Keeping Up With The Collaborations

What makes a good pub great? What makes a bar relevant? What makes a collaboration worth reporting on?

These are the questions we faced when brainstorming how we would deliver our first Christmas at The Gun and it occurred to my team and I that this was an opportunity to highlight the changing face of pubs, that we could create an activation that our regular guests wouldn’t expect and that would push our venue in front of a wider demographic. 

The opportunity within London to propel your business in front of your desired customer is both huge and limited at the same time. Venues and brands constantly jockey for position in a market where the consumer craves something new and exciting but also enjoys the predictability of their local boozer. As a pub company, we had to develop an idea that pushed the boundaries of what our peers are doing but in order to get the desired impact it also had to rival some of the biggest activations and collaborations that the consumer will see across the capital throughout winter. 

It’s no secret that pubs have had to adapt for the modern day drinker. Craft beers are expected, wine lists are now curated, cocktails are on offer and there’s an abundance of events to keep you coming back weekly. All of which is working, it was reported in December that for the first time since 2009 there ‘was a net gain of 320 pubs’ in Britain which is fantastic. It begs the question though that if pubs adopt larger marketing campaigns and collaborations as opposed to just sticking with basic branding umbrellas then perhaps this number can continue to rise. 

In order to test this theory, (and with the help of our incredible PR company; Tonic Communications) we researched what makes the press sit up and listen during winter round ups. We considered where our ideal customer wants to be seen and we narrowed down what type of brand we wanted to align ourselves with. Commercially we had to look at what would still allow us to do our required volume without impacting bookable spaces at the busiest time of the year and what was affordable from our side before we could confirm investment from a brand. 

Safe to say that great ideas are born over a few drinks and we were a couple of glasses in one day with our Diageo account manager when the idea of a life sized Belsazar Gingerbread Chalet was born - complete with edible bricks and biscuits adorning it. 

We’re ‘go big or go home’ kind of people. 

From it’s conception to the launch we had concerns over timings, the look of the chalet and if it would tie in well enough with our branding and whether we would deliver the volume we’d agreed with Belsazar. A team worked through the night on the installation and the transformation of the space was far greater than we actually imagined it could be. 

It was here that we saw the true value of having a PR company, and we are lucky to work with the amazing team at Tonic Communications who secured the most influential list of press for us at a time when there’s an abundance of competition. The Gun was thrust into the spotlight as we featured in Time Out (print, digital and newsletter!), Square Mile, London Pop-Ups, Foodism and Bar Chick and we also had some of London’s best food and drink influencers join us for the launch party. 

The press we received coupled with the genuine enthusiasm for the activation we had put together and the response from the local businesses delivered a Christmas period that we were exceptionally proud of. The Gun performed at a level that we always knew it could and from a personal point of view the whole process was so incredibly rewarding. 

Alas, our Chalet is now safely stored away and we look ahead to Spring/ Summer and our next big idea. One thing we know though is that pushing the boundaries, challenging the ordinary and focusing on being a key player in the London pub scene is paying off.