Aspects of licensing

Aspects of licensing
By John Hicks

As I travel the country, visiting venues and meeting operators in the field, I detect an increasing concern about licensing issues.

These range from technicalities such as how a juke box is classed in the music section of licenses (and what happens if you then convert it to a karaoke machine when you suddenly add a “live music” element) to the threat of imposition of plastic glasses in town/city centre venues.

Over the years, I feel that we have gone from the heavy “get down on your knees” approach of the 80’s, when we spent many tense hours sat outside the Magistrate’s Court, through the more relaxed 90’s and then the current heavy-handed licensing officer approach.

You need to look at each individual venue’s issues when they arise, but are there some general pointers which might help operators? A couple of things spring to mind.

Firstly, think about your neighbours. I remember at club at Salisbury where we faced an elderly persons’ home where complaints about late night noise, not always emanating from our venue, regularly attracted the attention of the Council and Licensing Inspector. Over a period of a couple of months, we regularly invited residents and wardens into the club for afternoon tea and a Christmas Party. We ended up with good rapport and, whilst they still had grumbles, they brought them to us and we could smooth them out.

In the context of today’s no-smoking situation, where venues can upset local residents through the music noise escaping, litter and chatter of the smokers outside, building relations with your neighbours is back on the agenda. Is this issue is one for you, give it some thought and add it to your overall public and media relations planning.

Secondly, try and keep on the good side of the licensing officers at the Council and Police. I always encourage DPS’s to attend Pubwatch meetings and “play the game” by enforcing local bans on troublemakers. When the Council hold meetings for licence holders, try and get there and do remember to sign the attendance register as there is little worse than sitting through a boring hour-long meeting and your name doesn‘t appear on the list of attendees! Review your CCTV every few months with managers and your head supervisor. Ensure that you regularly review your complaints/incident books and obtain good media coverage for your charity work.

I was also going to add that you should ensure that your door staff are properly licensed and that your duty manager checks on every shift that they have signed in a register of attendance and are displaying their badge. But, of course, you do that anyway.

As a last resort, talk to your peers at local venues to get to know which Solicitor has sound experience of licensing issues!

And, please don’t forget that the week-long dedicated venue Mentoring Scheme from Nightclub Marketing (www.nightclub marketing.co.uk) encompasses much of what is discussed here.

Selling premium drinks in your bar or club

Extending the premium drinks range - the answer to our prayers?

By John Hicks of Headline Promotions
http://www.headlinepromotions.co.uk/




I do not know if you are experiencing this as well but several operators have told me that the drinks wholesaler and manufacturer representatives are pushing premium brands as a way of helping to beat the current “credit crunch”.

Premium brands are being represented as one way to increase profit margins and, by increasing customer choice, raising footfall and keeping them in the venue longer.

As I write this article, I have BBC News 24 in the background with the Chief Executive of M&S talking about keeping most customers through maintaining quality and price. He accepts that many cash-strapped customers are turning to Lidl and Aldi but he is hanging on to his wealthier younger and older customer base.

I suspect there is a lesson here for us. Let’s keep our standard brands and house special offers well displayed but have premium brands on the back bar, equally well publicised, with a price differential (and margins) which reflect their brand equity.

I say back bar because part of the premium brand customer experience is about the theatre of a more personal service, great POS, special service (using ice, lemon, lime, long glasses, umbrellas or whatever it takes to make that drink special - even cherries if you must!). That isn’t to say that you have to go down the cocktail route but even that is an option if you can ensure staff training will enable you to deliver consistent standards.

Before you launch your premium brands, do listen to the customers to see what particular products they wish to see you stock. I would even consider a simple questionnaire - with the hook of an invitation to a launch party (maybe sponsored by the drinks supplier) when you introduce the new ranges. In this way, you can reasonably ask for their contact details for your database (oh, I do like that!).

When you launch them, ask your supplier about staff training opportunities, incentives and sampling support. Irrespective of that support, do hold a training session with your staff anyway. Not only is it good for morale but you can enthuse your people to up sell and raise their standards. Get them to think about how they can promote the new products, generate high impact displays and understand the products.

The launch is a chance for you to hold a party night in your venue to raise footfall, raise awareness and demonstrate to your suppliers that you are serious (especially important if they give you good support). Maintain customer awareness through good POS and promotions in your newsletters or advertising.

Finally, please do not forget to review your offering every few month’s to ensure that the objectives are being met. Look out for supplier special promotions and incentives but don’t get carried away with them!

Christmas is coming, this maybe just the time to do something special!







Photo courtesy of Global Brands Limited who have recently announced the launch of a specialist Premium Drinks division.

Government Christmas 2008 drinks campaign

The Government has abandoned plans for a centrally-led Christmas alcohol crackdown for 2008 targeting sales to under-18s and drunks.

Instead, local councils and police are to target priorities in their area, with the focus not necessarily on the trade. Grants of up to £30,000 are available per police force, with the Home Office investing £1.5m overall.

The Home Office says bids may 'build on' previous ones involving Government-led crackdowns on sales to minors and people who are drunk. I guess this means that we have not seen the end of “sting” operations cracking down on under-age drinking or sale to those who have had enough already!

And in a new move, bids for funding to cracking down on proxy sales of alcohol are being invited to support local problem-solving projects, which can address local priorities that stem from alcohol-related issues. Hopefully, this will also target the off-trade as well as licensed premises.

Successful bids must address one or more of the Government¹s three-part "delivery strategy" for reducing alcohol-related harm. The first part targets rogue alcohol retailers. This could mean action against sales to under-18s and drunks, and other issues such as disorder and flouting licence conditions.

The other parts focus on supporting and acting against heavy drinkers who cause problems, and actively promoting responsible drinking in the wider community.

So, as operators focus on promoting events and activities over the festive season, a key element will be refreshing their staff training on controlling the door, identifying under age drinkers and managing guests who have consumed enough alcohol at any point during the trading session.

National Minimum Wage

Avoid the pitfalls of underpaying your staff

by John Hicks of Nightclub Marketing.co.uk

Approximately one million workers benefitted when the national minimum wage (NMW) increased to £5.73 per hour on Wednesday 1 October – but the legal penalties for employers who fail to pay the correct wage rate are serious.

So, I suggest that you quickly double-check your next payroll run to make sure everything is in order.

The 3.8 per cent increase in the NMW (from £5.52 to £5.73) will be the ninth increase since it was introduced in April 1998. Over the last nine and a half years, the NMW has increased by 59.2 per cent, compared to a 44.2 per cent growth in average earnings.

If you have any queries on the rate, your local Business Link is a good first contact.

Binge drinking claim refuted!

British pubs, bars and nightclubs are allegedly "actively encouraging drunkenness", says a UK Government report into binge drinking.

It condemns licensees for promoting cut-price offers and serving people that are "already drunk".

The critical report questions the role pub, bars and nightclub in binge drinking and why they continue to serve people who are either drunk or underage.

The Home Office commissioned gravy train specialists, consultants KPMG, to write the report, A Review of the Social Responsibility Standards for the Production and Sale of Alcoholic Drinks, in February.

It was due to be published in May but it is understood to have been delayed because it raises the question whether deregulation has fuelled underage and binge drinking.

A team of researchers visited nearly 600 pubs, bars, nightclubs, off-licences and supermarkets in England over a five-day period. The locations visited included Coventry, Hackney, Harrogate, Manchester, and Swindon.

All inclusive admission and drinks offers have largely been stamped out by Licensing Officers and common sense and "happy hours" are mainly confined to small pubs now.

Service of people already drunk is already an issue monitored very closely by bar managers and door staff - with strict legal penalties if a bar tender is caught. Customers buying drink for other people who are drunk is more of a practical problem and there is no easy way round that one. But for the report to rely upon amateur anecdotal evidence from survey staff, sorry I meant "
consultants", is extremely irritating!

Wait for it folks! The most amazing bit is that the report also adds that most supermarkets are complying more fully with the industry standards, by displaying signs encouraging sensible drinking. Nonsense! I have never seen such cheap booze offers as supermarkets are currently running. Even my local corner shop was offering 2-4-1 on cider recently. I had a party at home recently and it was cheaper to buy from Tesco than it was from my trade cash & carry wholesalers.

The increasing "nanny state" tendencies of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government knows no limit but when it relies upon consultants who take huge chunks of public money to tell the government what it wants to hear then its low credibility rating sinks further into the mire!

PLEASE REDIRECT TO OUR NEW WEBSITE

This blog was the original foundation of the Nightclub Marketing resource service, now visited by up to a thousand people a week.

To improve our service, we launched our new-look website in July 2008 and we would love to see you there at

www.nightclubmarketing.co.uk

sponsored by luxury lingerie on-line retailer

SUNSET LINGERIE

www.sunsetlingerie.co.uk

whose nightclub and bar celebrity launch parties are legendary!

Nightclub Marketing is a resource from Headline Promotions, Press & Public Relations

http://www.headlinepromotions.co.uk/

Nightclub marketing and promotions get helping hand

PRESS RELEASE
26th June 2008
Basingstoke, England

Nightclub marketing and promotions get helping hand

Nightclubs, late night bars and restaurants, cue sports bars and live music venues are all facing a difficult time as the UK economy falters.

Basingstoke Public Relations consultant, John Hicks of Headline Promotions, Press & PR (http://www.headlinepromotions.co.uk/), deals with this particular sector and is confident that effective marketing and promotions will enable them to keep their head above water until times get better.

Back in 1969, John established an on-line resource site for owners, operators and managers in the hospitality and entertainment industry. This offers advice and information about all aspects of the business sector, from marketing through to the use of celebrities for special events.

John’s background is that he has worked in public relations, marketing and promotions for many years, across many sectors. He specialises, however, in the leisure, internet radio broadcasting, hospitality and entertainment sectors.

He formerly operated a busy 750 capacity 24/7 snooker and pool hall, Chinese restaurant, sports bars and live music venue in the south of England - in addition to previously being a national promotions manager for a division of Europe's leading late night venue operator and a promotions manager for a global drinks manufacturer.

Now, John has re-launched the Nightclub Marketing website with a new-look design, in the format of a book with chapters on specific topics including new developments such as “running your own radio station”.

The re-launch coincides with the introduction of his new Mentoring Scheme.

The mentoring programme, allows for a venue management team to have in-depth support from John for a week. During that time, they will work together to devise a SWOT and competitor analysis, a marketing and PR programme, training needs analysis and a customer relations strategy.

After the week, John will remain available for telephone support for a period year for the management team. This transfer of knowledge will enable the team to manage their own destiny and help prepare newer staff for future management roles.

Of course, effective marketing and promotions will not ensure business success on their own. They have to accompany high standards of customer care and service. The new website and John’s unique mentoring service will give them the edge however.

Further details can be found on John’s re-launched website http://www.nightclubmarketing.co.uk/

ENDS


Further information can be obtained from:
John Hicks
Headline Promotions, Press & Public Relations
Basingstoke, England
john@headlinepromotions.co.uk
Mobile: 07771 575 654

You can read John’s occasional blog at: http://www.headlinepromotions.blogspot.com/


John has worked in public relations, marketing and promotions for many years, across many sectors. He specialises, however, in the leisure, local radio broadcasting, manufacturing and entertainment sectors. He formerly operated a busy 750 capacity 24/7 snooker and pool hall, Chinese restaurant, sports bars and live music venue in the south of England - in addition to previously being a national promotions manager for a division of Europe's leading late night venue operator and promotions manager for a global drinks manufacturer.
John also writes for several UK and US newspapers and blog sites as well as having contributed to a number of published works. He has also acted as an occasional advisor to City funds and investment banks with interests in the UK leisure sector.
His principal business is Managing Director of Headline Promotions, Press & PR but he is also heavily involved in internet radio, a performer management agency and leisure property development. Not much time then for his passion for live music!


Keywords: nightclub marketing, late night bars promotion, John Hicks, advertising restaurants, promoting cue sports clubs and live music venues, internet radio stations, mentoring for nightclub managers, Headline Promotions

This press release has been distributed by the Press Release Writing Service

Distributed globally on Press Exposure - view here