Brakspear’s sixth annual Henley Ale Trail starts at the beginning of June with an increased focus on digital and social media to drive awareness and participation among a broader audience, particularly younger drinkers.
This year’s trail includes nine pubs in Henley-on-Thames town centre. For the first time, customers are being asked to register their participation online, with the inducement of a free Ale Trail T-shirt on completion. Registration can be done via text, by visiting the www.henleyaletrail.co.uk website, or, for smartphone users, by scanning the QR code printed on Ale Trail maps and posters in pubs.
Awareness of the Ale Trail is also being driven through local newspaper and radio advertising, with press ads featuring the QR code. Brakspear has worked with digital marketing specialists intxt on the campaign.
As in previous years, Ale Trailers are given a collector card which is stamped every time they buy a pint of Brakspear Bitter or Oxford Gold in a pub on the trail. After their final pint, in The Old Bell, they can claim a free pint and a T-shirt.
Tom Davies, Brakspear chief executive, said, “The Ale Trail has become a popular annual tradition in Henley, enjoyed by hundreds of pubgoers every summer. This year, we’re continuing with this tradition but combining it with modern technology to make the event bigger and better than ever.
“Younger drinkers are a focus for the Ale Trail this year. We know that more of them are drinking cask ale, so we’re confident that, by engaging with them through the digital and social media that they routinely use, we can encourage more of them to join the trail.”
The pubs on the Ale Trail are: The Three Tuns, The Saracens Head, The Angel on the Bridge, The Little Angel, The Rose & Crown, The Beer Tree, The Row Barge, The Old Bell and The Three Horseshoes. The Ale Trail runs until the end of the year.
Caption to attached image: Tom Davies, Brakspear chief executive (centre) with regular Henley Ale Trailers Richard Bateman (left) and James Nixon (right), who have completed the five previous trails. Photo courtesy of Henley Standard.
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Issued on behalf of: Brakspear
By: ShielPorter Communications
Further information: Ros Shiel
07841 694137