Following unprecedented demand for its Six Nations 2024 Championship rugby materials, Star Pubs is investing over £60,000 in its biggest ever package of free support incorporating 1,400 promotional kits, staff training and a digital game to help licensees enhance the customer experience.
The kits will include large inflatable rugby balls, Championship and fixtures posters, a fixtures flip chart, bunting and stickers and will be backed up with guides to creating a great environment for customers. With many staff uncertain about the rules of rugby, the guides will contain key facts on the Six Nations plus an explanation of rugby union rules to enable licensees to upskill their teams so that they can engage more with fans.
A fun interactive digital rugby game will provide an element of competitive socialising. Pubs will have the option to run a leaderboard with a weekly top performer, or to offer groups of friends the chance to run challenges between themselves.
Social media assets will be provided to raise awareness of the games. To capitalise on the increased number of sports enthusiasts in their pubs for the Six Nations, licensees will also be offered multi-sport point-of-sale to further build their reputation for screening live sports.
Says Cathy Olver, Star Pubs Retail Director:
“Star Pubs retail kits and social media support helped our pubs to outperform the market in 2024. Our research shows that point of sale and marketing made a real difference to the bottom line, with those pubs using it benefitting by as much as £1,300.”
“With competition for consumer spend focussed on key events, creating the right environment and atmosphere for live sports is a priority. In the end, it’s people who create that all-important buzz and establish a pub as the go-to destination for sports. To this end, we’re widening our support to incorporate training and competitive socialising that will make the tournament more fun for customers and staff as well as encourage return visits.”
