Punch Partners are getting prepared for the World Cup success with over 700 pubs booked onto the Punch Best in Sport Workshops, which are currently taking place throughout the UK.
The 47 workshops kicked off in Leyland, Lancashire in March where they will finish in Redruth, Cornwall on 22nd May. The workshops in Scotland will also prepare our pubs for the commonwealth games.
The Best in Sport workshops, like other Punch ‘Best in Class’ workshops, are regionalised and are free to Punch Partners. Pubs who attend receive £80 worth of support on the day, including a point of sale pack worth £30.
The workshops are delivered by the Punch Progress regional trainers and cover topics including advertising, promotions, merchandising, drinks and food, responsible retailing and training.
Daniel Armes, Learning and Development Manager explained how the workshops formed the first part of a two-staged preparation strategy: “Data shows that the majority of the UK’s spectators tend to watch the World Cup in their local and we wanted to make sure that Punch pubs are getting ahead.
“The Best in Sport workshops have been scheduled specifically in the lead up to the World Cup to share best practice amongst other Partners and generate ideas so our pubs can get ahead and compete with other pubs. It also reminds our Partners of the diverse support available to our Partners.
“The workshops are a precursor to the second phase where our Partners will execute the ideas they have learnt and put these into action and some of Partners have got some great ideas to ensure their pub is the place to be to catch the games.”
Mike and Tracey Kingston, who run the Fountain in Lichfield and attended the workshop in April, said: “We have been running pubs for the last six years and found the World Cup to be a huge opportunity for us in 2010. We were prepared but we cannot solely rely on what worked well four years ago and we are firm believers that you can also gain new ideas,” said Tracey.
“This is our second pub and our first with Punch and this workshop jumped out at us straight away. We have been really impressed with the Punch training so far and found this workshop really beneficial to my business,” Mike added.
“We have already ordered our POS and started to decorate the pub but it has given us some new ideas, such as offering exclusive seating areas and serving hand-held food, which we are looking to implement.”
Punch also provides Partners with support through the Punch Sports Club, which has been running on the Punch Buying Club website since December and already has 530 registered members who have exclusive access to supplier support and entry into prize draws.
“Our Sports Club involves like-minded Partners discussing best practice together to drive value for their pub businesses. This club is open all-year round and we are seeing increasing interest in the lead up to the World Cup,” Daniel continued.
“The workshops and sports club is part of the training and marketing support packages we offer to our Partners to help them maximise their potential and take advantage of one of the biggest events in sporting calendar.
“The workshops have proved really popular – with many of the sessions fully booked in advance – and with only several weeks from the start of the tournament we are confident our pubs are ready for the kick-off.”
Punch is a leading pub company in the UK with approximately 4,000 leased and tenanted pubs nationwide.