By Vanessa Cavasinni, editor Australian Hotelier
The Melbourne-based craft beer is collaborating with selected venues on the eastern seaboard to create branded spaces on-premise.
Pineapple Hotel in Kangaroo Point, Brisbane, is the first pub that Cricketers Arms has partnered with, renovating and redesigning the Park Bar at the 150-year-old hotel. The first venue to partner with the beer brand was the Backyard Burger Kitchen at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The renovations were completed recently, and the Cricketers Arms installations have been designed with the hotel’s larger aesthetic in mind, while also showcasing the clean and contemporary stylings of the Cricketers Arms brand.
The fit-out of the Park Bar includes illuminated internal and external signage, branded furniture, umbrellas, planter boxes and customised tap fonts. In addition to the installations, each venue that takes part in the takeovers will stock branded Cricketers Arms glassware, which are a first to market for the brand in Australia. Park Bar at Pineapple Hotel will serve Cricketers Arms Lager, Pale Ale and Summer Ale draught, along with Session Ale cans, which were launched earlier in the year.
With IRI MartketEdge data finding that Cricketers Arms is the fifth largest masterbrand in Australian craft beer in terms of off-premise value, the project helps to bring visibility to the brand in the on-premise.
“Cricketers Arms is brewed in Melbourne, but enjoyed by patrons around Australia and abroad. Aiming to build awareness and visibility for the Cricketers Arms brand outside of Victoria, we are recreating the easy going and inclusive essence of the brand through partnership with these new hero venues,” stated Sarah Wilson, brand manager for Cricketers Arms.
“With the first two venues strategically selected in the vicinity of key sporting venues, The Gabba in Brisbane and the SCG in Sydney, the Pineapple Hotel and Backyard Burger Kitchen provide dedicated spaces for consumers to enjoy a session of Cricketers Arms brews with their mates before or after a game, or relax in the venues and catch major sports matches live on screen.”
Craig Singleton, owner of the Pineapple Hotel, says the partnership with Cricketers Arms on the Park Bar is beneficial to both parties.
“The Cricketers Arms activation fits in well at the Pineapple Hotel, it’s contemporary and stylish. The bar is a perfect place to catch up with friends, drop in for a beer before home games at The Gabba, or enjoy live music. The partnership with Cricketers Arms is a natural fit.”
Cricketers Arms are planning more takeovers planned for installation at the end of the year and in early 2018, with announcements to follow in the next few weeks.