Orchid is a big fan of the annual Movember campaign: it finds that growing facial hair helps grow sales for its businesses as well as raise money for charity. A ‘win, win’ that others could follow…
The fundraising effort is embraced across all divisions and levels and is the perfect way to generate much-needed attention in the run-up to Christmas. It helps fight male cancer and builds a real sense of community within the business, with pubs across the estate taking part, with huge benefits for their sales and footfall:
- Movember is a great opportunity for free press coverage. Tony McCaul, Landlord at the Station in Guiseley, says, “It unites regulars and creates a massive talking point – particularly when they saw my moustache in the local paper! That brought even more people in to see how I was getting on.”
- Tash-tastic: taking part in Movember helps strengthen the community feel, says Iain Todd, General Manager at the Blackbrook Tavern in Taunton: “It’s great for team-building and has that healthy bit of competition we all need. Everyone gets involved and spurs each other on – staff and customers.”
- Santa’s tash: as Movember is just before Christmas, it is the perfect time to raise awareness for party bookings. The Druids Head in Brighton brought their moustache efforts to a close with a grand shave-off evening. “The event boosted our sales too, and it was the ideal opportunity to boost our profile just before for the festive season,” says General Manager Yvonne Roche.
- Share the hair: Movember is the perfect collateral for social media sites. Pubs plastered their Facebook and Twitter pages with images of how the team were getting on, encouraging customers to get involved and creating a real talking point next time they visited.
- Hearts and minds: the campaign captures the hearts and minds of thousands of Orchid staff, from those who have been touched by cancer to others who embrace the opportunity to help a worthy cause.
Wide-ranging appeal, involvement, fun…
“Movember has wide-ranging appeal,” says Olly Jakes, Marketing Manager at Orchid Group. “It’s easy to do and completely free, and while the men prepare to grow and tame their tash, the women help by sponsoring, cajoling and complimenting them on their new looks.
“The whole month brings a real sense of community and demonstrates that our pubs are socially responsible. Our regulars love getting involved and it encourages them to keep coming in.”
At Orchid’s Park Mill office in St Albans, moustaches were seen growing from almost every male lip, with the team raising an impressive £1,406 altogether, and “There was a lot of competition – rulers came out almost every day to see whose moustache was growing the quickest.”
And for 2012…
H&C News isn’t convinced that this development will be a winner!
“We’re aiming to make it even bigger and better this year, and the talk is that women should get involved by not shaving their legs for a month, but I’m not sure how well that will go down!”
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