they want to help me then offer to sell me something. They seem to need the obvious explaining to them, that most pubs have no money at the moment! This ale trail, on the other hand, has been free."
This year's was the fourth version of Woodforde's trail and Betts says it could be expanded in future to take in pubs elsewhere in the country.
With licensees needing all the low-cost help they can get in drawing in customers, there seems no reason not to get involved with such schemes led by suppliers.
Norwich licensees' views on the ale trail
Tim Wood, the Jubilee
"It brings a lot of new people in who we don't see the rest of the year. Every day, we get a few more people coming in for the stamps, and that's got to be good in this day and age."
Roger Cawdron, the Ribs of Beef
The ale trail is welcome respite against a number of factors counting against pubs in Norwich. The relegation of the football team means fewer big match occasions bringing in the punters, Cawdron says, funding to promote tourism has been pulled by local authorities, and there has been a trend for businesses eschewing pub lunches in the centre of town in favour of moving to suburban retail parks.
Jon Smith, the King's Head
"Although most of the trailers just stay for one and move onto the next stop in the guide, we have had some run aground and stay for a few."
Chris Higgins, the Trafford Arms
Higgins is a fan of promotions led by suppliers, but says that most have tailed off their investment during the recession. The best promotions are those that don't involve the pub holding a lot of bulky stock to give away as prizes, and those that aren't too complicated for drinkers to take part in, in his view.
