POLITICO Pub

Client: POLITICO

Liverpool & Manchester

Party Conference season is one of the most competitive hospitality environments in British politics. Every media organisation, think tank and lobbying firm is chasing the same senior ministers, shadow cabinet members and advisers. Most do it with a drinks reception and a branded backdrop. POLITICO did it with a pub: a setting that felt instantly familiar and authentic to its audience.

The brief to the creative agency, fresh, was to build something that would cut through, attract the most senior figures in British politics, and, critically, make them want to stay. The answer was a purpose-built Westminster pub: a 10m x 12m marquee fitted out with flock wallpaper, a dartboard, wall sconces, a division bell and beer on tap – the Liverpool version located on the banks of the River Mersey.

The pub format was chosen precisely because it creates a specific emotional state – the ease, familiarity and informality of a real local – and because that emotional state changes how people behave. Serious conversations happen differently over a pint.

Across both Labour and Conservative conferences in 2025, it worked. Both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition attended. So did Jonathan Reynolds, Bridget Phillipson, Peter Kyle, Heidi Alexander, Lucy Powell, James Cleverly, Penny Mordaunt, Robert Jenrick, Priti Patel and Grant Shapps.

The pub hosted fireside chats, live podcasts and private boardroom meetings throughout. It was described by POLITICO's Senior Executive Editor for Europe as "so authentic and so fun to be in." Digiday, which awarded it Best Event at the Digiday Media Awards Europe, recognised it for extending POLITICO's journalism beyond the page and generating senior political attendance, exclusive reporting and viral social content.

It was about creating a bold, distinctive environment where politicians felt at ease enough to have real conversations.