Punch Taverns has reviewed and re-launched its retailer reward and recognition scheme for 2005, the Shine awards.

Three pubs will now be shortlisted from each of the pubco’s 16 trading regions in one of four Shine awards categories – that’s 192 licensees in with a chance of scooping a trophy.

There are awards for Best Food Experience, Drinks Experience, Community Experience and Customer Experience.  The customer category is being exclusively judged by experts from the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII). 

Judges will also pick one overall champion per region and invite them to compete in a national final.  Punch’s ultimate Shine winner will be chosen in a telephone vote and each finalist can nominate a preferred charity to receive a share of the proceeds.

Punch’s head of communications Nicola Highton said: “We’ve taken feedback from previous years and developed Shine into the kind of awards scheme our retailers really want.

“More people will have a chance to experience the thrills of an awards presentation ceremony and gain some much deserved recognition for their continued hard work.”

Other changes include the judging process.  All nominated pubs will receive a mystery customer visit, the results of which will be fed back to retailers via their business relationship manager (BRM).

And the grand final will have an exciting new feel having been moved away from London to the highly prestigious Stirling Castle in Perthshire, Scotland.

Previous Shine champions are urging their fellow licensees to get involved with the scheme.

Alison Smith from Bar One Nine in Keynsham, Bristol, said: “Winning an award was hugely beneficial to our business.  We received positive PR and have added the strap line ‘award winning café bar’ to our marketing material.  We will definitely be back to defend our title.”

Graham Rowson, who runs the Plungington Tavern in Plungington, Preston, said: “The recognition we received through the Shine awards has put our pub firmly on the map – both locally through good publicity and within Punch through exposure to senior management right up to Giles Thorley himself.”

All 8,200 Punch retailers are eligible to enter the Shine awards and must arrange for a colleague, customer or BRM to nominate them before 30 September.  This year’s champion will win £1,000 and a dream holiday to the luxurious Sun City resort in South Africa.

For further information please contact Nick Trueman, Seal Communications on 0121 200 0780.

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