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By Matt Furnell, 15/03/2010 5:54 pm

The Swan, Bradwell, are inviting SWAGs (Sassy, Wise and Grown Up) to join them for an evening of Bubbles and Beauty!  Having already run a successful pilot event, Greene King Licensee, Aimee Winsbury-Cutts is rolling out the pamper evenings to her current and prospective female customers.   The events, taking place on Wednesday 31st March and Wednesday 26^th May, aim to give ladies an opportunity to take some well deserved ‘time out’ away from the hectic pressures of day to day life.

Aimee says, “I recently attended a Greene King ladies day where I had the luxury to think about me, my business and my lifestyle.  I also got to enjoy a glass of bubbly and have a hand massage!  I was inspired to organise a similar event for the ladies in our area offering them a place to meet friends and make new ones and to take some time to have a treatment and maybe purchase something luxurious for themselves”.

Tickets include a glass of sparkling wine on arrival, canapés that are mini versions of The Swan’s menu dishes and the choice of an eyebrow shape or a mini manicure! Guests are also able to enjoy further treatments by local beauticians, and have the opportunity to purchase handbags, beauty products and lingerie on the night! 

Aimee, who also runs The Dolphin, Stisted, goes on to say, “We are thrilled to offer this evening to our female customers who lead very busy lives and deserve an evening of indulgence!”

Speaking about the Greene King pub, regional manager for Greene King, Chris Cocker said, “Aimee is extremely customer focused and always tailors her events around her customers.  Her enthusiasm for bringing new concepts to her two pubs is outstanding. Her customers are in for a real treat!”

Ends

Pub Contact:

Aimee Winsbury-Cutts

Tel: 07525488595

Press Contact:

Elaine Beckett, Public Relations Manager, Greene King Pub Partners,

Tel: 07974 132844

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By Matt Furnell, 28/01/2010 3:49 pm

Greene King Pub Partners has launched a new consumer attracting campaign “SWAGs” with the help of their female licensees to encourage more pubs to attract the Sassy, Wise and Grown Up, 35+ female market.  A group with cash to spend and according to research conducted by retailers, John Lewis, a passion for “me time”. 

Speaking about the initiative, director of recruitment and training for Pub Partners, Caroline Hollings said, “We’re trying to get pubs to really get behind offering the right things for these women.  Pubs often fail to accommodate women eating and drinking alone or out with other female friends. Typically pubs generally target mainly men, under 25’s and families and we need to redress the balance”.

Pub Partners asked fifty of their female licensees, at a recent Public Housewives away day, to assess what they offer at their pubs for the SWAG market and then got them to consider how they could attract these women away from the usual places they visit.  They were given advice on how to communicate with this key target audience with practical social media tips to help them achieve this.

Adding, Hollings said, “Our ladies really went to town, after all they should know what women want.  They’ll be introducing much larger wine glasses, glossy magazines, more flowers and toiletries alongside different menu options, drink and quality coffee offers and the facebook fan pages have really taken off.  It’s not rocket science but pubs really need to look at themselves with fresh eyes and see where they can tap into this very lucrative market”.

Greene King Pub Partners is communicating on a monthly basis to its “Public Housewives” in the leased and tenanted estate to help increase SWAGs in their pubs highlighting the ideas and best initiatives by the pubs involved in the campaign.

Trish McManus, licensee of the Hare Arms in Stow Bardolph set up a fan page for the pub on facebook and gained over 100 fans in the first week.  “I hadn’t realised how easy social networking was and it’s revolutionised the way I now market my pub and the events we hold, 61% of my fans are women so this really is the way to talk to them”.

Initial research of 1,000 women aged 35 to 45 conducted by High Street retailers John Lewis, identified the SWAG group as those most likely to spend time with their children and enjoy “me time” ahead of time with their partner.  The research found the group have experienced life and spend more on quality leisure time than that of other age groups.

ENDS

Press Contact: Elaine Beckett, Public Relations manager, Greene King Pub  Partners, Tel: 07974 132844

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By admin, 30/09/2009 4:23 pm

I read recently that there’s a new breed of women set to turn us on our tails. SWAGS — Sassy, Wise and Grown Up — representing the 35 to 45 age, really settled and happy in their lifestyle and, as such, knowing exactly what they want.

So to the best bit of consumer research I’d ever asked to be undertaken.  Greene King Pub Partners PR Manager, my PA, our Recruitment and Training Manager and many more of Greene King’s own SWAGS were only too eager to give some honest feedback on what they were looking for.

Large elegant wine glasses and good wine at a reasonable price topped the asks, along with clean toilets with toilet paper!  Unsurprisingly light flavoursome salads were orders of the day along with calorific chocolate covered desserts – two extremes for the SWAGS.  Good coffee was an absolute necessity and why couldn’t they have the weekly glossy magazines as well as the daily papers on offer to read in pubs?

From this very informal research I wonder if our industry is meeting the needs of these women.  Maybe, as according to the research they were the most content of their sex and don’t need more but in all honesty – are we missing a trick?  So the team at Greene King underwent a small experiment, could a pub visit make these ladies even happier with their lot?

Greene King’s own SWAGS got the chance to see, along with their friends who weren’t in on the bit of research.  A visit to one of our very own pub sites near Bury St Edmunds, each SWAG was asked when ordering:

Did they want their drink served in a larger than life glass or a standard wine glass – 100% said yes to the larger glass.

When ordering wine, all wines were shown as the same price and all the women ordered by taste and grape choosing one of the more expensive – these women know their wine and what they like, so quality appears to be key.

 How many picked up the glossy magazines innocently strewn around – every party had a look and the subsequent conversation flowed within the groups.

 And after their visit to the ladies which had the added luxuries solely required by the female market e.g. perfume, hand cream and tissues as well as toilet roll!  Every party commented on the extras and standards!

So in conclusion, our own research showed pubs can make SWAGS even happier than they already appear to be.  Some simple added elements to a pub’s offer and you’ve got SWAGS as key customers.

This also applies in the SWAGS running Greene King pubs, whether they’re part of a couple or as single operators, women know what women want and their influence on the business shows.  So we not only want more SWAGS as customers we want more SWAGS behind the bar.  Come on ladies…

Article by David Elliott  Managing Director of Greene King Pub Partners