Star Pubs & Bars is investing £240,000 in its biggest-ever package of free events support in 2024 to help licensees give people more reasons to visit pubs during the cost of living crisis.
Research from Star shows that, despite having less disposable income, consumers have an appetite to enjoy key occasions in pubs over the year ahead. Nearly a quarter are likely to visit a pub for St Patrick’s Day, whilst seven out of ten are seriously considering going out for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and the Easter weekend*. For the first time, Star is providing promotional kits for these events and for Father’s Day, on top of packs for international rugby and football tournaments and Halloween. It is also offering multi-sport kits that licensees can use to increase visibility of the full range of sports screened and establish their pub as the ‘place to watch sport’ in advance of major sporting events in 2024.
Explains Cathy Olver, Star Pubs & Bars’ Retail Director: “People want to treat themselves and, with less money to spare, are looking for an excuse to do so. They are seeking out memorable experiences to get value from their spend and are increasingly planning their socialising rather than being spontaneous. Calendar events are a great way for pubs to tap into these trends and boost sales, and our free promotional support has been created to maximise the opportunities.”
The kits are designed to drive bookings in advance and, where possible, extend events over several days. St Patrick’s Day point-of-sale promotes the whole weekend, whilst Valentine’s materials encourage people to ‘love your local this February’ in addition to visiting on the day.
Star’s events support launches this month. To aid their 2024 planning, licensees can reserve all the kits they want in January for the whole year’s events. Star has surveyed licensees to identify the retailing items they prefer. The packs include: point-of-sale materials such as posters, bunting and Instagrammable selfie frames; QR codes linking to downloadable digital assets; suggestions for activities; insights and sales data on food and drink stocking from Star’s Just Add Talent managed operator pubs.