Spring has Sprung for Pubs

Spring is on it’s way at last and for landlords and bar staff this means some seriously busy months with plenty of events to utilise to help bring customers through the door and provide some fun after the bleak winter months. Here’s some quick tips to make it all run smoothly:

  • Preparation is the key to manage multiple events and we think it’s also worth getting a couple of your staff involved to help coordinate and come up with ideas to help you.
  • Pick the motivated enthusiastic members of staff who will enjoy being involved.
  • As ever make sure you advertise them within your premises, through local events pages, your social media pages and on your A boards.

As we have mentioned in previous blogs being part of the community for a modern day pub means being all things to all people. It’s natural that lighter evenings and the coming of Spring will bring more people out and about and it’s down to you to attract them with your offering.

 

Diary Dates

Here’s a roundup of some key dates, and some more unusual ones coming up to get you thinking about how you might celebrate them.

 

March:

 

14-17th: Cheltenham Festival. With prize money 2nd only to the Grand National this is one of the most important meetings in the racing calendar. Be sure to be showing it on your screens.

 

17th: St Patricks Day.  Falling on a Friday this year which means an extra special opportunity to celebrate all things Irish all weekend. Everyone loves a good Irish knees up so think shamrocks, Guinness, pies, and a band!

 

18th: Six Nations Final. The last chance for all participating teams to lift their World ranking as high as possible before the World Cup pool allocation draw in May. Titles, & Captaincy of their teams are also at stake here.

 

20th: 1st Day Spring. If this isn’t a reason to rejoice, we really don’t know what is! A good time to launch refreshed menus and drinks as a nod to a new season.

 

24th: March Red Nose Day. For nearly 30 years (yes how to feel old) every 2 years this charity fundraiser has raised millions of pounds for those less fortunate. There is a huge list of fundraising ideas on their website https://www.rednoseday.com/?utm_source=comicrelief&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=rndpage%20

 

26th: Mother’s Day & British Summer time begins.  An eventful Sunday for March with the clocks changing on the same day as Mothering Sunday. A good opportunity to maximise custom by organising something for the Saturday too like an Afternoon Tea.

 

 

 

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Figures from 2016 showed 64% of families planned to visit the pub on Mother’s Day (Carlsberg consumer insight report) making it a very significant date in the pub calendar.

Be sure to make your offering family friendly too.

April:

 

 

 

8th April: The Grand National. Since we were little kids and used to cut the horses names out of the paper to enjoy a family bet, the Aintree meet has been part of our lives.

Get your customers into the spirit with an old school sweepstake.

 

 

14th to the 17th April Easter Weekend: A 4 day weekend! 77% of adults plan to visit the pub over the 4 day Easter period and it has many different types of opportunity to attract customers of all ages.

Good Friday and Easter Sunday evening tend to attract a younger crowd celebrating being off work so your entertainment and offering should reflect that.

Sunday day time in our opinion should be all about families and chocolate! Easter egg hunts, nice food and family friendly activity is the order of the day.

Encourage Saturday visits by offering a few special deals as it’s always the quieter day out of them all.

 

19th April: National Amaretto Day. A slight curve ball we thought when we spotted this one!

Surely an excuse for a mention on your Facebook page and a special cocktail! It will at least make your Wednesday a little more interesting!

 

22/23rd April:  FA Cup Semi Finals. A weekend of football which may or may not still contain some of the giant killers to make things really interesting.

We all love an underdog which is why the FA cup captures our imagination so much. This is perfect territory for pie and a pint or similar to keep your customers happy, hydrated and well fed!

 

23rd April: St Georges Day. Falling on a Sunday and during the FA cup semi’s, why not celebrate all things that are Great about Britain! The weather is normally starting to get much better too so you can utilise your outside space.

 

28-30th April: Tour De Yorkshire. If you have a proportion of customers that are MAMIL’s (middle aged men in lycra) or want to attract them, the UK and Yorkshire in particular has gone cycling mad since the Tour de France.

As a Yorkshire based company we are used to seeing yellow bikes everywhere around and cyclists out and about at the weekends!

Widely televised and a good excuse for a party especially if you are in Yorkshire! Get the yellow bunting at the ready!

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You can track key dates by google and there are good calendars online including this one from Bar magazine link here http://barmagazine.co.uk/events/ to help you get organised.

 

We would love to know what dates you are celebrating and how so if you would like to feature on our blog drop us a line on guru@cellarcraft.co.uk