Pub Culture – How to Find Your Pub’s Identity
The pub culture can determine how successful a pub is going to be.
It’s incredibly important you identify your pub’s culture so you can take advantage of the benefits your venues specific culture can bring.
Pubs are one of the most preferred choices for people to meet and catch up with their friends, colleagues and loved ones.
Whether it’s a get-together with old college friends, a celebration with colleagues, or a fun Saturday date, pubs are the go-to place for many people.
The present-day pub culture is evolving at a rapid pace.
As the world is returning to normalcy after the global pandemic, people are once again looking forward to enjoying their social life and having fun at bars and pubs.
Thus, the industry is getting more competitive than ever before.
As a pub-owner, it becomes more critical for you to stay up to date with the latest industry trends and to find out your pub’s identity.
Finding your pub’s identity helps you understand your target audience and enhance your marketing efforts.
It also enables you to reinvent your pub’s culture and meet the demands of your customers.
So, let’s take a closer look at some effective and innovative ways to help you refresh your pub’s identity and establish a pub culture that reflects your core values and vision.
We are going to give you 9 effective mantras that will provide a distinctive personality to your pub.
So, let’s dive in!
Pub Culture – How to Find Your Pub’s Identity
1. Don’t just serve drinks and food, serve experiences
2. Make your business unforgettable
3. Happy hour never goes out of style
4. Sustainability for the win
5. Create your signature drink
6. Focus on the food
7. Say hello to game nights
8. Use holidays and calendar events to your advantage
9. Set the vibe with live music and open-mic events
10. Foster a sense of community
1. Don’t just serve drinks and food, serve experiences
Today, people don’t go to pubs only to have drinks and grab a quick bite.
They also look forward to having some enriching experiences too.
So, while your drinks and delicious food would still be the hero, you must take steps to provide some immersive experiences to your patrons.
There are a lot of ways to craft new experiences for your patrons and boost your pub culture.
For example, you can conduct a mixology class during off-hours and ask your patrons to participate in it.
By teaching how to mix and create different cocktails, you can make your patrons more curious about your pub.
You can also conduct a special session where you can teach them how to make healthy beverages or non-alcoholic fruity drinks.
Hosting cocktail and wine tasting events is also a great way to provide something fresh and fun to your customers.
You can create unique drinks and ask your patrons to taste and vote for them. You can then make the ‘winning drink’ a part of your main menu for some time.
If you want to attract families and kids, you can host family-friendly evenings every once in a while.
Here you can have magic shows, family games, special discounts, kids’ special menu, and treats.
Crafting extraordinary experiences for your customers will help you achieve two things.
Firstly, it will make them want to come back again. And secondly, when you provide great experiences, people will naturally talk about them.
This will help you get free publicity in the form of word-of-mouth.
2. Make your business unforgettable
If you want to make your pub culture shine brighter than your competitors’, you need to make yourself unforgettable.
You need to make your pub’s identity stand out. And a great way to do that is by designing creative souvenirs and providing them to your patrons for free.
Make sure that these souvenirs are something useful and your customers can physically use them at their homes.
These items don’t have to be anything expensive. Anything that suits your budget and is useful will get the job done.
For example, you can design cute little bottle openers with your pub’s logo and give them to your patrons.
Giving them items like a cocktail shaker with your logo, a customized beer mug, or a stylish wine knife can also be a great idea.
After all, who doesn’t like free stuff? It will make your patrons happy and your business memorable.
This exceptional marketing tactic allows you to smartly place your brand inside your customer’s homes.
So, every time a customer uses your souvenir, they will naturally remember your pub and the great time they had there.
And who knows, they might also get tempted to visit you again.
3. Happy hour never goes out of style
No matter how many new pub marketing tactics come and go, nothing can beat the good old Happy Hours!
It can breathe life into a slow night and can help you catch the attention of new customers.
People are generally hesitant to buy an expensive drink from a new pub for the first time.
However, they will happily try it out if that same drink is being sold at a cheaper rate or getting something free with it. And that’s what Happy Hours are for!
Usually, pubs offer drinks at a discounted rate during Happy Hours, but you add your own touch and make it unique.
Instead of offering the usual “Buy One Get One Free” scheme for drinks, you can provide complimentary appetizers with drinks during Happy Hours.
For example, if you are launching a new pizza, provide one slice of it with a drink.
You can also run Happy Hour Deals like “order a glass of cocktail and enjoy cheesy fries for free!”
People love free food.
So, running a special food-driven Happy Hour will work like a charm.
It will help you create a massive hype, promote your delicious appetizers, and you’ll be able to rope in many new customers too.
4. Sustainability for the win
The sustainable culture is receiving a lot of support from people today.
Modern-day individuals, especially the Millenials and Gen Z, are getting more and more conscious of the betterment of the environment.
As a result, they have a will to adopt sustainable habits and thereby positively impact nature.
What’s even more heartening is that today, people don’t shy away from spending extra money on environment-friendly products and places.
In fact, they go above and beyond to support and encourage sustainable businesses. So, this is an exceptional opportunity for you to go sustainable.
There are many creative ways to do that.
For example, you can use reusable drinkware that doesn’t need a straw.
If people still ask for straws, provide them with paper straws instead of plastic ones.
Offer more vegan food, ditch paper napkins, and use cloth ones instead.
Implementing sustainable practices is not only good for the environment, but it is suitable for your pub’s budget too.
It is cost-effective, and it helps you re-establish your pub’s identity as a “sustainable pub.”
In addition, this will be wonderful for your marketing. So, make some extra efforts, provide training to your staff, and go sustainable!
It’s going to be worth it.
5. Create your signature drink
Do you have your signature drink, one that no other pub can create and offer?
If not, then it’s time to make one that tastes heavenly and reflects your pub culture too.
Make sure to keep the recipe of your signature drink a secret and use an unconventional name for it.
This will pique the interest of your customers and help you get noticed quickly.
It is also a great idea to keep the recipe of your signature drink a secret from your staff.
Only the person who created it can make it. This will develop an aura of mystery around that drink, and people would naturally want to try it out.
Promote your signature drink on all your social media handles, create unique hashtags for it, and try to be known for it.
Being known for a drink will automatically promote your pub without you having to do anything at all.
6. Focus on the food
While drinks are indeed the most crucial element of your pub culture, you should not ignore the food and ambience.
Food is an integral part of every pub’s identity. In fact, serving food accounted for over 25% of the pub industry’s revenue in 2019 in the UK.
“That pub’s pasta is to die for!” Or “that pub down the road serves the best lasagna in town.”
Now, these are the statements every pub owner would love to hear, right?
Serving quality food is a great way to leave a long-lasting impact on your customer’s hearts.
The tastier your meals are, the more likely your customers will come back, talk to their friends about you, or rave about you online.
It’s vital to focus your food menu if you want to revamp your pub’s identity.
Create unusual dishes and let your pub be known for it. You can also design a seasonal menu or chef’s special list to boost your sales.
Whether it’s your pub’s identity, your customers’ mood, or the taste of your drinks, good food makes everything better!
So, don’t wait to work on your food menu and offer scrumptious meals to your patrons.
Also, make sure to launch some new snacks occasionally, to make your customers come back over and over again.
7. Say hello to game nights
Pubs are no longer the places where people just went to grab a couple of drinks.
Today, people go to pubs to hang out with their friends, socialize with others, and have a great time in general.
And what better way to hang out and have fun than playing a game or two while drinking delicious cocktails?
And when we say games, we are not talking about the traditional game of pool that most pubs and bars have.
Don’t get us wrong, people love playing pool, and there’s nothing wrong with having a pool table in your pub.
But since we are talking about enhancing your pub culture, you should offer something more to your patrons.
You can host game nights during weekends to bring in more crowds and make things fun.
After all, there can’t be a better way to end a Saturday than having beers and playing fun pub games, right?
Hosting games like Beer Pong, Jenga, Pub Roulette are great ways to engage customers and increase your drinks sales.
You can even have a special game night dedicated to couples where you can serve alcohol and host couple-focused games.
Offer some small prizes and goodies to make it more exciting and competitive.
Doing something new and special occasionally is an excellent way to create a buzz.
It helps you get noticed by new customers and keep your regular ones happy.
8. Use holidays and calendar events to your advantage
Bars, restaurants, and pubs usually receive huge crowds on festivals, holidays, and calendar events.
So, it can be a great way to attract more customers and promote your pub’s culture.
First, look at the calendar and take note of every big and small upcoming event. Then customize your menu to celebrate that event with your patrons.
For example, you can offer special discounts to all your female patrons on Women’s Day.
Also, offer pink-coloured drinks for Breast Cancer Awareness month or honour Pride month by adding rainbow-coloured appetizers to the menu.
Similarly, you can celebrate Christmas by providing a complimentary glass of mulled wine to all your customers.
9. Set the vibe with live music and open-mic events
Good food, drinks, and music go hand-in-hand.
So, if music is not a part of your pub culture, then you are missing out on something huge!
You must be wondering, “every other pub plays music, what’s different in that?”
Well, you are right, but not entirely.
While most post pubs do play music, the kind of music you play in your pub sets you apart from the rest.
It gives your pub a distinctive identity and voice.
Invite your local band to perform at your pub during weekends or special occasions.
You can also give a shot to live karaoke nights. People love it!
To take the fun a notch higher, host open-mic events where any of your patrons who want to sing can come on stage and give it a try.
Musical events are viral amongst pub-goers, and they bring in huge crowds. So, why wait?
Host a good musical night and help your patrons unwind after a long day.
10. Foster a sense of community
A pub is more than just a place to drink and eat; it’s a community hub. Encourage patrons to return by fostering a sense of belonging.
Organize local events like trivia nights, charity fundraisers, or neighborhood watch meetings.
Create a welcoming atmosphere where people feel comfortable socializing and forming connections.
Consider starting a loyalty program to reward repeat customers and show your appreciation for their support.
Summing up
The pub industry is evolving quickly. And it’s essential to keep pace with it to thrive and be successful.
Embracing the new elements and strategically incorporating them into your pub culture can do wonders for your business.
Apart from the tips mentioned above, you can set up social media accounts, revamp your ambience, and host themed nights to set your pub apart from your competitors.
