The story so far
Now in its fifth year Mediatheme™ is proud to declare a customer base in excess of eight hundred venues.
Many of these are owned by the likes of:
Click on the links (left-hand column) to hear from our customers themselves how the Entertainer™ has become the best investment they ever made.
Customers
Customer Reviews
Enterprise Inns is the largest leased and tenanted pub company in the UK. Formed in 1991, its estate now includes over 9,000 pubs throughout England, Scotland and Wales. With its 'Retailers in Partnership' philosophy, Enterprise encourages entrepreneurial licensees to find different ways of building up trade – which is where the Entertainer™ comes in.
First timers use Entertainer™ to grow their business
"It was coming up to Christmas, so we had a few parties booked and needed to think about entertainment," Gary says. "My background is in IT so the Entertainer™'s technology appealed to me. We had a demo on site and placed an order right away."
Surrounded by rival pubs and catering solely to the Monday-Friday business market, the Thornbury Castle needed something extra to draw in crowds of office workers. After the Entertainer™ was installed, Gary realised he'd found the answer.
"We noticed the difference immediately, it sold itself," he explains. "We started doing group parties and karaoke and got busy very quickly – it took us by surprise. Maggie's marketing experience also came into play as she was able to use the Entertainer™'s integrated advertising feature to communicate more effectively with customers. It was a successful Christmas and the customers kept coming back. The growth has been steady ever since."
More customers, spending for longer
Alan Walsh has been tenant and licensee at the Carters' Arms, Bolton, for over four years. Realising he was paying out too much for karaoke and quiz hosts, Alan decided to invest in an Entertainer Pro™.
"I saw an ad in the Publican and was immediately impressed," he says. "It has so much to offer in terms of attracting customers. We use all of the features – bingo, hi-lo, quizzes, karaoke and race nights, and there's always music in the background."
In fact, the Entertainer™ gives Alan so many options, he's confident it has helped to increase takings in the Carters’ Arms:
"The Entertainer™ events always go down well. It's definitely brought more customers in and they stay all night -– our quiz nights have grown from three teams to seven or eight."
Take control of your music
Lesley Tuckwood is licensee of the Sicey Hotel on the outskirts of Sheffield. Lesley recognised that her customers wanted music, but was fed up with paying for unsatisfactory DJs or the latest CDs. Lesley invested in an Entertainer Pro™ in 2003, and is now firmly in control of the music in her venue.
"People like music," Lesley says. "But I was spending a lot on CDs and couldn't afford to keep hiring DJs – especially as they often play the type of music that doesn’t suit the environment, and refuse to take requests."
"Now we're in control," she continues. "We can look at what type of customers we have in and put music on to suit them. We also take requests and the customers are very impressed that they don't have to put money in a jukebox."
The Entertainer™ has clearly been a hit with Lesley's regulars, but with the extensive selection of music it can offer, the system has started to attract a new crowd.
"We're surrounded by trendy pubs and as we're a more traditional venue we didn't get many young people in before," explains Lesley. "Now we've had a few coming in – they like the video screens and the fact they can hear the hip hop tracks they want for free."
Stand out from the crowd
The Clock Tavern sits on a busy main road in Hebburn, Gateshead. Licensee Norman Scott had an Entertainer Pro™ installed and soon found it provided the ideal way to stand out amongst his competitors.
"It's the only one in the area – the customers all talk about it," explains Norman. "We recently used the Entertainer™ to put on a race night to raise funds for local charities. I sold tickets and what would have been a quiet Friday night ended up very busy."
Greene King is one of the UK's leading pub retailers and brewers, combining successful, traditional brand ales with modern, forward thinking. Greene King has three businesses: Pub Company, which encompasses both Old English Inns and Hungry Horse and is now the third fastest growing managed pub business in the UK, Pub Partners and Brewing Company. Over 2003 Greene King invested over £400,000 in Entertainer Pro™ systems for 50 of its Hungry Horse, High Street and Real Pubs divisions.
Rock around the clock
Tony Bird is the assistant manager of The Rock in Cambridge, which has recently upgraded to an Entertainer Pro™ V2. The Rock is a large pub, spread over two bars. The music system is used throughout both bars and the promotion system can be seen on screens on one side.
“We use all of the options on the machine,” says Bird. “You can promote bands, football matches and specials on food on the screens and that and the music option are used the whole time the pub is open.”
The karaoke option is a real success too. “We've got a football team who use the pub and they book the venue on regular occasions,” says Bird. “The karaoke feature is a big hit with them.”
Karaoke improves business
Ray Gradwell, manager of The Harrier, a Hungry Horse in Peterborough, is also impressed with the karaoke option. Before the Entertainer Pro™ was installed last year he had a Quizoke system, but has noticed the difference with the Entertainer™ – and business has improved.
“We use the karaoke every week,” says Gradwell. “The karaoke is far superior than our old system and the jukebox option means we can choose different music for a different event.”
Over the moon with the Entertainer™
The Man in Space, Bristol uses its Entertainer Pro™ to its full potential. The venue holds approximately 450 people and the Entertainer™ was in place when the new management took over in August 2003. In April 2004, manager Matt Rogers undertook a survey with his customers, giving them the option of keeping the Entertainer™ or replacing it with a traditional jukebox. The overwhelming reaction was to keep the Entertainer™ and it is no wonder. Not only does the Man in Space have the Entertainer™ on the bar as a free jukebox, but it also runs quiz nights on a Monday, karaoke every other Saturday, horse racing on Sundays and regular 70s and 80s disco nights.
“The system is very easy to operate,” comments Rogers. “Our most popular night is either the karaoke or the horse racing, it's very close. And the customers love it.”
Profits soar with Entertainer Pro™
Honeycombe Leisure Plc is one of the leading pub companies in the north of England. It has 95 bars and hotels, operating in two divisions – venue bars and inns and taverns. All of the outlets are free from corporate branding and have been individually designed to give a memorable environment.
John, the landlord of The Last Orders Inn, Wigan, who owns the franchise on two other Honeycombe Leisure pubs and has seen his profits soar since he installed an Entertainer Pro™ in November 2003. He has no doubt that the Entertainer Pro™ has had an impact on increasing revenue. In fact John has seen an increase of £2,000 per month since the Entertainer™ was installed. And that's without using all of the features.
John chose The Entertainer Pro™ after seeing it advertised in a trade publication. He was looking for a system that had multiple entertainments in one package and the Entertainer Pro™ had everything he needed. Monthly updates mean that the system is always up-to-the-minute and the music choice on the jukebox is current. In addition, John is incredibly impressed with the ease of use. “Only the bar manager and I use the system at the moment, but it's a real doddle,” he says.
The karaoke feature has been a real hit with the punters at Last Orders. “We have karaoke on demand all the time, which the customers love,” says John. “It's been a real pull.” The extensive catalogue of karaoke songs means that customers can sing along to over 2,500 professionally orchestrated tracks, whatever the time of day.
In addition, John pulls in extra revenue by using the advertising feature. “We use the Entertainer™ to advertise local businesses like the taxi firm, Chinese take-away and the chippy,” explains John. “We also use it for in-house promotions, which is a great PR tool, particularly for birthdays and stag nights.”
The Entertainer Pro™ has been such a success that John will be exploring the other functions very soon, such as race nights and quizzes, and is hoping to increase his profits even further. He is now considering purchasing further Entertainer™s for his other franchises. “The Entertainer™ has been brilliant and I can't find fault with it.”
Norman Balmer, area manager of Honeycombe Leisure Plc supports John's enthusiasm for the Entertainer™: “It is an amazing piece of equipment; so easy to use and gives the manager lots of scope to offer entertainment on a daily basis. We have seen significant increases in turnover when using the Entertainer Pro™.”
Mediatheme Entertainer Pro™, an InnSpired success for the Pump and Truncheon
Like many licensees in Blackpool’s busy promenade area, Keith Slater and partner Barbara Savage were looking for a way to attract customers to their pub and, crucially, to keep them entertained until closing time.
Keith and Barbara have been running The Pump and Truncheon, a one-room InnSpired leasehold just off the main promenade in Blackpool, for the past three years. The town attracts large groups of tourists, so the competition between venues is fierce. Keith realised that he not only had to get customers into the pub, he had to provide entertainment to keep them there, often at a moment’s notice.
"One day we could have a big group of lads on a stag night coming in, the next a busload of OAPs," explains Keith. "So how do we persuade them to stay for more than one drink? How do we keep them in?"
The solution was Mediatheme™’s multi-media entertainment system, the Entertainer Pro™.
The Entertainer™ system was installed in the Pump and Truncheon in December 2003, and Keith noticed an increase in business almost immediately.
"The reaction from customers has been brilliant," he says. "We’ve now got a Public Entertainment License until 12am, and we’re using the Entertainer™ almost every night. We put on karaoke every weekend and make the most of all the gaming and music features. It’s made a clear difference to my sales – now customers will stay in the pub all night."
Keith has trained his staff to adapt the atmosphere in the pub to suit different types of drinkers: "I took them all through the system and they find it very easy to use," he explains. "They can now look at the type of customer we’ve got in, and make sure the music is right. So we can put on chart stuff for younger customers or 1950s classics for OAPs. If they’re enjoying the music they’ll keep spending."
Keith recently used the Entertainer™ as the basis for a weeklong beach party, using a different feature to entertain customers each night. The pub was decorated with sand, deck chairs and seashells and the week kicked off with a race evening. Other events included a quiz, bingo, karaoke and a reggae night with rum punch and jerk chicken, using the Entertainer™’s selection of reggae tunes to set the mood.
And Keith is in no doubt about the Entertainer™’s benefits: "We get such a diverse set of people coming in, and now we’ve got everything we need to make sure that whoever they are, they’ll want to stay," he concludes. "It’s putting more money in the tills, and that’s what it’s all about."
Heart of the community moves to beat of Entertainer™
With over 120 pubs, John Barras is a drive brand for Spirit Group, the largest independent managed pub group in the UK - at the heart of their community. The Entertainer™ is perfect for enhancing the fun, entertainment and a good atmosphere for customers inside the pub.
Local investment
In June 2003 the Peregrine in Newcastle became one of the first John Barras pubs to install the Entertainer™. Previously the Peregrine had fruit machines, a jukebox and had to pay for extra events it wanted to hold. With the Entertainer™, the Peregrine can hold numerous theme nights at no extra cost, while increasing revenue.
The Peregrine’s manager, Michael McWilliams is very impressed with the Entertainer™. "The Entertainer™ is a first-class product. All the staff find it really easy to use and the customers love it. They know what music they want to listen to and they come up and request it, which makes them feel like it is their pub. The karaoke nights have gone down incredibly well."
In addition, the Peregrine uses the advertising feature to good effect. "We use the Entertainer™ for in-house promotions and events," says McWilliams. "Local businesses also advertise with us. They support it because they feel like they are investing in their local."
Entertainment Led
White Hills in Northampton is a managed pub that focuses on entertainment. After seeing an Entertainer demonstration, John O’Donnell, White Hills’s manager felt it would be perfect for his pub.
"Entertainment is a big thing at White Hills," says O’Donnell. "The Entertainer™ has all we need in one easy to use package. We use everything from karaoke to racing and the feedback from customers has been very positive. Our best nights are the Friday night karaoke evenings, closely followed by quiz nights."
The Entertainer™ was installed in April 2004 and O’Donnell has already started to see profits increase.
The answers are there with Entertainer Pro™
Paul Toward and his wife Debra run the Chesterfield Arms in Gedling, Nottingham, a pub located at the end of the village, with capacity for 200. Toward attended the same presentation as John O’Dowell and saw the advantages straight away.
"The Entertainer™ is different from anything I had seen before and, as a community pub, it is exactly what we needed," explains Toward. "I used to organise quizzes, which were very successful, but now I can do it without any outside help and extra expense."
As well as his regular weekend quizzes, Toward has added a Wednesday race night to his entertainment programme – something he would not have considered in the past. "The race nights are proving to be really popular and the feedback from customers has all been incredibly positive, which is all helping to increase revenue," he says.
Helen Parker, John Barras marketing manager, comments: "We have been extremely pleased with the response to the Entertainer™ machines from staff and our customers. Not only are they simple to use but provide additional options for zoning and supporting revenue driving events."
Entertainer™ boosts profits at Kingsbury Services Club
When Kingsbury Services Club decided to update its premises with a complete refurbishment, the club’s entertainment system also came under review. Previously the club had been using a jukebox, which was not very cost effective and did not fit in with the new image.
Steve Cassidy, the vice-chairman of the private club of 600 service personnel, discovered Entertainer Pro™ at Pub and Bar 2002. After seeing the demonstration and researching other systems, he decided to go for Entertainer Pro™. "In my opinion, there was nothing comparable to the Entertainer™ on the market," explains Cassidy. "It is definitely the best for what we need."
The Entertainer™ was installed in the new-look club in November 2003 and has gone down a storm with the members. In fact, Cassidy has noticed that if the Entertainer™ is not available for any reason there is uproar. "The Entertainer™ is excellent," says Cassidy. "We wouldn’t contemplate being without it."
The club uses all the features of The Entertainer™ to good effect. In addition to ever-popular karaoke nights, the club also holds race nights once a month and has found that quiz sessions work really well. The Entertainer™ even came to the rescue when a big band that had been booked didn’t turn up. Instead of calling the whole evening off, the club decided to hold an impromptu karaoke evening – something they would not have been able to do in the past. "We would be lost without it," says Cassidy.
Kingsbury has come up with an inventive way of utilising the advertising feature of The Entertainer™ – it uses it as a notice board. "The advertising feature is really useful for in-house promotions," explains Cassidy. "It’s really easy to use and saves time filling traditional notice boards. Everyone gets to see the notices on the plasma screens."
Cassidy sees The Entertainer™ as one of the best investments the club has ever made and has definitely seen an impact in takings. "Takings have been up by 40 percent since the refurbishment and up to ten percent of that is due to The Entertainer™. We like to think that we are one of the nicest clubs in London now."
Pontin's operates eight holiday centres throughout the UK, offering low-cost family breaks and themed weekends throughout the year. Busy entertainment programmes cater for thousands – a task made easier since the installation of Entertainer Pro™s across all eight sites.
Ian Johnson, entertainments manager of Pontin’s Southport, was looking to upgrade the centre’s existing entertainment systems. Their laser-disc karaoke system had become obsolete, and CDs and gaming systems were proving problematic. Mediatheme™’s multi-media package, Entertainer Pro™, provided the solution.
"We invited quite a few companies in to demonstrate, and the Entertainer™ was superior to everything else on the market," explains Johnson. "Some of the other systems still relied on discs – a major selling point of the Entertainer™ was that everything is stored on the hard drive. We have 20 staff, and discs get lost or scratched, so to have everything in one unit is perfect for us."
Making life easy
The Entertainer™ was installed in August 2002, and Johnson and his team soon noticed a difference.
"Before the system was installed, we did everything that you can do with the Entertainer™, but we had different machines for everything," Johnson says. "Now our lives are so much easier. Because the system is simple to operate, if a member of staff is running a karaoke evening they can just plug in and be up and running in minutes."
Johnson’s team of 20 Blue Coats runs most of the centre’s entertainment, so it was essential that any new system could be easily operated by different staff members. Their reaction to the Entertainer™ has been extremely positive.
"Part of our Blue Coat training academy programme is now dedicated to the system, and they generally get to grips with it very quickly," explains Johnson. "We have two venues and when we have discos in both, the staff fight over who gets to use the Entertainer™!"
And for Johnson, there is little doubt that the system’s flexibility and multiple-functionality have changed the way he plans the centre’s entertainment programme.
"Now I can quickly and easily slot in more sessions," he says. "I can add a quiz, race event or bingo session, using fewer members of staff. We want to run a seamless entertainment programme, and the Entertainer™ adds to that."
Music for all tastes
Russell Donbavand worked with Johnson at Pontin’s Southport before becoming entertainments manager at the company’s Hemsby resort. Having seen the Entertainer™ in action, he was keen to bring Hemsby up to date.
"As soon as I transferred to Hemsby my first priority was to get an Entertainer™ installed," Donbavand explains. "We didn’t do race nights. We had a limited collection of music. And our expensive karaoke system was nowhere near as good as the Entertainer™."
The system arrived in March 2003, and Donbavand and his team haven’t looked back. The Entertainer now plays an integral role in Hemsby’s entertainment programme – even being used as the basis of themed music weekends.
"Our Motown Legends event in October attracted hundreds of soul music fans," says Donbavand. "The year before we had to use a specialist soul DJ. This time I did all three nights using the Entertainer and everyone was happy. These were serious soul music enthusiasts – if the Entertainer can cater for them it's a job well done."
Pushing up profits
With the Entertainer™, Pontin’s has been able to diversify its entertainment, giving staff more options and greater freedom. Martin Abbott of Pontin’s Prestatyn explains: "The Entertainer™ came along and it was like nothing I’d ever seen. It was installed in Christmas 2002 and it’s pushed our entertainment forward in leaps and bounds.
"Because we can do so much from one box, we’re able to change the entertainment in a venue in seconds," he adds. "For example, if we were running a cine-race night before, that was all we could do. Now if it’s is not going down well, we can switch to something else."
And the guests have noticed the difference. Prestatyn’s bars have recorded increased takings since the Entertainer™ was installed.
"Now we can do more, more people come to the events and that means more people in the bars, concludes Abbott. "Word has got round and it has definitely increased our bar take. The quality of this product is second to none. We went from a horse and cart to a McLaren F1."