Punch Pub Company is offering its retailers a festive marketing boost using Christmas cards.

The company’s marketing team is running a promotion for retailers using Christmas cards which offer discounts.

PPC’s marketing and promotions manager Michael Connolly said the idea was to help retailers attract customers in January and February, the quietest trade months of the year.

“The Christmas cards are personalised, feature the pub name, and contain six promotional offers,” he said.

“Retailers send them to the pub’s database of customers and also put the cards at place settings for Christmas diners.  The aim is that customers then return to the pub and make use of the offers, boosting trade in the New Year.”

PPC retailers are sending a total of 100,000 Christmas cards for this year’s festive promotion, co-ordinated by Solihull based print and promotions agency Plus One which produces the cards.

Graham Thomas, from The Spotted Cow Inn, Holbrook, Derbyshire, is one of the PPC licensees who runs the Christmas card promotion.

He is sending 3,000 Christmas cards after seeing the benefits of using seasonal festivities as a marketing tool.

He said: “In our first year, we didn’t do a Christmas card promotion and sales dropped significantly in January and February.

“Punch’s marketing team told us about the benefits of the promotion and when we sent cards a year later, sales in the New Year increased by more than 45 per cent.

“It has proved so successful that we now do similar greetings card promotions at three other times in the year.  The initial outlay is relatively cheap, and the business benefits mean it is a sound investment.”

Michael added: “Graham has proved that the scheme boosts sales and that it can also be modified to launch promotions at other times of the year.

“We are constantly looking for ways to help retailers boost sales, and the Christmas cards promotion is one of them.”

PPC is one of the UK’s largest operators of leased and tenanted pubs with 4,300 outlets.

Information about the company and opportunities available can be found at Punch’s website, www.punchpubs.co.uk.

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