Ei Publican Partnerships, the UK's leading leased and tenanted pub business, has launched a pub awareness initiative - National Pub Fortnight - a two-week celebration, taking place between 22 July and 6 August.
The initiative is designed to highlight and encourage consumer interest in Great British pubs, after VisitEngland's Day Visits Survey 2015 revealed that having a drink in a pub, club or hotel ranked third on the most popular activities undertaken by UK residents.
With support from third party suppliers, and a new how-to guide created specifically for the initiative, Ei Publican Partnerships is encouraging publicans to run their own events including beer festivals, music events, family fun days and BBQ's, not only during the fortnight but throughout the summer.
Pubs taking part in National Pub Fortnight will be further supported with engaging point-of sale materials, including banners, bunting and digital assets, to help create a buzz among existing consumers, as well as driving footfall among new customers. Ei Publican Partnerships will also provide a Facebook promotion for the duration of the two weeks, targeting customers in the participating pub areas.
To help generate awareness, Ei Publican Partnerships has partnered with Heineken UK. During the fortnight, participating pubs will provide 15,000 free pints of leading Heineken UK brands including Heineken, Fosters, John Smiths, Kronenbourg 1664 and Strongbow.
Recent research from VisitEngland into consumer habits among millennials revealed that 49% of global Gen Y consumers 'love any excuse for a celebration' and 46% often make leisure plans at the last minute. With these insights in mind, Ei Publican Partnerships has developed a National Pub Fortnight app to support the campaign, through which the first 15,000 consumers will have access to an e-voucher to claim their free pint, alongside a list of up to 1,000 participating pubs where it can be redeemed.
The campaign and app will be promoted via local press and radio activity across the UK, as well as through partners' social media channels, and in participating pubs.
Group Services Director at Ei Group plc, James Armitage, said, 'As the leading pub company in the UK, we are truly passionate about pubs and very well placed to lead this initiative which will see consumers across the UK celebrating their locals.
'We are confident the campaign will benefit many more pubs than the 1,000 taking part in the free pint promotion.'
Brigid Simmonds, Chief Executive at the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), added, 'National Pub Fortnight is great new way to celebrate the Great British Pub this summer, and we all need to support our locals. I hope pub-goers will get behind this initiative and make the most of the great promotions.'
