Review
Thirsty
work
Alex Booth, commercial
manager of The Pub Show,
reflects on the show’s first
full cycle with the Fresh
Montgomery team at the helm
How has the show evolved in the past
five years?
The Pub Show was launched at the
perfect time; the on-trade’s obstacles
and issues were growing and needed
solutions and PUB15 brought together an
abundance of pioneering organisations
and associations with the common goal
of helping the great British pub prosper.
The success of the launch created the
foundation for future editions, and here
we are five years down the line with a
bigger show, but ultimately the same goal;
to encourage more and more pubs to stay
informed, stay profitable, and stay ahead.
What audience does the show serve?
At PUB19 we welcomed 4,555 publicans
from independents and groups around
the UK, in part because we know that
if you have purchasing authority in
your business the show will be nothing
short of invaluable. It’s a once-a-year
opportunity to speak with a whole host
of suppliers and influential industry
characters. Our talks and workshops are
thoughtfully curated and free to attend,
and the buzz through the halls tells
you it’s everyone’s favourite industry
networking event.
What makes the pub industry unique?
Like most people in the UK, I grew up
in an area where the pub was the core
of the community. There is so much
appeal; the history, the atmosphere, the
stories. Everyone on the PUB team really
embraces working in this industry and
we feel lucky to have the opportunity to
help shape such a convivial industry that
is seeping in tradition. We engineered a
carefully selected advisory board early
last year, and it’s clear from hearing the
way they spoke to each other about their
businesses, and the industry itself, it’s a
special community to be a part of and I
think everyone is proud of that.
Can you tell us about the PUB Trends
Report?
Anyone in this industry will tell you
that we are going through a rapid state
of change, and keeping up with what
the discerning customer wants can be
daunting and easy to underestimate, but
essentially, this is what drives profits.
The PUB Trends Report is our first
ever consumer research piece, where
we worked on in collaboration with
Fever-Tree to determine what customers
wanted from their pub experience. It’s a
very interesting read because it doesn’t
quite match up with media reports, it
was a real hit at the event too as you can
imagine; publicans were so appreciative
of unbiased and vital data presented to
them without feeling overwhelmed.
What was new for 2019?
Plenty! Thirsty Business was our
dedicated drinks hall introduced as a
result of demand from our publican
audience for even more drinks content
at the show. We also had The Trends Bar
positioned within the Thirsty Business
area – bringing together key consumer
and commercial trends with the most
forward-thinking solutions to present a
view into the future of business success.
It’s a fun industry, so we introduced
the Games Room as a brand new feature
concept; combining entertainment and
networking, visitors were able to indulge
in modern and retro video games.
Most importantly, this was our first full
cycle that the event was put together here
at Fresh Montgomery. The success we
had, records broken, and clear potential
for future growth and development is
undeniably down to the team who have
put this all together.
What were some highlight from the
show?
Every year The Pub Show gets bigger
and better, and this year was no different.
We welcomed over 4,500 visitors through
the door – a record number for us!
This included industry celebrities:
Tim Martin, the controversial character
behind the Wetherspoons bar chain gave
a talk and ITV’s The Dark Destroyer
came down with pub quiz brand Weekly
Quiz to go head-to-head with some of our
publicans. EN
April — 29