The Harsh Truth: Boosting Isn’t Marketing
If your Facebook ad is just:
“Quiz Night Tuesday 7pm” with a blurry pint photo…
…you might as well be pouring your budget down the drip tray.
That’s how most pubs run ads in 2025 — they “boost a post” for £20, cross their fingers, and then swear ads don’t work. Meanwhile, the chain pub down the road is running tight geo-targeted campaigns with multiple creatives and filling their car park.
Here’s the good news: pubs don’t need big budgets to win. With the right frameworks, even £5/day can pack quiz nights, roasts, and matchdays. This playbook shows you how.
📉 Why Pubs Can’t Ignore Paid Ads Anymore
Organic reach is dying. In 2025, less than 5% of your followers see unpaid posts on Facebook or Instagram. If you rely on free posting alone, most of your punters never even see your events.
Meanwhile:
- Chains and breweries are running hyper-local ads.
- Netflix and Deliveroo are stealing pub trade with convenience.
- Your punters scroll hundreds of ads a day — yours has to cut through.
As Rory Sutherland (Ogilvy) says, “The problem with logic is it kills magic.” Pub ads can’t just be logical (“quiz at 7pm”). They need hooks, banter, and personality that stops the scroll.
🚀 The ROI Opportunity (Even on £5/Day)
Think ads are just for big brands? Wrong.
Case study:
- Pub in Manchester spent £75 over 2 weeks on quiz night ads.
- 20 teams booked tables in advance.
- £1,200+ extra sales.
- ROI = 16x.
The secret wasn’t budget. It was:
- Banter copy (“Who’s the cleverest team in town?”).
- Tight targeting (2-mile radius).
- Running ads for 3 days, not just one boost.
🛑 What Pubs Get Wrong With Ads
Most ad spend is wasted because landlords:
- Boost instead of build
Boosting = lazy targeting, one creative, weak results. Proper Ads Manager campaigns let you choose audience, placements, and creatives. - Target too wide
You don’t need to reach the whole city. Ads should hit locals within walking distance, not randoms 30 miles away. - Post once
One boosted post won’t fill a quiz. You need ad stacks: multiple creatives for the same event. - Measure likes, not sales
A like doesn’t equal a pint sold. ROI is bookings and bums on seats, not vanity metrics.
🏗 The Pub Ad Funnel (Made Simple)
Forget marketing jargon. Here’s how the ad funnel works for pubs:
- Awareness – Locals see your quiz/match/roast ad.
(“Red or Blue this Sunday? ⚽🍻”) - Engagement – They like, comment, tag mates.
(“We’ll smash this quiz 👇”) - Conversion – They book a table or walk in.
(“Last 2pm roast slot left — book now.”)
Run ads with this flow and you turn clicks into clinks.
📊 Real ROI Data (Why It Works)
- Average pint profit: ~£2.
- Average table booking (4 people): ~£40–£60.
- Cost per ad click in local areas: £0.20–£0.60.
That means:
- £5/day ad → ~30 clicks.
- If 3 bookings convert → ~£150 sales.
- ROI = 10–20x.
According to HubSpot, properly targeted local ads consistently outperform generic campaigns by 200–300% ROI.
📝 Why Templates Beat Guesswork
Most pubs waste money because they start every ad from scratch.
They “boost a post” and hope it works.
Smart landlords use templates — proven structures that you just plug in your event and pub details.
Think of it like your menu board. You don’t rewrite it every week — you swap in the specials. Your ads should work the same way.
🎯 Quiz Night Ad Template
Hook:
“Who’s the cleverest team in town? 🍻👇”
Visual:
- Pint with trivia sheet.
- Better yet: Reel of last week’s winning team celebrating.
Caption:
“Think you’re clever? Prove it Tuesday. Tables booking fast — drop your team name 👇.”
Targeting:
- 2-mile radius.
- Interest: Local sports + trivia.
Budget:
£5/day, 3 days (T-3 → T-1 → Day-of).
⚽ Match Day Ad Template
Hook:
“Red or Blue side Sunday? ⚽🍺”
Visual:
- Split pint glass (half red, half blue).
- Reel of pre-pour rows of pints.
Caption:
“Derby Day. Sound up, pints up, who’s braver to wear their shirt in here? 👀👇”
Targeting:
- 2-mile radius.
- Interests: Football, Premier League, club pages.
Budget:
£10/day, Fri–Sun.
ROI case: One pub spent £60 → booked 40+ tables for a local derby.
🍗 Roast Ad Template
Hook:
“Yorkies bigger than your head 🍽👇”
Visual:
- Chef carving beef joint reel.
- Steaming gravy pour slow-motion.
Caption:
“Sunday roasts going fast. 12pm, 2pm, or 4pm — which slot are you claiming?”
Targeting:
- Families + locals (radius).
- Interest: Foodies, dining.
Budget:
£5/day, Wed–Sun.
🎤 Karaoke Ad Template
Hook:
“Staff vs locals — who sings worse? 🎤👇”
Visual:
- Bar staff belting opening lines.
- Reel of punters with pints + mic.
Caption:
“We’ll start with a staff sing-off — then it’s your turn. What’s your track?”
Targeting:
- Locals (18–35 heavy).
- Interest: Music, nightlife.
Budget:
£5/day, Thurs–Fri.
🏗 The Frameworks Behind These Ads
1. 5-Word Framework → Expanded Creative
Landlord types 5 words (“Quiz Night • Big Prizes”).
SmartPubTools expands it into multiple banter ads with hooks + CTAs.
2. Geo-Radius Targeting (1–2 miles)
Don’t target the whole city. Your regulars are nearby.
Facebook lets you set radius down to 1 mile.
3. Ad Stacking (3 creatives per event)
One boosted post is weak. Run 3 creatives per event:
- Banter hook.
- Visual hook.
- Offer hook.
4. Retargeting Strategy
Target people who:
Liked the page in the last 30 days.
Engaged with last week’s quiz post.
Viewed your roast video but didn’t book.
Creative Examples (Image/Posters)
🔗 Prompt for AI image generation:
- “Crowd in a British pub watching football on a big screen, warm lighting, pints on tables.”
- “Pub quiz night with diverse group of friends writing answers, landlord with microphone.”
- “Traditional UK pub Sunday roast, Yorkshire puddings, pints of beer, cosy lighting.”
💰 Budgeting & ROI
- Starter spend: £30–£50 per campaign.
- ROI model:
- £50 spend → 2,500 impressions → 50 clicks → 5–8 bookings.
- Average spend per booking = £40.
- Revenue uplift = £200–£320.
📊 ROI = 4–6x on ad spend.
💡 Pro Tip: Start small, test one campaign. If it works → double down.
Templates That Print ROI
You don’t need a marketing degree. You need plug-and-play templates with banter hooks and local targeting.
These four campaigns alone (quiz, match, roast, karaoke) will give you weekly footfall wins.
👉 Next up in Part 3: How to measure ROI properly, scale what works, and stop chasing likes.
🍻 Want ad templates generated in seconds?
👉 Try SmartPubTools.net — 5 words in, full pub out.
📉 Why Most Landlords Don’t Track ROI
Most landlords think ads “don’t work” because they measure the wrong thing.
❌ They measure likes.
❌ They measure follows.
❌ They measure views.
But you can’t pay your staff in likes.
👉 What matters is bums on seats: tables booked, pints poured, roasts served.
If you’re spending £5/day on ads, you need to know how many pints that turned into.
📊 What to Track (Made Pub-Friendly)
Forget jargon dashboards. Here’s what you need:
- Cost per Engagement (CPE): How much you paid for each like/comment/share.
- Cost per Booking (CPB): How much you paid per reserved table or roast slot.
- Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): Sales ÷ Ad Spend.
Example:
- £50 ad spend.
- 15 bookings (average £40 spend per table).
- £600 sales.
- ROI = 12x.
That’s how you prove ads aren’t a cost — they’re a money printer.
⚡ The Smart Scaling System
Here’s how to scale ads without wasting budget:
- Test 3 creatives.
Example: Quiz night ads → one with banter hook, one with visual hook, one with prize hook. - Double down on the winner.
£5/day becomes £10/day. Stop spending on losers. - Layer placements.
- Start with Facebook Feed.
- Add Instagram Stories & Reels.
- Add retargeting to past engagers.
- Stack your calendar.
Don’t just run one-off ads. Build a rhythm: quiz → match → roast → karaoke.
🍺 Case Studies (Real ROI)
Pub A – Quiz Nights
- Spent: £75 over 2 weeks.
- Result: 20 teams booked.
- Sales: £1,200+.
- ROI: 16x.
Pub B – Sunday Roasts
- Spent: £100 over a month.
- Result: Full 12/2/4 slots every Sunday.
- Sales: £2,000+.
- ROI: 20x.
Pub C – Match Days
- Spent: £60 for derby week.
- Result: Booked-out pub, bar sales up 35%.
🧲 Retention Angle: Ads Beyond Events
Ads shouldn’t just sell one night. They should feed the flywheel:
- Loyalty Pass Ads: Promote QR punchcards (“10 pints = 1 free”).
- Birthday Pint Ads: Target locals with a birthday offer.
- WhatsApp VIP Ads: Drive punters into your broadcast group.
- Retention means punters come back every week, not just once.
📌 Wrap-Up: ROI That Pays the Bar Staff
That’s the full system:
- Part 1: Why ads matter + ROI opportunity.
- Part 2: Templates for quiz, match, roast, karaoke.
- Part 3: Tracking ROI, scaling, retention flywheel.
The result? Ads stop being an expense. They become your pub’s biggest profit lever.
🍻 Ready to stop boosting and start booking?
👉 Try SmartPubTools.net — pub ad templates, banter hooks, and ROI built-in.
❓ FAQs — Pub Ads 2025
Q1. How much should a pub spend on Facebook ads?
A: Start with £30–£50 per event campaign. That’s enough to reach 2,000–3,000 locals. Scale gradually once you see bookings increase.
Q2. Are Instagram ads worth it for pubs?
A: Yes. Instagram works especially well for younger demographics (18–35). Reels and Stories outperform static posts in 2025.
Q3. Should I boost posts or run proper ads?
A: Boosting posts gives quick reach but limited targeting. Real ads (via Ads Manager) let you target by age, location, and interests — and deliver much better ROI.
Q4. How can I measure if my pub ads are working?
A: Track bookings, comments, and walk-ins tied to events you promoted. Facebook’s Ad Manager also shows CTR and conversions — aim for at least 2–3% CTR.
Q5. What’s the biggest mistake pubs make with ads?
A: Running them too late (posting an ad on the same day as the event). The most successful campaigns run 7–10 days ahead, with a second push 24 hours before.