Promising pub signs
Pubs use all manner of posters and notices to promote their events and services but, as Ian Boughton discovers, signs must include a fresh, up-to-date message to be effective.
There is one essential requirement for every kind of pub sign, poster, notice and table-talker — it has to say something, and say something that sounds fresh and new. There are no end of ways to put a message across to the public, but if that message looks
old and stale, any kind of sign becomes pointless.
In the pub trade, one key thing is to keep renewing messages, both inside and out.
"Banners can be a really good idea for short-term, exterior promotion," says Karl Hunter of HFE Signs. "The reason for this is that they are cheap enough to be cost-effective in the short-term, and are relatively easy to put up."
They can be run up in virtually any size from 2ft to 8ft wide, in virtually any length — typically, an 8ft x 3ft might cost around £45, and because they are low-cost items, producers don't spend a lot of time being "artistic" — the point of a banner is to get a bold message over very quickly, in plain talk, and so next-day delivery is generally to be expected.
One big trick with banners is to suit the fabric to the location, and to mount them securely — nothing looks worse, or is less effective, than a droopy banner. So there are fabrics that are designed for heavy-duty external use, and even fabrics that are designed for use in very windy locations.
There are wall-mounting options for where hanging a banner may be difficult, with tensioning arms to make sure the banner stays in its proper place. The clue, says HFE, is to talk to the banner-maker about what you want to say, and where you want to say it.
But don't say it for too long — banners and signs that stay up too long can work against you, says Adrian Lawrence of MAJIsign. We have all seen the faded banners advertising pub food which have been on exterior walls for maybe a year or more — and a tired and dirty sign just puts customers off.
"All advertising will affect a customer's view on the standards of the pub, from food quality to toilet hygiene. If you drive past a pub with an old wooden board propped up against a fence with paint dripping down the board and faded lettering, what does this say about the overall quality of food, beer and hygiene?"
A message that is left up for several weeks becomes just "wallpaper", adds Lawrence, whereas a message that is changed will catch attention. A tough marketing climate is the right time to change your promotions — talk about your opening hours, quiz nights or menu, anything, so long as you talk!
"We always advise on getting the best marketing out of what can be seen on outside signs, chalkboards, or banners. A 10ft x 2ft banner is 20sq ft of advertising message and even a simple wooden A-board may be seen by hundreds or thousands of people every day.
"Our premium A-board allows you to change waterproof posters on a daily basis, or even between morning and afternoon — it's a very small investment for something that can give maximum impact."
Something increasing in popularity is the chalkboard, and the reason for its popularity is its home-drawn feel — in the customer's eyes, there's a world of difference between a hand-chalked specials board and a corporate notice. However, the word "chalk" isn't entirely correct any more, because the modern blackboard writer is a free-flowing marker pen, much brighter than old-fashioned chalk.
The only thing to worry about is getting the right pen for the board — just make sure the pens for indoor use are the ones that can be wiped off, and the ones for external use cannot.
Occasionally a customer will comment on the good design of a chalkboard, and assume there must be someone with artistic talent on the staff — it isn't so! Several companies offer stencil sets of images themed around food, beer, or "what's on" messages — virtually no skill is needed at all.
Alternatively, the venue can use a customised heading which allows staff to change product detail and prices.
"Printed bespoke chalkboards have a huge impact," says Lawrence. "All of our chalkboards are sprayed in-house with our own unique re-writable surface and designed for use with liquid chalkpens, so no need for the old blackboard paint! All our chalkboards will last years and be available for use over and over again — we recommend ZIG Posterman pens, and if you clean with a good kitchen cleaner, the chalkboard surface leaves no smearing or ghosting effects."
The most unusual use of interior marketing is the concept of tabletop advertising, recently pioneered by Group Davies Bespoke Table Tops. Some examples could be seen at the Morning Advertiser's recent Great British Pub Awards 2010 evening.
"Our family has supplied point-of-sale printwork to the licensed trade for 30 years," says the company's Greg Davies. "We know that a dull message doesn't work."
A table-top cannot, of course, be changed for a new message every week. This is not a disadvantage, he adds.
"In the days of the old dripmats, you could turn them over for a competition — you can't turn a table over, so you have to decide what your message is. But many promotions now run for 12 months, and many brands say that repetition of the same message is what gets it into the mind, so 'promotion' doesn't just mean a short-term use.
"We have put product messages on tabletops and we are told that sales of the product went up as a result. We have used tabletops for subtle and discreet promotion of a drink, and we've heard customers say — 'we'll try a bottle of that'. Subtly, the table has become the menu!"
This need not be a cost to the licensee, according to the company. Group Davies has its own relationships with drinks brands, and can negotiate the possibility of free table tops, paid for by the brand being advertised.
Handy techniques
The skill of the hand-lettered pub sign is not dead — and indeed, modern artists are creating remarkable effects.
"We are bespoke manufacturers of signs for pubs," says Mark Butler, of Butler dSigns. "The emphasis is on hand-painted traditional work — the way it should be done!"
A fascinating feature of this work is that a human craftsman can take a new pub or shop and make it look old.
Butler dSigns did this with Quba, a small clothing store which wanted its site in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, to look as if it had been there for at least 100 years. The Butler artists made a main fascia sign from reclaimed hardwood planks, stained and varnished the sign, and then hand-painted and gilded it in 24ct gold leaf. The sign was then "aged."
"This involved techniques such as sanding over the sign, and applying a wash-over colour which was ragged off. When the sign was fitted, the rest of the shopfront looked very out of place — so we set about distressing the shopfront! Again, we ragged off a wash-over colour, sanded for effect and applied two coats of matt finish varnish. The final result is a business that appears to be from another age."
The use of gold leaf sounds expensive — more expensive than normal paint, but not as expensive as you may think, says Butler. It is very hardwearing, water-resistant, and lasts for years if treated correctly.
"If maintained properly, signs should last for many years — we always recommend that every couple of years, signs should be washed down and re-treated."
Smart marketing for young customers
Keen to attract the family market, but worried about how some of your junior customers might behave? If this is the dilemma, SmartPack has the answer.
SmartPacks are "at the table" gift packs, aimed at children aged three to nine, and designed to provide an extra treat in a family pub environment. The plan is to keep the kids quiet by giving them something creative and fun to do — in this case, colouring kits in a bag.
Each SmartPack contains a pack of non-toxic wax crayons plus another six items to amuse youngsters.
Already widely used by pubs and hotels across the UK, SmartPack
