Prepared by Insight Track Ltd. T: 01603 626800 E: intouch@insighttrack.co.uk

1. Visitor and trade festival feedback Research findings for Norwich City of Ale 2014 July 2014 Prepared by Insight Track Ltd. T: 01603 626800 E: intouch@insighttrack.co.uk

2. Structure • Background • Research objectives • Pub visitor feedback • Methodology • Respondent profile • Awareness of NCoA • Impact of NCoA • Perceptions of NCoA • Summary of visitor feedback • Trade feedback: • Methodology • Overall experience • Financial outcomes • Increasing footfall • Individual preparations for the festival • Organisational aspects • Future outcomes and thoughts for 2015 • Summary of trade feedback

3. Background • Norwich City of Ale Limited (NCoA) is a not-for-profit organisation with amission 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 toward the end of May 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 • 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 2014 and future events • Therefore, the management team wished to undertake a modest research programme amongst these two audiences

4. Research objectives The scope of the research covered the following in brief fully-structured surveys: • Pub visitors: • Basic profiling of visitor (gender, age, where travelled from) • Who visited with • Frequency of drinking real ale • Role of NCoA in prompting pub visit • Awareness of NCoA • How heard of NCoA • 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 2015 • 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 2015 festival

5. PART 1:PUB VISITOR FEEDBACK

6. Methodology: pub visitors • Overall we achieved 194 completed surveys • 134 were in-pub face-to-face interviews, spread across pub opening periods • Using a brief fully-structured questionnaire • Fieldwork conducted on 23rd and 29th May (see next slides) to avoid the opening night, between 12-2pm and 6-8pm (working in twos for health and safety) • Interviews achieved were deliberately not demographically quota’d, to ensure that respondents were likely to reflect the natural fallout of pub visitors • Self-complete versions added a further 60 completes: • Paper print-outs in pubs (N=32) • Distributed by a volunteer, Rob Whitmore – thanks Rob! • Online version accessed via the City of Ale Website, a URL link and QR code (N=28) • Publicised via Twitter and beer mats

7. Interviewer locations START: Wig and Pen Plough Ribs of Beef Rumsey Wells Friday 23rd: 12-2pm Friday 23rd: 6-8pm Lawyer START: Micawbers Wildman Maid’s Head Vine Take 5 Walnut Tree Shades Lord Rosebery Angel Gardens START: Fat Cat Brewery Tap Sir Garnet Whalebone Thursday 29th: 6-8pm Thursday 29th: 12-2pm Duke of Wellington Lamb Inn START: Murderers

8. Survey response rates, by pub

9. Findings: Respondent profile

10. Respondent profile: gender and age • The majority of respondents were male and aged between 35-64 86% 14% % Base: 192 – all respondents giving an answer; single response Q Which of the following age brackets do you fall into? Base: 192 – all respondents giving an answer; single response Q: Are you…?

11. Respondent profile: where do they come from? • Nearly two thirds of respondents (58%) were from Norwich itself and a further fifth were from wider Norfolk • Nonetheless, a fifth (21%) came from outside the county – nearly double that of the 11% found last year • Most commonly Suffolk and other East of England counties, although some travelling much further (with the majority going to the pub specifically for the festival) Base: 193 – all respondents giving an answer; single code, 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?

12. Respondent profile: who did they come with? • Respondents typically visited with friends (45%) or their partner (23%) • Nonetheless, over a quarter (27%) said that they visited by themselves, with a third of these visiting specifically for the festival Q: Who did you come here with today? Guide dog % Base: 193 – all respondents giving an answer; multicode

13. Respondent profile: real ale drinking habits • The majority (83%) of the people we spoke to were regular real ale drinkers • However one in six (17%) said they typically drink real ale once a month or less often Q: Broadly speaking, how often do you usually drink real ale? Regular ale drinkers – 83% Occasional ale drinkers – 11% Irregular ale drinkers – 6% % Base: 194 – all respondents; single response

14. Awareness of NCoA

15. Awareness of City of Ale • Nearly nine out of ten respondents (87%) surveyed were aware of NCoA • Although only 43% were in the pub for the festival, this is a rise of 19% on last year (24%) • Around three quarters (77%) of those in the pub anyway were actually aware of the festival Q: Had you heard about the Norwich City of Ale festival before coming to this pub today? Q: Did you come to this pub today for the City of Ale festival…? Q: Had you heard about the Norwich City of Ale festival before coming to this pub today? Of these… Base: 110 - all respondents going to location anyway; single response Base: 194 - all respondents; single response

16. Visiting specifically for NCoA • The groups most likely to be visiting the pub specifically for the festival were…: • …those having travelled the furthest (e.g. from outside Norfolk) • …those aged 35+ • …and interestingly, women were more likely to have done so than men (although noting that women only represented a small proportion of the overall visitor sample) Q: Did you come to this pub today for the City of Ale festival…? Base: all those giving an answer; single response

17. How found out about City of Ale • People who were aware of NCoA were most likely to have found out through word of mouth, most frequently from friends • Those who saw an article or advert were most likely to have seen it in the EDP Q: How did you find out about the Norwich City of Ale festival this year? • Most commonly: • Friends • Colleagues • Bar staff • Most commonly: • EDP • Evening News Email % Base: 169 – all respondents who were aware of NCoA; multiple response

18. Impact of NCoAAll respondents saw or 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 22nd May and 1st June across the fine city. From barbecues to "meet the brewer" evenings, live gigs to pub quizzes there is a vibrant calendar of events with something for everyone

19. Impact of City of Ale on pub visiting/drinking habits • Over half the sample said they would visit more pubs or drink more real ale during the festival • Around half of occasional or infrequent real ale drinkers thought that they would visit more pubs or drink more real ale than usual (50% and 52% respectively) • Of those who did not specifically visit the pub for the festival, around a third said they would visit or drink more real ale than usual (32% and 29% respectively) Q: Compared to usual…? Base: 193/191 – all respondents giving an answer; single response per row

20. Favourite ‘new beer’ of the festival so far(key responses) • Overall, the Wolf Brewery’s ales were the most popular ‘new beers’, although Norfolk Brewhouse’s ‘Tidal Gold’ was the single most frequently quoted favourite beer of the festival Q: What has been your favourite NEW beer so far that you hadn’t tried before this City of Ale festival? 8 Mentions No. of each brewery’s beers mentioned Base: 95 – all respondents who had tried a new beer; open response

21. Perceptions of NCoA

22. Rating of City of Ale experience • Three-quarters (74%) rated their experience of the City of Ale positively • Rising to 92% amongst those who visited the pub specifically for NCoA • No-one said they had a poor experience Q: How would you rate your experience of the City of Ale festival on the following scale? Mean = 4.1 out of 5 Base: 193 – all respondents giving an answer; single response

23. Positives about City of Ale(key responses) • Some of the key themes emerging as perceived positives were the promotion of… Q: What do you think are the best things about the Norwich City of Ale festival?  Promoting real ales / trying new ales Variety of real ales available …real ale   Promoting the pubs / new pubs to try More vibrant pubs / atmosphere / socialising  Promoting local businesses  …local pubs  Ale trail / pub crawl / meet the brewer  The different venues and their character / friendly staff Promoting Norwich / opportunity to explore city  …Norwich Base: all respondents who gave a response; open response – size of text indicates frequency of mentions

24. What could be improved about City of Ale(key responses) • Some of the key themes emerging as suggested improvements for City of Ale 2015 included addressing… Q: What, if anything, could be improved about the City of Ale festival in the future? More advertising/advanced publicity/calendar …promotion of the festival More advertising for special events Larger street presence …getting to and from pubs Improve accuracy of the maps Transport / minibus / pickup points Cheaper ales More samples …the real ales available Food and ale matches Promote speciality / unusual beers Last longer than 10 days (too many pubs to fit in) …dates Base: all respondents who gave a response; open response – size of text indicates frequency of mentions

25. Summary of visitor feedback

26. Summary: pub visitors Of our respondents…: • 86% were male • 66% were aged 35-64 • 87% were aware of Norwich City of Ale • 43%were in the pub specifically for NCoA • 80%of people visiting from outside Norfolk went to the pub specifically for the festival • 31% heard about the festival through word of mouth and 23% saw a poster or banner • 52% said they would be visiting more pubs than usual during the festival • 51% said they would drink more real ale during the Norwich City of Ale, including 52% of occasional or infrequent real ale drinkers • 74% rated their experience of Norwich City of Ale positively Our respondents thought that…: • Wolf Brewery beers were their favourite new beers • Tidal Gold of The Norfolk Brewhousewas the single best new beer • Key positives were the variety of real ale and promotion of local businesses • Key suggested improvements are earlier promotion and advertising and provision of transportation to and from pubs

27. PART 2:BREWER AND PUBLICAN FEEDBACK

28. Methodology: publicans and brewers • 51 self-completion surveys • 29 Publicans • 23 Brewers • (N.B. one completed as both a publican and a brewer) • Using a brief structured questionnaire • Predominantly closed questions • Fieldwork conducted after the festival in June2014 • Paper and online survey made available for distribution by Norwich City of Ale

29. Findings:Overall experience

30. Was it enjoyable? (Publicans and brewers) “The event is great for the city and for the profile of craft beer. Brilliant - well done!” (Brewer) • The vast majority agreed that NCoA 2014 was enjoyable! • As with last year, publicans appear to have enjoyed the festival slightly more than brewers “The vibe is great” (Publican) “It’s a wonderful idea” (Publican) Q: I enjoyed taking part in Norwich City of Ale 2014 Base: all respondents; single response

31. Was Norwich City of Ale 2014 considered a success?(Publicans and brewers) • Over two-thirds (69%) agreed that Norwich City of Ale 2014 was a success for them • As in 2013, publicans showed the strongest agreement (80% agreed compared to 56% of brewers) Q: Norwich City of Ale 2014 was a success for my pub/brewery “It’s always good to help raise awareness amongst the people who may not usually drink cask beer that these products exist and are generally very good” (Brewer) “I'm afraid anything would make little difference to pubs out of the city centre” (Publican) Base: all respondents; single response

32. Financial outcomes

33. Increase in beer sales?(Publicans and brewers) • Overall, three quarters (76%) of publicans agreed that they sold more beer than usual, while two-fifths of brewers (43%) saw an increase in beer sales • The percentage increase amongst brewers who saw a change was typically under 10%,although one saw an increase of over 25% Q: I sold more beer (than I usually would) during Norwich City of Ale 2014 (Publicans) Q: By how much, if at all, did you increase sales of beer during Norwich City of Ale 2014?(Brewers) Breweries seeing some increase in sales: 43% % Base: 29, all publicans; single response Base: 23, all brewers; single response

34. Increase in firkin sales?(Publicans only) Q: Please indicate approximate total number of firkins sold during Norwich City of Ale 2014 and during a comparable 10 day period (NOT) during City of Ale • Of the 23 publicans who gave an answer, over two-thirds (70%) saw an increasein sales • On average this was an increase of four extra firkins, although one publican reported extra sales of 20 firkins! • Only five reported seeing no change to the number of firkins sold, although two said they actually sold fewer than normal (averaging at -4) Positive outcome: 70% of those giving an answer Increase in number of firkins sold • Mean average increase: +4 • Range of increases: +2 to +20 Number of publicans Base: 29, all publicans; single response

35. Increase in revenue?(Publicans and brewers) • Around two-thirds (65%) of publicans and a quarter of brewers (25%) confirmed that they saw an increase in takings • Those seeing an increase typically calculated it to account for up to a 10% increase in revenue across the period compared to expected takings without the festival Q: By how much, if at all, were takings/turnover up in relation to a comparable 10 day period NOT during City of Ale? 10 17 • Confirming some increase in revenue: • 65% of publicans • 25% of brewers % Base: all respondents; single response

36. The Brewer’s Market (Brewers only) • Although around half did not comment on the Brewer’s Market, those who gave an answer generally disagreed that it was a success for their business • Nonetheless, there was some indication that it was still considered a good attraction, and for some was their main opportunity of increasing sales Q: The Brewer’s Market was a success for my business “Though we have said we ‘disagree’ that the Brewer’s Market was a success for us, I would still like to see it continue into 2015, I believe it is a nice attraction for City of Ale and a way for the brewers to support the festival” (Brewer) “Sales only increased during the week due to me doing the Brewer’s Market” (Brewer) Base: 23, all brewers; single response

37. Selling to new pubs(Brewers only) • Around a third (34%) said that they sold to new pubs • However, there does appear to be some feeling that this is an area which could be improved in next year’s festival: • Some brewers suggested that publicans didn’t try and stock from them, while conversely some publicans mentioned that they weren’t actually contacted by the brewers. Q: I sold beer into pubs I don’t normally deal with “Pubs should have to stock local small brewers beer to join in City of Ale” (Brewer) “Retailers (need) to be more committed to taking beers from sponsors and local brewers” (Brewer) “I had no sales calls from local breweries other than those I normally deal with” (Publican) Base: 23, all brewers; single response

38. Increasing footfall

39. Increase in footfall?(Publicans only) • The vast majority of publicans (82%) saw an increase in footfall • Where seen, the increase in footfall was typically up to 25%, although one publican saw an uplift of over 50% Q: By how much, if at all, did footfall increase in your pub? Publicans seeing some increase in footfall: 82% % Base: 29, all publicans; single response

40. More new faces and visitors from out of the region?(Publicans only) • The festival appears to have attracted new visitors, with 79% of publicans saying they saw more new faces than usual, and 72% reporting more people from out of the region • However, there is perhaps some feeling that if the festival is primarily aimed at local residents it would be less reliant on national support Q: I saw more new faces in my pub during Norwich City of Ale than at other times Q: I noticed more visitors in my pub from out of the region this year “It seemed to bring in an increasing number of visitors from outside of Norwich and Norfolk” (Publican) “It did bring a lot of people to Norwich!” (Publican) “Getting the support of the people of Norwich first, I believe, is the way forward rather than relying on people from out of the county to make the event” (Publican) Base: 29, all publicans; single response

41. Ale trails worked?(Publicans only) • The ale trail was considered to have worked well in getting people to try new pubs • However, perhaps different label pins would prove a good incentive to complete more than one trail  Q: The ale trails worked well in getting people into pubs they wouldn’t usually visit “The ale trails were a key driver for people visiting a good number of pubs” (Brewer) “Different rewards for different ale trails, the general consensus was that most customers didn't want the same pin badge for different trails and openly claimed that they weren't going to do any more for this reason” (Publican) “Different coloured pins for each trail” (Publican) Base: 29, all publicans; single response

42. More people collecting ale stamps? (Publicans only) • Ale trail ‘growth rates’ were seen by just over half of publicans (55%) Q: I noticed more people collecting Norwich City of Ale stamps this year    ?  2014 7% Strongly agree 48% Agree 31% Disagree 10% Strongly disagree 3% No reply     ? 2013 24% Strongly agree 52% Agree 20% Disagree 0% Strongly disagree 4% No reply Base: 29 (2014), 25 (2013), all publicans; single response

43. Individual preparations for the festival

44. Stocking more and ordering different beers?(Publicans only) • The majority said they both stocked more beer than usual and ordered different beers for Norwich City of Ale 2014 Q: I stocked more beer (in volume) than usual during Norwich City of Ale 2014 Q: I ordered different beers (increased range of options) to my regular stock for Norwich City of Ale 2014 Base: 29, all publicans; single response

45. Brewing more beers? Beer a fair payment?(Brewers only) • Three quarters (74%) did not brew more beers than usual, although just over a quarter did increase production • The donation of beer was generally considered to be a fair payment Q: I brewed more beers than usual during Norwich City of Ale 2014 Q: I felt the donation of beer was a fair payment Base: 23, all brewers; single response

46. Running more events?(Publicans and brewers) • As in 2013, there was a mixed response towards running more events • Pubs were slightly more likely to put on more events than breweries Q: I ran more events than usual during Norwich City of Ale 2014 Base: all respondents; single response

47. Organisational aspects

48. Well organised?(Publicans and brewers) • Publicans and Brewers both largely agreed that Norwich City of Ale 2014 was well organised • Organisers were praised for their enthusiasm and thanked for making the festival such a success Q: I thought Norwich City of Ale 2014 was well organised “A big thank you to the organisers - a great success” (Publican) “Really well organised and brilliant event!” (Publican) “I thought it was well organised and publicised and brought consumers into the city. I felt that there was plenty of enthusiasm for the event this year” (Brewer) Base: all respondents; single response

49. Enough publicity? (Yes)(Publicans and brewers) • The vast majority (92%) thought that this year’s festival was well publicised • Professional promotional material and a national reach were particularly noted this year Q: I thought Norwich City of Ale 2014 was well publicised “The image and promotion was very professional” (Publican) “Very well publicised, picked up by national publications” (Brewer) “Publicity was well handled and more wide reaching than last year, this certainly supported events which were held by individual pubs. Design and promotional material is well and consistently designed” (Publican) Base: all respondents; single response

50. Enough publicity? (No)(Publicans and brewers) • However, the timing of receiving banners and posters is generally seen as too last minute, with a feeling that more display time would be more productive in generating interest • One publican also noticed a few mistakes in the programme “Locally, we need to have posters, even if just generic with the dates, out there MUCH sooner, as, although the social media is amazing, it's still quite a ‘traditional’ market on the street - by the time posters, programmes etc. got out there into the pubs, where the more (traditional, local) drinkers are it was too late for most to get interested and sign up for crawls/events” (Publican) “Every year we are charged for a banner which turns up less than a week before the event and this year’s was two days before the event. This is absolutely pointless and a complete waste of money. The banners should be supplied at least a month before the event, enough time to be put up by the pub and for the event to be advertised” (Publican) “Ensure that details of events at participating pubs are correct up on publishing the booklets – for example, barbecue events and phone numbers of pubs were incorrect this year” (Publican) Base: all respondents; single response