AGENDA SETTER
Strength in numbers This campaign reminded me of Ester Boserup’s quote “Necessity is the mother of invention”. Never has this rung more true than for pub industry worker Stuart Mills, who found himself set to join the growing multitudes being forced out of the sector thanks to dwindling revenues, caused by a mixture of changing healthcare policy and global economics. Mills realised the strength in collective numbers and that communal action by pubs could help to slow the pace of closures, if not turn the tide, and seized the moment with his venture. Highlighting the pub’s role as a crucial staple of quintessential British life was the starting point. However the stroke of genius was added with the notion of pubs acting as collection point for parcel deliveries and keeping spare sets of house keys for locals! The problems facing pubs are symbolic of other changes in British culture, something the mid-market and quality news channels are always interested in. The business offered a practical solution and some hope to a beleaguered industry while, media-wise, the public house setting is the perfect backdrop visually and aurally for strong content – as witnessed with the variety of coverage achieved. Story PR have done a fantastic job of getting this message out – by quickly honing in on a strong hook and clear key message, they ensured a clarity and consistency of message in their coverage, but also crucially gave the media an instant quirky sound bite for time-pressed news editors and producers to pounce on.
8
Use Your Local has already achieved a very high level of awareness in the UK pub trade. It is a great initiative, backed up by a strong campaign, and there is a combination of factors behind its success. The organisation has people involved who really understand the UK pub industry, with good contacts and strong roots in the trade. Use Your Local offers something new, but at the same time taps in on a vital and almost unique feature of British pubs – that they are right at the heart of every local community, and that they can adapt to change by using the web and building new niches when it comes to providing valuable local services for their customers. Pubs have changed hugely over the past 30 years, and as they continue to change, they will need tools like the Use Your Local website to highlight the new services that they provide. The campaign also taps into the huge goodwill towards pubs among the general public, using it as an opportunity to encourage customer visits in innovative ways. All of this has been built under a very attractive website and simple brand that both pubs and their customers can easily relate to. It also provides the wider pub industry with a valuable showcase of how pubs are meeting new customer needs and adapting to a challenging economic environment. It is an absolute winner all round.
Rick Guttridge
Neil Williams
Owner and Managing Director of Smoking Gun PR
Communications Manager, British Beer & Pub Association
Rick Guttridge is the owner and managing director of Smoking Gun PR. He previously enjoyed spells in full-service agencies, was managing director at a major consumer specialist PR outfit and has led accounts for many international brands. He has also worked for companies such as Royal Mail.
03/2010
Understanding the industry
COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR
Neil Williams is the communication manager for the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), which is the leading organisation representing the UK beer and pub sector, with members accounting for 98 per cent of beer brewed in the UK, and owning more than half of Britain‘s 54,000 pubs.
to the community, and something they can connect with online via Mills’ site.
BATTLE FOR SURVIVAL Since the completion of the ‘Pint with a Parcel campaign’, useyourlocal. com has teamed up with companies as diverse as Samsung and promoteyourpub.co.uk to increase the range of services they provide, and the website now has over 1500 pubs as members. However, according to the latest figures from the BBPA, the British pub industry is still struggling. In February 2010, they announced that pub closures were running at 39 per week. While this can be seen as an improvement on last year, the association also reported that the British pub industry had suffered 24,000 job losses over 2009. Mills feels that, if pubs work with useyourlocal.com, the worrying trend of pub closures can be reduced, and perhaps even reversed: “I genuinely believe that if pubs embrace the idea of working with their particular local communities to offer a range of services that are relevant to their area, then they will succeed. Time and time again we meet fantastic pubs that are really open to feedback, willing to try out new ideas, good at making their presence felt online and doing everything from keeping people’s spare keys through to offering the parcel collection service. It’s a fantastic industry and we believe that pubs can once again become an essential part of any local community.” His campaign has given the great British pub extra tools to use in their battle for survival. How they choose to use these will define the future of the British pub industry.
Photos: private; Fernando Manoso
EXPERT OPINION