Castle Pubs: Brand Proposition & Guest Experience
How do you bring more than 100 distinctive pubs together without turning them into a chain? We helped Castle find the idea that could unite them without dulling their character.
Castle is home to some of Mitchells & Butlers’ most iconic premium pubs. Historic landmarks. City-centre institutions. Neighbourhood favourites. Pubs with very different customers, offers and personalities, brought together under one portfolio.
The challenge was giving that estate greater coherence without taking away the very thing that made it valuable. So we started with the guests, the pubs and the people running them. Through customer segmentation, estate analysis and detailed work across the offer, we identified what Castle needed to be consistent about - and where each pub needed freedom to shine. That thinking became Distinctively Individual Urban Pubs.
A proposition designed to unite the estate behind common standards while protecting the character, personality and relevance of every venue. We translated it into a complete strategic and guest-experience framework, covering vision, mission, values, look, feel, tone and detailed operational guidance.
Years later, the thinking is still visible in the brand. Castle now comprises more than 100 pubs, and M&B has recently taken the portfolio guest-facing for the first time - giving the collection a shared voice while continuing to celebrate the character of every pub.
One portfolio. More than 100 pubs. United, not uniform.