A trio of Sheffield best-loved hospitality venues, owned by A&S Leisure, maintained marketing activities during lockdown – securing the future of hospitality at Owlerton Stadium greyhound racetrack, OEC events venue, and Napoleons Casino. Here, Sheffield marketing agency fenti share how they leveraged their online presence to great effect.
Despite all their venues being closed, three popular Sheffield hospitality venues, owned by A&S Leisure, used digital marketing throughout lockdown, with Sheffield marketing agency fenti. The objective was to sustain engagement with customers during the pandemic.
Like most entertainment venues, Owlerton Stadium greyhound racetrack, the OEC events venue, and Napoleons Casino – all located in Owlerton, Sheffield – suffered a heart-breaking set back in 2020, when all three were forced to close because of the UK lockdown restrictions.
“It was hard for the team to close the doors on our three venues,” says Linda Clark, director of A&S Leisure. “Owlerton Stadium has the most loyal staff and customers you can imagine and it’s a popular night out for Sheffielders and sports fans alike.
“The recently constructed OEC opened its doors for the first time only four months before lockdown, and Napoleons staff are such a friendly, talented and dedicated team – you can imagine the anguish we felt in March last year.”
A&S Leisure recognised halting all communication with customers could have a devastating effect on each venue’s long-term sustainability. The importance of staying in touch with customers through email, social media and digital screens located throughout Sheffield, became a vital part of maintaining engagement throughout lockdown.
Elaine Shipley, creative director at fenti, said: “I have worked with A&S Leisure for 15 years, with fenti working as the marketing department for their three venues over the last four years.
“When lockdown hit, the marketing strategy shifted to purely digital. Keeping in touch with customers throughout lockdown made a significant difference. Bookings have remained strong since March 2020, so each venue hit the ground running when they reopened earlier this summer.”
Leveraging digital
With global marketing budgets down 11 per cent from 2020 – now equating to just 6.4 per cent of overall company revenue – many businesses essentially ‘switched off’ marketing activities. There is a reluctance, in some of the worst-hit sectors, to return to pre-pandemic marketing spend.
Brands selling goods and services online, however, capitalised on the need to stay at home, reallocating large proportions of their budget to social media advertising. Facebook ad revenue figures released during early 2021 confirmed the social media giant enjoyed a 48 per cent revenue increase since early 2020, earning a whopping £18.7bn.
With more than 48 million Facebook users in the UK, the social media platform is integral to connecting with audiences and the social media giant played a huge part in increasing audience engagement during lockdown for Owlerton Stadium, OEC, and Napoleons.
Elaine said: “Part of fenti’s service to A&S Leisure is managing their social media platforms, creating visual and written content, and posting updates every day. Competitions were hugely rewarding – a bit of fun and something to look forward to for everyone stuck at home.
The response has been phenomenal.
“Father’s Day 2021 at Owlerton Stadium is a prime example of how engagement is pivotal in social media marketing. The Stadium was delighted to be able to reopen for Father’s Day in June this year, although planning an event with restricted capacity amid nation-wide uncertainty was tricky, to say the least. A social media campaign was launched as soon as hospitality venues were confident they could reopen.”
Father’s Day was a resounding success, requiring capacity across both Owlerton Stadium’s restaurant and the OEC next door, with the event completely sold out over a month in advance.
Back to business
Despite each venue being closed for over a year, the entertainment trio maintained strong engagement with their respective audiences, with strong post-lockdown bookings and footfall across the three venues.
Matthew Hamilton, venue director at Owlerton Stadium, said: “The pandemic has demonstrated a strong desire from our customers to support their favourite entertainment venues. There was a concern that pent-up demand could quickly fade once everyone had made up for lost time. That really hasn’t been the case – our VIP Hospitality Boxes, for instance, are booked up for months.”
Traffic from Facebook to each of the venue websites soared from March 2020 to 2021, with membership applications increased for Napoleons Casino. In addition to healthy and consistent bookings throughout the pandemic, the OEC started using the venue for blood donor sessions during lockdown, which are planned to continue for as long as the venue is required by the NHS.
Rebecca Toner, conference and events sales manager at OEC Sheffield, said: “We couldn’t be happier. We’re back to business and doing what we love. Working with fenti, as our marketing team, has helped maintain interest in everything our venues offer, with personalities people resonate with.
“Social media worked wonders for our bookings, and fenti managed to keep them coming in for over a year, even though we were closed.”
Known as the straight-talking agency, fenti offer a full marketing service from Google Ads to web development, meaning your brand is in safe hands. For more information, get in contact with fenti:
info@fenti.co.uk
