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Music, signage and atmosphere influence how long customers stay, how they feel, and how they perceive a brand.
In pub environments, these elements help shape the atmosphere, influence social energy throughout the visit, and enhance the experience across different trading periods and occasions.
Punch Pubs operates one of the UK’s largest leased and tenanted pub estates, supporting thousands of independent publicans across a highly fragmented network. Our observations and suggestions could support and further enhance consistency, while still preserving the autonomy of individual operators.
Music was very loud on arrival, although this appeared to be driven more by staff activity than customer experience, as the venue was being cleaned at the time of visit.
The audio appeared to be streamed directly from a staff device via a Bluetooth connection to the sound system, suggesting a lack of central control or standardisation.
The soundtrack itself leaned towards R&B and soul, likely reflecting a personal staff playlist rather than a defined brand direction.
While the selection itself was familiar and accessible, the lack of consistency and control meant the music felt incidental rather than intentional, with volume also fluctuating depending on staff adjustments during the visit.
A wall-mounted TV screen was present in the venue, but it was switched off at the time of visit. A TNT Sports sticker in the window suggests the screen is likely used for live sport or scheduled content.
At present, there is no visible consistency in how digital signage is deployed across the estate, and usage appears to be dependent on individual operators.
Replace ad-hoc Bluetooth streaming with a managed, easy-to-use system that ensures consistent volume, quality and brand-safe playlists across all pubs.
Provide licensees with curated playlist options that still allow local personality, but ensure a consistent baseline experience across the estate.
Offer simple, plug-and-play screen content for sport, promotions and events that tenants can activate easily without needing marketing expertise.
Based on your brand, audience and environment, here’s an example of how your music could feel with Startle.
This playlist has been designed to reflect a warm, familiar pub atmosphere - blending soul, soft rock and timeless pop to create a relaxed social environment that works across daytime drinks, food service and evening trade.
The intention is to:
Choose from our library of over 100 professionally crafted playlists spanning genres, moods and sectors, or opt for curated soundtracks designed to support different trading periods.
We offer scalable digital signage to automate your sports promotion and make the most of F&B offers and key campaigns. Promote, entertain and engage.
With Startle Studio, you’ll have full visibility and control of all your pubs’ music and signage schedules from a central platform, ensuring consistency across your estate.
We’ve worked with large pub operators to create more engaging and consistent guest experiences across complex multi-site estates.
We partnered with Mitchells & Butlers to help deliver a more scalable and centrally managed music experience across a diverse portfolio of pub and restaurant brands.
By aligning playlists more closely with different customer occasions, venue formats and trading patterns, Mitchells & Butlers were able to create environments that felt more consistent, welcoming and reflective of each brand’s atmosphere.
This approach included:
Working with Startle has been a very positive experience for Mitchells & Butlers. They understand the important role that music and atmosphere play in shaping the overall guest journey and helping our venues feel welcoming, engaging and on brand. Their solutions support us in delivering a consistent, high-quality experience across our estate, while still allowing our teams to focus on what matters most – great hospitality.
Head of Electronic Leisure
Book your discovery call to explore how music and signage could enhance experience, consistency and engagement across your estate.
On this call we’ll:
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