Branding in the UK public house sector: recent developments

Abstract

Marketing of public housesMarketing of UK public houses is a subject area that has gained little attention from service marketing academics. In addition, the few writers that discuss promotional aspects of the services marketing mix tend to rely on standard promotional theory (see, for example, Palmer, 1994). Those that explore the subject in a little more depth often refer to six guidelines that were put forward by George and Berry (1981) (e.g. Cowell, 1984;Lovelock, 1991). These guidelines can be regarded as a springboard into this study of Irish themed pubs.

Comparing nightclub customers’ preferences in existing and emerging markets

“…Tangible elements outside a venue can entice customers inside by reducing purchase risk (Knowles and Howley, 2000). Given that safety and security are perceived as important, especially amongst females (Schmidt and Sapsford, 1995a;Jones et al, 2003), such easily managed tangibles can include the attire of doorstaff.…”

“…However, changes in the British drinks industry in the 1990s led to an increasing ''attempt to offer customer satisfaction by improving the quality of service (y) and a serious effort to create the sort of establishments which the public want to visit'' (Pratten, 2003a). Those changes attracted significant amounts of research, focusing on aspects like structural changes within the industry (Knowles and Egan, 2002;Knowles and Howley, 2000;Lashley and Rowson, 2002;Pratten, 2003cPratten, , 2005aLovatt, 2002, 2005a;Scoffield, 2002, 2003), the role of public houses in society (Pratten, 2006a), legal issues with the hospitality industry (Pratten and Lovatt, 2005b), supply chain management (Towers and Pratten, 2003), reasons for business failures (Pratten, 2004a), issues of gender in pub management (Pratten and Lovatt, 2003), training and recruitment practices in public houses (Mutch, 2001;Pratten, 2003c;Curtis, 2002, 2003), the role of public house manager (Mutch, 2000), marketing practices of public houses (Pratten, 2006b;Schmidt and Sapsford, 1995a, b), the role of bouncers in the late-night economy (Hobbs et al, 2003), and the recent issues of smoking policies (Pratten, 2003b;McNabb and Hearns, 2005) and alcohol-related problems (Boella et al, 2006;Pratten, 2006a;Pratten and Bailey, 2005;Pratten and Greig, 2005;Pratten and Lovatt, 2005a).…”

“…Reimer and Kuehn (2005) highlight the fact that the servicescape has a much more important role in the quality perception than earlier empirical studies argued. The servicescape becomes particularly critical with the offering of intangible services to first-time customers who tend to ''rely on the tangibles associated with the service as clues or indicators of the level of quality that is available, thus reducing the feeling of buying an unknown quantity'' (Knowles and Howley, 2000). The literature also distinguishes between elements in the environment that would lead to attraction, linking these to the firm's exterior, and elements, usually in the interior space, that lead to staying on the premises (Bitner, 1992).…”

A new landlord? A study of the changing demands on the UK public house manager

“…'Many leading managed house operators will not look now at a house with less than a £9000 weekly turnover and several are looking to have an average across their estate of no less than £12,000 per week' (Mintel, 2002). The largest managed houses could have a weekly turnover of £100,000, although the average for a town or city outlet is £8500 (Knowles and Howley, 2000). Lashley and Rowson (2002) suggest that the latter figure is a little low, stating that 'the higher volume properties with sales over £10,000 per week are directly managed' and those with smaller turnover leased, tenanted or free trade.…”

Polish nightclubs and bars: Management insights into what customers really want

“…Although there are other studies into the issues under investigation in this paper, these are both "limited and scattered" (Heide/Gronhaug 2006:271). Previous authors have explored elements such as the structural changes within that industry (Knowles/Egan 2002;Knowles/Howley 2000;Pratten/Scoffield 2002;Pratten 2003a;Pratten/Scoffield 2003), smoking policies (Lambert 2006;Mykletun/Furunes 2005;Pratten 2003b), general issues relating to the servicescape (Heide/Gronhaug 2006;Jones et al 2003;Clarke et al 1998), general pub management (Pratten/Lovatt 2003), efforts to promote responsible drinking (Pratten 2007a), the policing of anti-social behaviour (Jones et al 2003;Barclay/Thayer 2000) and the implications of shifting demographics on the pub atmosphere preferred by men and women (Schmidt/Sapsford 1995a;Schmidt/Sapsford 1995b). The link between atmosphere and service quality in hospitality settings has long been recognised, but due to the limited research in this area, Heide and Gronhaug (2006:284) assert that "there is need for researchers to seize the moment and further explore the role of atmosphere in hospitality settings".…”