1 Prepared by Insight Track Ltd. T: E: Pub Visitor and Brewery and Publican Benefits Research Research findings for Norwich City of Ale July 2013

2 Structure  Background  Research Objectives  Approach  Pub visitor research findings:  Respondent profile  Reason for visiting  Impact of City of Ale  Brewery and Publican findings:  Overall experience  Financial outcomes  Increasing footfall  Individual preparations for the festival  Organisational aspects  Future outcomes and thoughts for 2014  Summary

3 Background  Norwich City of Ale Limited (NCoA) is a not-for-profit organisation with the mission to promote Norwich, nationally and internationally, as the UK City of Ale  One of the key activities undertaken by the organisation is to organise an annual festival as a celebration of real ale from local breweries to be held throughout the city in real ale pubs and other venues selling real ale (between 23 rd May and 2 nd June 2013)  In order to evaluate the success of the event, NCoA wish to monitor performance against key performance indicators:  Pub visitors: in respect to how awareness of the event is generated, distances visitors tend to travel to the event and overall impressions of it  Publicans and brewers: in respect to the effects of the festival and opinions of both 2013 and future events  Therein the management team wished to undertake a modest research programme:  Pub visitors: during the week of the event, this being pragmatically conducted within the prescribed budget of approximately £500  Publicans and brewers: conducted after the event

4 Research Objectives The scope of the research covered the following in a brief interviewer conducted survey:  Pub visitors:  Basic profiling of visitor (gender, age, where travelled from)  Role of NCoA in prompting pub visit  Awareness of NCoA  How heard of NCoA  Frequency of drinking real ale  Impact of NCoA on frequency of visiting pubs and real ale drinking habits over the festival period  Rating and impressions of NCoA  Suggested improvements for NCoA 2014  Favourite ‘new beer’ of the festival  Publicans and brewers:  Overall success  Specific success indicators including footfall and sales  Individual preparations for the event  Expectations of future benefits  Considerations for the 2014 festival

5 PART 1: PUB VISITOR FEEDBACK

6 Methodology: pub visitors  234 in-pub face-to-face interviews, spread across pub opening periods  Using a brief fully-structured questionnaire (13 questions)  Fieldwork conducted between 24 th - 30 th May 2013 (see slide 7)  Avoiding opening night  No screening quotas were applied (i.e. all pub visitors qualify for survey), although noting that we did aim to speak to Real Ale drinkers in the main  Two interviewers worked simultaneously in-pub in respect to health and safety considerations (notably evening work)  Two lunchtime shifts (12-2) (Thursday and Friday)  Two evening shifts (5-9) (Thursday and Friday)  We also had the help of a volunteer, Rob Whitmore, who carried out 40 of the interviews in pubs that Insight Track were not targeting (and to whom we are very grateful for the assistance)

7 Sample: Pubs, time of day and date Pub Number of interviews by time of day Date LunchtimeEvening 1. Fat Cat-47Thursday 30 th May 2. Murderers-42Friday 24 th May 3. Wig & Pen38-Friday 24 th May 4. Kings Arms-36Friday 24 th May 5. Whalebone-21Thursday 30 th May 6. Unthank Arms-13Sunday 26 th May 7. Jubilee-12Thursday 30 th May 8. King’s Head10-Thursday 30 th May 9. Beehive8-Sunday 26 th May 10. The Plough7-Thursday 30 th May Sub-total63171 TOTAL234

8 Findings: Respondent profile

9 Respondent profile: Gender & Age  The majority of respondents are male, with a good spread across ages 25+ Base: 234 – all respondents; single response Q: Note respondent gender Q Which of the following age brackets do you fall into?

10 Respondent profile: Where do they come from?  Two thirds of respondents are from Norwich/Greater Norwich and a further fifth are from wider Norfolk  11% of respondents are from outside the county (17 of these 26 respondents said later in the survey that they came to that pub specifically for the NCoA) Base: 234 – all respondents; Open response Q: Just so we can understand where people have travelled from, can I please ask what the first part of your postcode is e.g. NR1 NR13? London (3)Kirkwall Rochester (2)Luton Colchester (2)Manchester BlackburnPeterborough BelfastPortsmouth ChelmsfordPreston DorchesterStevenage GloucesterSouthend HuddersfieldSwindon Ipswich

11 Reasons for visiting

12 Impact of City of Ale on visiting the pub on that day  A quarter were in the pub on that day specifically for NCoA  Of those who did, the gender profile very much matches the overall sample profile  The ‘core’ age profile appears to be between ages (and definitely ages 25+) Base: 234 – all respondents; Single response Q: Did you come to this pub today for the City of Ale festival or were you coming here anyway? Core Base: 56 – all who came specifically for CoA; Single response Profile of those who came specifically for City of Ale

13 Impact of City of Ale on visiting the pub on that day  A third of those who came to the pubs for NCoA were from outside Norfolk  As a proportion, those interviewed in the Jubilee and The Plough were most likely to have specifically gone to the pub for NCoA (although noting a small base for these pubs)  1 in 3 respondents had visited The Murderers, Fat Cat or King’s Head specifically for NCoA Base: 234 – all respondents; Single response (‘Refused’ not shown) Q: Did you come to this pub today for the City of Ale festival or were you coming here anyway? Base: 56 – all who came specifically for CoA; Single response No. of ints. Came here specifically for NCoA (No. of ints.) Coming here anyway (No. of ints.) % in pub who came for NCoA Jubilee % The Plough 73443% Murderers % Fat Cat % King’s Head % Beehive 82625% Wig & Pen % Unthank Arms % Whalebone % King’s Arms % Where live Norwich (NR1-NR8) (N=155) Wider Norfolk (NR9-NR32) (N=47) Outside Norfolk (N=26) Came here specifically for NCoA (N=55) 45%22%31% Coming here anyway (N=179) 73%20%5%

14 Awareness of City of Ale  Over three quarters of respondents were aware of NCoA  Ages 45+ were the most likely to be aware, particularly ages Base: 234 – all respondents; Single response Q: Had you heard about the City of Ale festival before coming to this pub today? Base: 56 – all who came specifically for CoA; Single response

15 How found out about City of Ale  People who were aware of NCoA were most likely to have found out via a newspaper article (either in the EDP or Eastern Evening News) Base: 179 – all respondents who are aware of NCoA; Multiple response Q: How did you find out about the Norwich City of Ale festival? Friend (N=13) Pub staff (N=8) Family (N=4) Fat Cat (N=6) EEN (N=22) EDP (N=21) EEN (N=22) EDP (N=21) What’s Brewing (N=2) No specific place emerging Who/where/which (N=number of responses)

16 All respondents were read the following information for consistent understanding: Norwich City of Ale is a ten-day celebration of local pubs, breweries and real ale. Events are taking place between 23rd May and 2nd June across 41 pubs in Norwich. From barbecues to "meet the brewer" evenings, live gigs to pub quizzes there is a vibrant calendar of events with something for everyone. Impact of City of Ale

17 Real Ale drinking habits  Nearly three quarters of the people we spoke to are regular real ale drinkers Base: 234 – all respondents; Single response Q: Broadly speaking, how often do you usually drink real ale? Regular ale drinkers – 74% Occasional ale drinkers – 12% Irregular ale drinkers – 15%

18 Impact of City of Ale on pub visiting/drinking habits  The NCoA has clearly had an impact on the behaviour of the people we spoke to, with almost half the sample saying they had been (or would be) visiting more pubs or drinking more real ale between 23 rd May and 2 nd June because of the City of Ale Base: 234 – all respondents; Single response Q: Between 23rd May and 2nd June have you been, or will you be…

19 Impact on Real Ale drinking habits  Around half of regular and occasional real ale drinkers said that they had, or would be, drinking more real ale in Norwich than usual because of the NCoA festival Base: 234 – all respondents; Single response Q: Broadly speaking, how often do you usually drink real ale? Vs. Q: Between 23rd May and 2nd June have you been, or will you be drinking more real ale in Norwich than usual because of the City of Ale festival

20 Rating of City of Ale Experience  Of those who gave an opinion, 89% rated their experience of the City of Ale as being ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’  This rises to 98% amongst those who visited the pub specifically for NCoA Base: 174 – all respondents who gave a rating; Single response Q: How would you rate your experience of the City of Ale festival on the following scale? Mean = 4.4 out of 5

21 Positives about City of Ale Base: 234 – all respondents; Open response Q: What do you think are the best things about the Norwich City of Ale festival? Promoting the pubs / encouraging people to try NEW pubs Variety of real ales available More vibrant pubs / atmosphere / bringing people together Promoting Norwich / good for tourism Highlighting / encouraging local breweries Promoting real ales / trying new ales Ale trail / pub crawl  Some of the key themes emerging as perceived positives…

22 What could be improved about City of Ale  Some of the key themes emerging as suggested improvements for City of Ale 2014… Base: 234 – all respondents; Open response Q: What, if anything, could be improved about the City of Ale festival in the future? Guide to what ales each pub is serving Last longer than 10 days (too many pubs to fit in) Cheaper ales More pubs quizzes More samples More advertising / promotion / advanced publicity Transport/minibus Loyalty cards Learning about real ale Don’t coincide with half term

23 Favourite ‘New Beer’ of the festival so far  Lacons’ ales come out on top in terms of the number of mentions of ‘favourite new beer’ tried at City of Ale 2013; ‘Affinity’ was the most frequently mentioned ale Base: 234 – all respondents; Open response Q: What has been your favourite NEW beer so far that you hadn’t tried before this City of Ale festival? 5 mentions No. of each brewery’s beers mentioned

24 Summary: pub visitors  Overall, 1 in 4 pub visitors were at the pub that day specifically for NCoA  The majority of those visiting specifically for NCoA are male (around 1 in 7 are female)  The core age profile of those visiting specifically for NCoA is  As might be expected, people visiting NCoA are most likely to be from Norwich; however, of the 56 people specifically visiting for NCoA, 1 in 3 were from outside Norfolk  Over three quarters (77%) of people we spoke to in the pubs were aware of NCoA  Newspaper articles, word of mouth and posters have been the most successful means of spreading the word  Almost half the sample said they had, or would be, both visiting more pubs and/or drinking more real ale than usual over the NCoA period  Almost half of regular and occasional real ale drinkers said they would be drinking more real ale than usual over the NCoA period  9 out of 10 people rated their experience of NCoA as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’; 98% of those who visited specifically for NCoA rated their experience as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’  The objectives of NCoA are being well-received – pub-goers appreciate the promotion of (an impact on) real ale, the pubs, local breweries and Norwich and like the variety of beers available  The key suggested improvement is actually a positive – promote the festival more  Lacons is being welcomed back, with Affinity receiving the most mentions for ‘favourite new beer tried so far’ and with the brewery receiving the most mentions overall

25 PART 2: BREWERY AND PUBLICAN FEEDBACK

26 Methodology: publicans and brewers  33 self-completion surveys  25 Publicans  12 Brewers  (N.B. a small number completed as both a Publican and a Brewer)  Using a brief structured questionnaire  Predominantly closed questions  Fieldwork conducted in June/July 2013  Questionnaire written and distributed by Norwich City of Ale

27 Overall experience

28 Was it enjoyable? (Publicans and brewers)  ALL publicans and brewers said they enjoyed taking part in NCoA 2013  Publicans appear to have enjoyed the festival slightly more than brewers Base: all respondents; Single response Q: I enjoyed taking part in Norwich City of Ale 2013

29 Was Norwich City of Ale 2013 considered a success? (Publicans and brewers)  Overall, 91% agreed that Norwich City of Ale 2013 was a success for them  Publicans agreed the strongest (40% strongly agreed compared to 25% of brewers) Base: all respondents; Single response Q: Norwich City of Ale 2013 was a success for my pub/brewery “City of ale 2013 was a huge success for ourselves and others we have spoken to” (Publican)

30 Financial outcomes

31 Increase in revenue? (Publicans and brewers) Base: all respondents; Single response % %  80% of publicans and 50% of brewers confirmed that they saw an increase in takings  Of those seeing an increase in takings, publicans were much more likely to see an increase of over 10% compared to brewers who typically witnessed a smaller change Q: Takings were / turnover was up compared with the same period last year Q: Please indicate % increase in takings / turnover Base: all respondents who saw a positive outcome; Single response

32 Increase in beer sales? (Publicans and brewers) Base: all respondents; Single response % Base: all brewers who saw a positive outcome; Single response  Overall, around three quarters 75% agreed that they sold more beer than usual, although publicans are more likely to agree (84%) than brewers (50%)  The percentage increase amongst brewers who saw a change was typically under 10%, although a third saw a change of between 10% and 25% Q: I sold more beer (than I usually would) during Norwich City of Ale 2013 Q: Please indicate % increase in sales (Brewers only)

33 The Brewer’s Market & selling to new pubs (Brewers only)  Although two-thirds did not comment on the Brewer’s Market, those who gave an answer agreed that it was a success for their business  Over half (58%) agreed that they sold their beer to new pubs, although a third (33%) disagreed Base: 12, all breweries; Single response Q: I sold beer into pubs I don’t normally deal with Q: The Brewer’s Market was a success for my business “It was really nice to personally meet brewers that I hadn’t come into contact with before, I think the publican- brewer socialising is really worthwhile and I’m sure it goes a long way to boosting sales of local ale in the long term” (Publican)

34  Of the 16 publicans who gave an answer, the vast majority (N=13) saw an increase in sales  On average this was an increase of seven extra firkins, although one publican reported extra sales of 24 firkins  Only three giving an answer reported seeing no change to the number of firkins sold  No publican reported selling fewer firkins Increase in firkin sales? (Publicans only) Base: 25, all publicans; Single response Q: Please indicate approximate total number of firkins sold during Norwich City of Ale 2013 and during a comparable 10 day period (NOT) during City of Ale Increase in number of firkins sold Number of publicans Mean average increase: +7 Range of increases: +1 to +24 Positive outcome: 52%

35 Increasing footfall

36 Increase in footfall? (Publicans only) Base: 25, all publicans; Single response % Q: Footfall in my pub increase during Norwich City of Ale 2013 Q: Please indicate % increase in footfall  The vast majority of publicans (88%) saw an increase in footfall  Where seen, the increase in footfall was typically between 10-25% “We saw no increase in trade during the week, in fact had to cancel events, but we were well supported at weekends” (Publican) Base: 22, all publicans seeing a positive outcome; Single response

37 More new faces and visitors from out of the region? (Publicans only)  The festival appears to have attracted new visitors with 88% of publicans saying they saw more new faces than usual, and 84% reporting more people from out of the region Base: 25, all publicans; Single response Q: I noticed more visitors in my pub from out of the region this year Q: I saw more new faces in my pub during Norwich City of Ale than at other times “It was really good to see new customers that wouldn’t normally think to come here” (Publican)

38 Ale trail worked? (Publicans only)  The ale trail was considered to have worked well in getting people to try new pubs, with the lapel pins proving to be a good incentive Base: 25, all publicans; Single response Q: The ale trail worked well in getting people into pubs they wouldn’t usually visit “The lapel pins worked well to get people doing the trails” (Publican and Brewer)

39 More people collecting ale stamps? (Publicans only)  Just over three quarters of publicans (76%) say that they noticed more people collecting Norwich City of Ale stamps this year compared to previous years  Only one fifth (20%) did not notice this Base: 25, all publicans; Single response  ? 24% Strongly agree 52% Agree 20% Disagree  4% No reply Q: I noticed more people collecting Norwich City of Ale stamps this year 76%20% 0% Strongly disagree TRAIL STAMPS

40 Individual preparations for the festival

41  Of those giving an answer, the majority said they both stocked more beers than usual and ordered different beers for Norwich City of Ale 2013 Stocking more and ordering different beers? (Publicans only) Base: 25, all publicans; Single response Q: I ordered different beers to my regular stock for Norwich City of Ale 2013 Q: I stocked more beers than usual during Norwich City of Ale 2013 “It's great to be able to use some smaller brewers we wouldn't normally get the chance to sample” (Publican)

42 Brewing more beers? Beer a fair payment? (Brewers only)  Two thirds (66%) did not brew more beers than usual during the festival, with the majority of the rest not giving an answer  However, the donation of beer was generally considered to be a fair payment, although one brewer was concerned that other breweries may not have given their ale Base: 12, all brewers; Single response Q: I felt the donation of beer was a fair payment Q: I brewed more beers than usual during Norwich City of Ale 2013 “Did all brewers donate beer? It didn’t seem like it. If it’s a condition of involvement then all should supply ale” (Brewer)

43 Running more events? (Publicans and brewers)  Overall there was a mixed response in terms of whether they ran an event, with 42% agreeing and the same proportion disagreeing  A third of brewers did not give an answer Base: all respondents; Single response Q: I ran more events than usual during Norwich City of Ale 2013

44 Organisational aspects

45 Well organised? (Publicans and brewers)  The vast majority thought that Norwich City of Ale 2013 was well organised, with organisers being praised for their positive thinking and commitment  Only one (a publican) disagreed that the event was well organised, although they did not give an indication as to why Base: all respondents; Single response Q: I thought Norwich City of Ale 2013 was well organised “The people’s can do ethos, organisation and passion for the event and its success (was) incredibly refreshing” (Brewer)

46 Enough publicity? (Publicans and brewers)  The vast majority (97%) thought that this year’s festival was well publicised  All publicans agreed with the statement, although there was a suggestion that social media could be better utilised in the future and that events could be promoted more heavily Base: all respondents; Single response Q: I thought Norwich City of Ale 2013 was well publicised “More advertising before the event and better use of social media, e.g. Facebook and Twitter” (Publican) “The publicity and noise generated exceeded our expectations ” (Brewer) “More advertising for pub events” (Publican)

47 Enough copies of the programme? (Publicans only)  Nearly all publicans said that they had enough copies of the 2013 programme Base: 25, all publicans; Single response Q: I had enough copies of the Norwich City of Ale 2013 Programme “Far, far too many” (Publican) “They seemed to get wasted” (Publican)

48 Future outcomes and thoughts for 2014

49 Expect to gain more future business as a result? (Publicans and brewers)  Overall, just over fourth-fifths (82%) expect to gain more future business as a result of participating in Norwich City of Ale 2013 Base: all respondents; Single response Q: I expect to get more future business as a result of Norwich City of Ale 2013

50 Like to take part in 2014? (Publicans and brewers)  All but one would like to take part in Norwich City of Ale next year, with the majority of these feeling strongly about this  The brewer who did not agree appears to have done so only because they will not be based in Norwich this time next year Base: all respondents; Single response Q: I would like to be a part of Norwich City of Ale 2014 “We will be moving brewing operations back to Lincolnshire next year so will rule ourselves out of City Of Ale” (Brewer) “(We) would love to be considered to work with the festival in 2014” (Brewer)

to focus exclusively on local beers? (Publicans and brewers)  The majority (85%) agree that the festival should keep its focus on local beers, with just over half (52%) feeling strongly about this Base: all respondents; Single response Q: Norwich City of Ale 2014 should continue to focus exclusively on local beers

52 Suggestions for the future (Publicans and brewers) Base: all respondents; unprompted, multicode Q: How could Norwich City of Ale be improved in the future? “Having a higher percentage of Norwich pubs actively involved” (Brewer) “Perhaps the length of the ale trail could be increased as a few people commented it wasn’t long enough” (Publican) “Features and focus on breweries, as well as pubs” (Brewer) “More variety of prizes for completing different trails, not just badges” (Publican) “Logo on merchandise would be good” (Publican) “Brewers producing beers especially for the event” (Publican) “Longer time period for event as too many pubs to get around in a short space of time, leaves some outer city pubs less likely to be visited and not enough time to be spent in each pub” (Publican) “There needs to be an offering / something unique for those that drink local ales all the time anyway” (Publican) Increasing the scale of the festivalFocussing on the unique aspects and branding

53 Summary

54 Summary: publicans and brewers  Overall success and enjoyment of the festival was widespread amongst both publicans and brewers  However, success in most areas appears to have been slightly higher amongst publicans  The majority of both publicans and brewers saw a notable increase in revenue:  For publicans this was from increased drink sales (averaging an extra 7 firkins over the period)  For brewers this was mainly through increased demand for beer and selling to new pubs  Footfall rose for the majority of publicans; typically by between 10-25%  Seeing new faces and more visitors from out of region was widespread  The Ale Trail was universally considered to have helped bring new customers in, while increased use of ale stamps was witnessed by three-quarters of publicans  When preparing for the festival:  Publicans agreed that they stocked more and different types of beer than usual  However, the majority of brewers did not actually brew more beers during the event  Around two-fifths of brewers ran more events, with nearly half of publicans doing so  Brewers felt that the donation of beer was a fair payment  The vast majority felt that Norwich City of Ale 2013 was well organised  Publicity was felt to have been suitable, with enough copies of the programme being distributed to publicans  The majority expect the festival to benefit their business in the future  Interest in the 2014 festival is very high, with most agreeing that it should focus exclusively on local beers

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