The Brief
We won a competitive pitch, to launch Six by Nico’s first restaurant outside of Scotland in Belfast. The conceptual six-course tasting menu restaurant was a novel idea and a welcomed addition to the local food scene in the city. Our aim was to generate positive talkability about the restaurant and Chef Nico Simone, drive bookings, new customers and create positive PR. The timeframe from appointment to launch was five weeks.
Our Approach
We have a vast knowledge of the hospitality scene in NI and from previous learnings, we knew that a digital first approach would work best. We developed a communications plan that included traditional methods but was inherently social-first. We proposed engaging with a plethora of influencers, not just food specific, those people who would embrace the spirit of Six By Nico’s ethos. We engaged with a number of popular influencers from across various sectors who we got on board to promote the restaurant as a teaser ahead of opening. This was in a bid to raise the restaurant’s social profiles, utilising their individual platforms. We planned VIP press trips with popular social influencers and journalists to Six By Nico in Scotland. This was in a bid to again raise the profile of the restaurant ahead of opening. We then managed their exclusive guest list for the opening evening which proved to be a huge success. We continued to work with influencers as brand ambassadors post launch to help promotion of the new menu launches which proved a huge success.
The Outcomes
We engaged with 25 influencers for the teaser campaign with an initial potential social reach of over 162k. We managed 11 food reviews, all of which were positive. We co managed the VIP launch evening with the restaurant at full capacity. The social media reach of the launch had a 2million potential reach from influencer and online digital activity (excluding SbN social channels). The Facebook page grew from zero to 7.5k likes and Instagram zero to 8.2k followers, post launch. On launch evening alone, Instagram figures grew by almost 2.7k within 24hours. In the first 6 weeks, (5th March – 14th April 2019) there were 5,000 restaurant bookings.