MARKETING AND PROMOTION
Hart Bar at The Railway Hotel Parkes
CREATING IDENTITY AT THE 2018 PUB LEADERS SUMMIT, THREE OPERATORS OF VERY DISTINCT VENUES EXPLAINED HOW THEY HAD CREATED SUCH STRONG IDENTITIES FOR THEIR PUBS.
THE VENUES THE RAILWAY HOTEL, PARKES One of eight pubs in the regional New South Wales town of Parkes, the Railway Hotel was taken over by Kasie Ferguson and Bianca Sheridan in 2011. The pair brought with them plenty of experience of working on hospitality offerings on Hamilton Island, and wanted to bring some of that level of offering to the pub. While the ground floor caters to the very traditional country town expectations of a pub, the underutilised first floor was transformed into Hart Bar, a more metropolitan offering of tapas, cocktails and live music. The space also has a large focus on functions, hosting everything from product launches to weddings.
THE MARLBOROUGH HOTEL, NEWTOWN The Marlborough Hotel, or The Marly as it’s more commonly known, is an institution in the Sydney city-fringe suburb of Newtown. Bought by Solotel from the Australian Pub Fund in early 2017, the group has doubled down on the pub’s reputation as a late-night haven for nearby university students and shift-workers from the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. The Marly practically operates as three venues in one – the traditional pub offering with gaming, TAB and beer garden on the ground floor; a basement nightclub called Tokyo Sing Sing; and Miss Peaches, the first floor cocktail bar and restaurant.
THE LANSDOWNE, CHIPPENDALE A mainstay of Sydney’s live music scene since the 1980s, music lovers were devastated when the pub closed in 2015. After sitting abandoned for two years, Mary’s Group took over the lease and returned the pub to what it had always been revered for: live music, partying, pizza and a general rock and roll attitude. In the past year, the pub has been attracting old locals, music aficionados and plenty of nearby uni students looking for a place to let loose until the wee hours of the morning.
22 | AUGUST 2018 AUSTRALIAN HOTELIER
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t the Pub Leaders Summit, Ferguson was joined by then licensee of The Marly, Amanda Verratti, and Mary’s Group cofounder Kenny Graham, to discuss the ways in which they had cemented the identities of their venues.
PLAN, COMMUNICATE, REVIEW When first working on a concept for a venue, having a brand strategy document is a great way of figuring out the narrative for the venue and what your business needs to work on. Graham says that it’s important to share that document with all of your staff. “Paying a lot of attention to HR and induction of staff [is important]. It made us really sit down and think it through, because anyone who walks through that door to work for us, they should have a better understanding of what it is than our customer.” Verratti agreed, explaining that Solotel’s narrative briefs for a venue were implemented at the opening of a new venue or after a major renovation, and that it was also important to review those documents regularly. “It’s good to look back at what worked and then six months later what definitely didn’t work. Being able to be really agile and look back and see where you’ve made mistakes and learning from them.
LISTEN, BUT STAY TRUE Getting your pub’s identity to match what you envisioned is always a delicate operation, as it’s also important to ensure that patrons are eager for the offering. Graham said that as part of the re-opening of The Lansdowne, a female artist was commissioned to create some artwork in the space. The finished product included some female nudity. Since the rise of the Me Too movement, there has been some backlash against the piece, which Graham and his business partner Jake Smyth listened to and engaged with. While that was an important critique to respond to, Graham suggests there have been others where it was important for the duo to stick to their guns, while still listening to feedback. The balancing act is to figure out when to adapt, and when to stay true to your vision. “It’s a bit of an arm wrestle to not get dictated to by customers. But if anyone is vocal you invite them into your zone to have a conversation,
