Holiday prix fixe menus. Celebrity chef takeovers. Special pop-ups. Weekly, monthly and quarterly special menu pairing dinners. Each of these novelties present tremendous value in its own right, especially in generating buzz amongst the foodie community, but are any of them right for you? These events require equally tremendous investment toward planning and, in some cases, funding. So, are they worth the cost? In order to determine whether a special event is worth your while, ask yourself the following questions:
Once you have a solid grasp on your goals and vision behind the event, it’s time to plan out the logistics necessary to make the event known and run smoothly for all guests and staff involved. Train your kitchen staff. "Think of it like planning a wedding: you’ll want a save-the-date, an invitation and a few periodic updates leading up to the big day" Execution is critical in these kinds of special events, especially considering that they often demand higher prices and attract hypercritical guests. If you have any new recipes, be sure to dedicate several days to training your kitchen staff in preparation, plating and service of these dishes. If taste, presentation and timing are critical in an ordinary restaurant setting, they are several times more important in special event settings.
Set up and decorate accordingly. You want your restaurant to look different during a special event. At a minimum there should be signage at the entrance and collateral on the tables that speaks to the event. From there, the more different the event is than your usual service period, the more different the venue should look. Rearranging tables, new place settings and décor are common considerations, as are novelties such as DJ booths and stages, where various stakeholders can make announcements. Spread the word in advance and often. Start your marketing efforts at least three months before the event is set to take place. Target your loyalists first, to both get them onboard and assess any commentary on their end—your customers likely know your brand better than you think, and upon hearing about a special event they could provide useful insight to improve the event offerings. After your loyalists, including messaging on your existing social media, email and other in-house channels, targeting those in your community that would be most receptive to the event. If you’re doing a menu pairing, then perhaps a partnership with the local wine club is in order. If a celebrity chef is coming in, then an arrangement where they post to their channels is essential to your event’s success. Be mindful that the initial blast is just the first step. Continue messaging to your target audience on a regular basis, increasing frequency as the event draws closer. You don’t want to bombard them, of course, but rather gently remind them every so often. Think of it like planning a wedding: you’ll want a save-the-date, an invitation and a few periodic updates leading up to the big day. Bring it back to the experience. Experiential marketing is certainly on the rise, and in the case of restaurants it kills two birds with one stone. Special events allow new and different people to come in and experience your product in a distinct way that directly links back to your business. These events can be carried out independently or as part of a series, but should be spaced out far enough so that each one feels special in its own right and doesn’t detract from your core business. Limitless event opportunities exist, and serve as valuable assets so long as they align with your individual goals.
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National Doughnut Day. National Cheeseburger Day. National Tequila Day. National Chocolate-Covered Bacon Day. The list goes on. If you’re in the restaurant business, there’s an overwhelming chance that some of these faux food holidays have made their way onto your plate. Two questions arise: how to leverage these holidays to your advantage, and more importantly, whether the attempt is worth it in the first place. Do Faux Food Holidays Matter? The short answer is that faux food holidays can be a fun business booster for both new customers and loyalists, so long as you make a big enough commitment and market your efforts correctly. Easier said than done, which is why if you’re not prepared to sink a lot of time and resources into a faux holiday menu and/or event, chances are that you won’t see the positive ROI you’re looking for. If you’re thinking about pulling the trigger for a faux food holiday, consider these points:
Getting Started If you are dedicated to ‘celebrating’ a faux food holiday, target one that at least has broader appeal. A gastropub will have a much better time making the most of National Burger Day than they would National Shrimp n Grits Day. Bars can do a lot more with National Rum Day than National Daiquiri Day. Second, paint a clear picture of what you want your ‘celebration’ to look like. Here’s some pointers on that end:
From there, getting the word out is imperative, otherwise you’ve gone through all that effort just to have people who would otherwise pay full price stumble through your front door and take advantage of the discount. "These tactics only work if the holiday and promotion are relevant to your brand" How to Run Marketing for Faux Food Holidays
Your marketing plan is entirely dependent on the type of promotion you’ve decided to create. In any case, be sure to have that plan set 3–6 months in advance and communicate with all your stakeholders—chefs and front-of-house staff, managers, investors, etc.—to both fill them in on your plans and leverage their own networks for additional reach. From there, consider a few options:
These tactics should provide valuable assistance should you decide to embark on a faux food holiday endeavor. At their core, however, these tactics only work if the holiday and promotion are relevant to your brand and can actually generate value for your business. Content marketing joins the ranks of digital, social media and influencer marketing—terms so often thrown around without too many people knowing how to actually use them as intended. Look past the buzzword-inspired skepticism, though, and you’ll find that content marketing can and should be a valuable asset in your repertoire. In short, content marketing is sharing material [blogs, posts, etc.] that does not explicitly promote your brand but is intended to stimulate interest in a way not typically achievable through conventional marketing methods. Think of content marketing as product placement that you create—instead of a TV show that strikes a deal with Coca Cola to have characters drinking coke on air, it’s Coca Cola that makes a video series depicting amazing moments where people just happen to have cans of Coke in their hands. Content marketing is more subtle than conventional marketing, putting the article, photo, video, etc. before the brand itself. This less ‘in your face’ style is aimed at higher conversion—more people are willing to watch a great video that happens to mention Coca Cola than to watch a Coke commercial. So how can this approach help a restaurant? Restaurants and the greater hospitality sector are actually a mecca for content marketing. This business is what people daydream about consuming on a regular basis, and naturally want to gravitate toward when it comes to reading articles and watching videos. Restaurants have a slew of natural assets that fit nicely into the content marketing landscape. One of the lowest-hanging fruits you can leverage are how-to videos: How-to videos ‘How to’ is a very popular search topic across Google and YouTube, with cooking videos performing very well in this category. Chances are you’ve got a lot of fun recipes in your restaurant that people would love to try out for themselves, so why not film the preparation process? While content marketing may not be as direct as more conventional marketing methods, it’s a great way to create—well, content—that people actually want to see. Choose a visually-appealing item off your menu that’s simple enough for the average home cook to prepare. Drinks work as well if you have a good cocktail selection. Use a mise en place approach to keep things easy. You can film from the front, as typically seen on TV, or from the top, which is a very popular method online. ‘Tasty’ is a great YouTube channel that showcases the overhead filming method.
To add your branding, simply add it in the intro and conclusion [think ‘How to Make XYZ, presented by Restaurant Name Here’], as well as a link to your website in the video description. Also make sure to post the actual recipe in the video description. You can also do a how-to photo series, though expect to get out what you put in. People are much more likely to browse through videos than step-by-step photo instructions. Before you go out and make a how-to video, however, it’s best to fully understand the risks and rewards that come with content marketing. Videos like these require a lot of time, and in many cases money, to produce and distribute. Be sure that you’re in line with the main risks and benefits below before proceeding. While content marketing may not be as direct as more conventional marketing methods, it’s a great way to create—well, content—that people actually want to see. And as with all marketing methods, content marketing is best done as part of a holistic program rather than as a one-off piece. A how-to video published alongside a Facebook ad, a new menu announcement on your website and a special on your property will do much better than a how-to video alone. The Risks
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AuthorBenjamin Brown is a seasoned restaurant writer and hospitality consultant, serving up SoCal's hottest food news and reviews. Categories
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