Sales promotion in Ireland almost always in the pubs:
Whilst disc jockey Bob Stokes announces a new record,
Kieran O'Sullivan, a sales representative with Murphy's
Brewery in Ireland, holds a glass of Buckler in his hand ("I've
got to drive shortly") as he tells about the many evenings he
spends out and about doing his job. On weekday evenings
he's always present in the pubs and in the weekends he visits
the events which are sponsored by Murphy's in his region.
"Well, it's all part of a day's work, and so you do it" is his la
conic response.
Embarrassment
Merry
Not too busy
Hilarity
HEINEKEN INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE NO. 21 PAGE 5
A lot of fun
Kier an O'Sullivan (left) with disc jockey Bob Stokes.
A 'victim' is allowed to demonstrate his singing skills. Hell never make the charts, but he does get a Murphy's
polo shirt for his efforts.
ticket. At regular intervals several
numbers are drawn from the big
stack and the prizewinners can go
up on stage to collect their prize.
But those who think they can
quickly go up and collect their
prize and then get back safely to
their own seat again have got an
other think coming. Bob Stokes
wants to know if the winner can
sing a song. Blushing slightly with
shame and to the great hilarity of
the other guests, the winner mum
bles something into the mike that
sounds like singing. Bob rewards
him with a Murphy's Stout polo
shirt and the budding George Mi
chael leaves the stage to loud ap
plause.
Another prizewinner has to an
swer one of Bob's questions cor
rectly before he can walk off with
the Murphy's T-shirt. These ques
tions are deliberately kept very
simple ("What's the name of the
leading actor in the film Rain
Man?"). It's not a competition or a
quiz; it's simply a lot of fun - both
for the customers and for the pub
lican.
Bob doesn't only do promotions
for Murphy's Stout. He also does
Heineken promotions and thinks
they're especially enjoyable.
"Those evenings are always partic
ularly lively. Really enthusiastic
people jostling for a Heineken T-
shirt, a Heineken jacket or just a
pack of Heineken playing cards."
As soon as the products appear,
the 'victim' soon gets over his em
barrassment and will do a lot to
get hold of the prize.
Murphy's Brewery is certainly
Two glasses of Murphy's Stout on their way to customers who want to
try for a prize.
not the only brewery in Ireland
that organises such promotions.
One brewery offers even fancier
prizes than another. Sometimes
even with exceptionally expensive
prizes like a weekend in Copen
hagen or a real Cadillac. Product
manager Timothy Delaney doesn't
believe in prizes like that. "I think
that a customer has to get some
thing substantial, something he can
take home with him under his arm.
You can't do that with a weekend
in Copenhagen."
Meanwhile Bob Stokes has
been handing out lots of T-shirts,
Murphy jackets and packs of cards
and some customers have even
been persuaded to perform strange
dances to qualify for a gift. All in a
relaxed, merry atmosphere. Even
tually, Bob has just one more Mur
phy jacket to give away and he
asks the owners of the decks of
cards to pick out several particular
cards from the pack. The first per
son to show him these cards wins
the jacket. That's when it becomes
clear how popular the Murphy's
articles are; customers rush to
wards Bob from all sides clutching
the playing cards he asked for.
It's 11.30 p.m., the promotion
party is over and many customers
head homewards. Everyone can be
satisfied: the many customers who
have gone home with Murphy's ar
ticles, Kieran O'Sullivan, and the
publican who's had a much fuller
house than on the average Tuesday
night.
Eight times each week on aver
age a promotion is organised
somewhere in Ireland for Heinek
en, Murphy's Stout or Amstel.
Usually in a pub, sometimes dur
ing an event sponsored by the
brewery. It's not so surprising that
most of the promotions are held in
the pubs: over 90% of all the beer
consumed in Ireland flows from
pub taps. Heineken International
Magazine went along with Kieran
O'Sullivan to Maguires pub in
Cork in the South of Ireland to a
promotion being held one Tuesday
evening for Murphy's Irish Stout.
Maguires has been specially
decked out for the occasion with
Murphy's Stout flags and there's
disc jockey Bob Stokes standing
on a small stage surrounded by all
his equipment. He's doing his best
to get the pub in a party mood,
which is a bit difficult at first be
cause there are not all that many
people there. We feel that the
number of visitors is a bit disap
pointing but Kieran sees it differ
ently. "You've got to hold promo
tions like this on a weekday
evening. On Friday evening and at
the weekend the pub is jam-
packed and neither the publican
nor the customers feel the need for
a promotion then. The weekday
evenings are ideal for us; it's not
too busy, people have got time to
join in the promotion and they
have a lot of fun."
Bob Stokes, hired in by Mur
phy's for such promotions, spends
the early evening mostly spinning
many top hits and explaining in
between the records what Mur
phy's has in store for that evening,
what the public can win and what
they have to do to win it.
"Can I have a thank-you kiss?
A promotion has a twofold
aim. Boosting awareness of the
brand is one aim, but the effect of
that is only measurable over the
longer term. The promotion's im
mediate aim is to boost sales and
so Bob Stokes tries to persuade the
customers to drink Murphy's
Stout. Every buyer of a glass of
Murphy's is given a numbered
