Branding Pubs — Can It Work?

Abstract

The public house industry faces a mature and difficult future. Branding of pubs is on the increase as operators try to gain a competitive edge. Pub food outlets have led the way in pub branding, now operators are trying to develop the more “traditional” pub into a successful brand. This research assesses the value of branding to the public house industry by looking at consumer awareness, attitudes and behaviours, geographical constraints, the pub product itself, operating issues and communicating brand values to customers. The paper concludes that it is possible to develop successful pub brands but there are a number of difficulties that need to be overcome and not all of the theoretical benefits of branding may be achieved.