Punch Taverns is busy getting ready for the craic that is St Patrick’s Day, with a host of promotions available to retailers in its leased and managed pub estates.

Leased pubs will be receiving a marketing support brochure called Celebrate St Patrick’s Weekend.

As the name suggests, the idea is to encourage retailers to extend their St Patrick’s celebrations from Friday 16th through to Sunday 18th March.

Punch’s category manager Stephen Martin said: “The ideas and promotional kits available in the brochure are designed to stimulate interest in pubs throughout St Patrick’s weekend.

“Millions of people will be looking to party and enjoy the craic and the local pub is the perfect place to be.”

Brochure content includes several deals with brand owners Bushmills Irish Whiskey, Jameson, Baileys, Murphy’s and Guinness.  Many feature free point of sale material giveaways in exchange for bulk purchases and are available on a first come, first served basis.

Retailers can also buy a themed pub decoration kit for a very competitive £31.50 plus VAT and claim their copy of a free Irish themed quiz complete with question and answer sheets via the Punch Promotional Service.

Also look out for Irish themed recipes and guidance on applying for a temporary event notice.

Stephen Martin’s top tips on how to make the most of this year’s St Patrick’s weekend:

• Use external banners, chalkboards, posters and A-boards in the build up to the weekend to let customers know you’re celebrating and will have some great offers available for them
• Go green!  Decorate the interior of your pub with themed bunting and posters.  Use green light bulbs, green table cloths and encourage staff to dress in green
• Add some Irish dishes to your regular menu or specials board
• Stage a St Patrick’s Day quiz or run a prize draw with Irish themed prizes.  Try holding a fun karaoke night with renditions of all your favourite Irish tunes
• Cross promote St Patrick’s with other key calendar events that weekend, for example Red Nose Day (16th), the Six Nations Rugby, including Italy versus Ireland (17th) and Mother’s Day (18th)

The Spirit Group

Spirit is the managed house division of Punch Taverns and includes around 1,400 pubs.

Senior marketing manager Kevin Hall said St Patrick’s Day was a key calendar event for the company and pubs were being encouraged to reference ‘all things Irish’ in the build up to the weekend.

He said: “There is so much happening during the week that pubs can use to build atmosphere and pull in customers.  It starts with the Cheltenham Festival on the 13th, which always attracts huge interest from Irish race goers, and continues with some great rugby matches on St Patrick’s Day itself, including Ireland in the Six Nations.

“We are encouraging our managers to capture the spirit of Ireland and the Irish in their pubs and make them fun, entertaining places to be.”

In its quality food houses, including Chef and Brewer pubs, Spirit is teaming up with Jameson to promote Irish coffees with meals. 

“With Mother’s Day falling on the Sunday, this is a great opportunity for pubs to combine two different celebrations and offer customers an extra treat after their food,” added Kevin.

A large number of managers in the Spirit estate will be using Guinness branded kits to brighten up their pubs and accessing a special company online sales-planning tool to help personalise their promotional material.

Users simply log onto the web and add their details to a range of standard Spirit Group templates.

Kevin said: “It’s ideal for informing customers of events that are specific to your pub, such as a quiz or prize draw.

“The material fits in with a look and style that is consistent across the whole Spirit Group estate and appears far more professional that a hand-written addition to an empty belly poster.”

Ends

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