Making the drinking environment more appealing to women – part 2

The match and a pint is one of the pub’s most popular combinations. Both beer and sport have much in common: both are part of industries made up of a large percentage of men, both are traditionally marketed at men, and the biggest fans of each are usually men. While I don’t want to suggest that pubs stop showing football, I do want to suggest that it might be time for pubs to diversify their forms of entertainment if they want to attract more of the population: namely the female half. I’ve talked before about making pubs more female-friendly, but it’s a subject worth going into further given the rate of closures in the pub industry lately. More sales to women could give the industry a valuable boost.

So what can pubs do in order to attract more female punters? Perhaps the answer lies in changing the channel: According to figures from BARB, 1.2 million tuned in to Sky Sports 1 to watch Arsenal V Liverpool on October 28. Compare this to the number of viewers for the reality TV hits of the season: Strictly Come Dancing attracted 9.4 million viewers at the weekend, and X Factor a huge 15 million at its peak on Sunday. Could these viewers be persuaded to enjoy these shows at the pub? Given how much talk about these shows is generated on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, it’s clear that they are a real conversation starter among fans – something that could be harnessed to good effect in real life, over a pint.

Our research into women and beer found that women are more likely to choose beer when at a festival, making it clear that beer can be a real event drink for them. Perhaps it would be wise for more pubs to capitalise on this by enhancing the festival feel – and supporting local musical talent at the same time. Or if your pub specialises in great food or a large range of beers, it’d be great to see more beer pairing events – at BitterSweet we’ve recently held some beer and food matching events with great success.

Alternatively, we’ve heard of several bars enticing people to their doors through using their space to put on something different – from life drawing in Beach Blanket Babylon in Shoreditch to clairvoyants and beauty treatments at the Dalriada in Edinburgh’s Portobello. So what do you think? Personally, I think publicans who display a bit of creativity are worth raising a glass to – and those that evolve their events schedule beyond the latest Premiership game could be more likely to survive.