Marketing

Snifter

The return of Snifter: Murray's mints, the G-word and swimming to pubs

12-Jul-2016 By Snifter

Snifter is back - and ready to cause utter carnage across the pub PR landscape.

MA

The new MA: bringing 222 years of tradition into the 21st century

11-Jul-2016 By Ed Bedington

Welcome to The Morning Advertiser, your new and improved one-stop shop for all things pub industry related.

TripAdvisor

Licensee's furious response to beer pricing TripAdvisor complaint

06-Jul-2016 By Oli Gross

TripAdvisor reviewers can be infuriatingly harsh in their assessments of pubs, and none more so than a customer who branded his experience ‘terrible’ based purely on the price of a pint.

A-boards

Gallery: Send us your best A-board pictures

05-Jul-2016 By Oli Gross

The Publican’s Morning Advertiser is calling on licensees to send in their best, funniest and most inspiring advertising board pictures.

Marketing

Pub labelled 'law-breakers' for £1.20 water charge on TripAdvisor

30-Jun-2016 By Oli Gross

A licensee has defended her pub after an angry cyclist labelled staff ‘law-breakers’ for charging £1.20 for tap water.

Pictures of celebs in underwear stolen from pub's women's toilets

20-Jun-2016 By Oli Gross

A licensee is ‘really peed off’ with a thief who has been repeatedly stealing pictures of celebrities in their underwear from the women’s toilets.

Digital Marketing

5 simple social media tips for pubs

15-Jun-2016 By Emily Sutherland

Although it might be unfair to brand the pub trade as stuck in the dark ages, there’s certainly more licensees could be doing when it comes to social media. Here are 5 tips to get started.

Licensees

Licensee donates food to homeless

13-Jun-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

Mark Cutter of the Robert Gillow pub in Lancaster has set up a free food scheme in the pub to help those who need it.

Beer

BrewDog founders awarded MBEs

13-Jun-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

James Watt and Martin Dickie, founders of Scotland-based brewery and pub operator BrewDog, have been awarded MBEs in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

PR tips on a shoestring budget

10-Jun-2016 By Emily Sutherland

Creating a buzz around their businesses can seem like an uphill battle for small or single-site operators without the big marketing budgets enjoyed by larger pub companies. But entrepreneurial licensees have proved you don't have to spend big to...

Pub beer ballot for EU referendum

07-Jun-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

Ahead of the EU referendum at the end of this month (June), an independent brewery has teamed up with local pubs to offer an unusual method of finding out how people may vote.

Review sites

Licensee frames 'hilarious' TripAdvisor complaint about dog policy

31-May-2016 By Oli Gross

A licensee has seen the funny side ‘hilarious’ TripAdvisor complaint about his rules on dogs - and had the review framed in the toilets.

CAMRA Revitalisation Project moves forward

25-May-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

The project to determine the future of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is now in its second stage, where it will analyse the data from a survey it conducted with its members.

The Big Interview: Oakman Inns founder Peter Borg-Neal

23-May-2016 By Oli Gross

Peter Borg-Neal is different to many pubco chief executives, having worked in just about every role in the business. Oli Gross finds out more about him.

Pubcos

Harry Ramsden's and Punch team up for pub partnership

20-May-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

The pubco and restaurant have joined forces to reopen a pub with the benefits of Harry Ramsden's reputation for fish and chips.

Animals

Pub's ban after 20 dogs drive customers barking mad

19-May-2016 By Oli Gross

A pub has been forced to ban dogs after customers were sent barking mad when the venue filled with up to 20 pets at the same time.

Charity round-up: The PMA takes a closer look at the trade's good deeds

16-May-2016 By Emily Sutherland

Pubs, breweries and pubcos are well known for their support of charities. The Publican's Morning Advertiser reports on the the industry's latest fundraising activities.

Marketing

Drink like a horse? Shropshire pub welcomes horses and riders

16-May-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

The Brewery Inn, based in Coalport, Telford has installed a purpose built area for their equine customers.

Football

Licensee paints pub in Leicester City colours

11-May-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

Brian Priest who runs the Chequers pub in Swinford made a passing comment that if Leicester won the league, he would paint the pub in the Foxes’ colours.

Business support

How one community local beat the big guns to win an award

10-May-2016 By Emily Sutherland

Marketing can be tough for small or single-site operators, who often don’t have the budget to compete with multiple site operators or the big managed pub chains. But one Yorkshire licensee has scooped a major marketing award and driven more trade to...

Emmerdale star delighted to open Lancashire pub

10-May-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

The grand opening of a Silverdale pub was marked with an Emmerdale star cutting the ribbon and pouring the first pint.

Business Support

'Honest' TripAdvisor responses: good or bad for business?

10-May-2016 By Emily Sutherland

Dealing with bad TripAdvisor reviews has kept many a pub operator up at night. But long-running frustration with reviews seen as inaccurate, unfair or malicious has reached boiling point, with some licensees taking matters into their own hands by posting...

Gluten-free Report

10 things you need to know about serving gluten-free food in pubs

10-May-2016 By Daniel Woolfson and Nicholas Robinson

Gluten-free food is one of the most enduring food trends to hit the UK's eating-out sector this century, but what do you need to know to implement it in your pub? Here are the Publican's Morning Advertiser's top 10 things you need to know.

TripAdvisor

Scathing response to 'impossible' TripAdvisor review gives licensee the last laugh

09-May-2016 By Oli Gross

A scathing response to an ‘impossible’ customer on TripAdvisor should give pubs encouragement that difficult reviewers don't always need to have the last laugh, according to the licensee.

Newspaper roundup

Pubs in the Papers – Enterprise's Townsend ‘no idea’ on MRO numbers, Vardy Bombs and arm wrestling saving pubs

09-May-2016 By James Evison

This week's pubs in the papers round-up includes The Times's interview with Enterprise's Townsend, arm wrestling the 'saviour of pubs' and Leicester City's Premier League victory party.

Licensees

Kent pub celebrates 500th birthday

04-May-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

A Kent pub has recreated a vintage photo to mark its 500th birthday over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Charity

Licensee raises £3.5k for charity with 250 mile Asian bike trip

03-May-2016 By James Evison

Licensee Dave Mountford has cycled across Vietnam and Cambodia for charity, and got beer made in tribute to the ride placed in Westminster's Strangers Bar.

Hoax council caller orders pub to cover St George's flag or face legal action

29-Apr-2016 By Oli Gross

A licensee was left outraged when a supposed caller from the local council ordered her to cover a giant painted St George’s cross on the front of her pub, but the call appears to have been a hoax.

Beer

CAMRA revitalisation: Licensees urged to have their say as deadline nears

27-Apr-2016 By Oli Gross

The Campaign for Real Ale’s first consultation to help shape its future is coming to an end, and licensees have been urged to join the 20,000 members and non-members who have already made their feelings known.

BrewDog falls £6m short of crowdfunding target

22-Apr-2016 By Emily Sutherland

Self-styled punk brewer BrewDog has raised £19 million through the latest round of its crowdfunding scheme Equity for Punks, falling short of its £25m target.

Marketing

Tinder date gone wrong? Pub offers to help women in uncomfortable situations

22-Apr-2016 By Oli Gross

A pub has offered a way out of awkward Tinder dates for women who feel uncomfortable on a night out.

Viral banned list which featured 'flat cap coke fiend' inspires a book

21-Apr-2016 By Emily Sutherland

A former live music pub’s list of barred customers has inspired a book after going viral on social media.

Mintel research

More than half of Brits went to pub in January

21-Apr-2016 By Chris Wisson

The Publican’s Morning Advertiser has partnered with market analysts Mintel to provide insight from its new leisure tracker, which covers consumers’ pub visiting habits. Senior analyst Chris Wisson examines the latest findings.

BBC's The One Show calls for pubs to appear on upcoming show

19-Apr-2016 By Emily Sutherland

BBC’s The One Show is on the hunt for licensees and community groups who are fighting to save their local pub to appear on an upcoming programme.

Technology

How good is your business really?

14-Apr-2016 By Oli Gross

A new online tool will help licensees ask the question: How Good’s Your Business Really?

On-the-door drug swabbing

Pubs warned growing drug swabbing trend could damage trade

14-Apr-2016 By Oli Gross

A growing trend of on-the-door drug swabbing tests risks needlessly criminalising customers and damaging the trade’s reputation, industry leaders have warned.

Queen’s 90th Birthday

Pimm’s puts out 12,000 activation kits for Queen’s birthday

14-Apr-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Diageo-owned Pimm’s is pushing hard on the Queen’s 90th birthday to help boost sales in the on-trade by giving 12,000 outlets nationwide activation kits.

Pub group seeks 'head of random acts of kindness'

13-Apr-2016 By Emily Sutherland

The Yummy Pub Co is on the hunt for applicants for an unusual new position – 'head of random acts of kindness'.

Pub's barred list goes viral: "Don't serve the flat cap coke fiend!"

13-Apr-2016 By Oli Gross

A former iconic music pub’s unconventional list of barred customers has resurfaced as the venue looks set to reopen as food-ledpub.

Entertainment

Licensee defends decision to ban dominant pub quiz team

11-Apr-2016 By Oli Gross

A licensee has defended a decision to ban a regular pub quiz team, after the group’s dominance led to a drastic decline in the event’s popularity.

PMA events

What’s the future of beer and cider?

07-Apr-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

The first Future Trends: Beer and Cider event organised by the Publican’s Morning Advertiser (PMA) will be held in London on 22 June and will arm the trade with insight into the sector’s latest new product development and innovation.

People

Crowdfunding campaign for story of first woman to become sole licensee

06-Apr-2016 By Emily Sutherland

Author Laura Thompson has launched a crowdfunding campaign to fund a book telling the story of her grandmother, the first woman to be given a publican’s licence in her own name.

Awards

Final call for entries: The Beer Marketing Awards

05-Apr-2016 By PMA

Following the success in its inaugural year, the Beer Marketing Awards has returned for 2016. The deadline for entries is 11 April, so if you have been involved in innovative and effective marketing ideas and campaigns from the UK’s brewing industry,...

Best April Fool's Day jokes from the pub industry

01-Apr-2016 By Emily Sutherland

Summer favourite Pimms announced a major new sponsorship with iconic London landmark Big Ben.

Beer

Meantime reveals five-strong seasonal beer offer

21-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

The Meantime Brewing Company has revealed its five-strong seasonal beer offering for the year ahead, including brews for summer, autumn and winter.

Sport

Creating a winning team when it comes to showing sport

15-Mar-2016 By BT Sport

Having a team that’s enthusiastic and able to engage with customers about sport will help make your pub a winning venue. Here are some tips for building a strong team and boosting sales.

Diageo: tap into £100m opportunity by pairing cocktails with food

14-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Food-led pubs can cash in on an untapped £100m spirits opportunity by pairing cocktails with dishes, and stand out in an increasingly competitive casual-dining space, drinks giant Diageo has suggested after new research.

Menu ideas

Wetherspoon’s ‘vegan menu’ praised by PETA

10-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

JD Wetherspoon's (JDW) decision to highlight vegetarian and vegan dishes on a separate menu in each of its 900+ sites has been praised by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

News analysis

Is this the end of the Sunday roast?

07-Mar-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

The decision by managed pub chain giant JD Wetherspoon to axe the Sunday roast has sent shock waves through the trade. Nicholas Robinson finds out if the reverberations will hit other pubs too