Henley pub scoops Sky TV advert campaign prize

28-Oct-2021 - Last updated on 28-Oct-2021 at 16:07 GMT

Pints, camera, action: Sky announces second Win A TV Ad campaign winner

The Saracens Head in Henley has won Sky’s Win A TV Ad competition, which gives the pub a professionally made advertisement to promote the business.

The competition, which launched for a second year in September, offered Sky’s licensed trade customers the chance to win a TV advert and an advertising campaign made exclusively for their business. The campaign will go live in January to help drive footfall in a traditionally quiet time for the trade and to capitalise on the top sporting line-up shown on Sky Sports.

The Saracens Head, a community pub in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, known for its food and sport offer, and the Win A TV Ad campaign team will look to capture the essence of the pub, alongside the staff that work there and the patrons that visit in the advert set for release next year.

Over the moon

Upon being told the news the Saracens Head had won, licensee Melanie Robinson said: “We’re absolutely over the moon, it was the perfect news to receive on a dreary Monday morning. We’ve been here for over 24 years now and the Saracens Head is a real community pub, so the first people we told were our regulars.

“They were thrilled for us and we can’t wait to share this experience with them. Anything to help boost our business, particularly after the year and a half we’ve all had and appeal to the wider community is really appreciated. We’re looking forward to working with Sky and getting the wheels in motion.”

The campaign will be delivered through AdSmart from Sky, which is claimed to be a revolutionary approach to TV advertising that levels the playing field so that businesses – whatever their shape or size – can benefit from the power and impact of TV. AdSmart allows different adverts to be broadcast to different households watching the same programme. This means pubs can advertise on national channels but to relevant audiences in their local postcode area, giving a more local and targeted approach.

This week also saw the premiere of the advert for the Grapes in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, who won the first Win A TV ad back in February 2020. The pub has been working with one of Sky’s advertising agencies to produce a television advert, which is now being shown on TV. You can watch the advert here.

Unique opportunity

Licensee Andrew Fudge can be seen in the 30-second advert. The advert features the pub’s exterior, interior and garden area and showcases the screens, beers and pub games on offer.

Sky Business director of marketing Tracy Harrison said: “We’ve been delighted to provide the Grapes with free, targeted advertising space and involve Andrew and his pub throughout the process. From conception, to filming, to editing, has been a unique opportunity for Sky Business to hear directly from a customer and their local community. We can’t wait to find out the impact it has had for the Grapes over the next few weeks and months.

“The first campaign was positively received by the trade and so we are thrilled to make the competition available to our customers once again.”