Brand Strategy & Marketing / PR Strategy for New Restaurant

The Challenge

Wild Rice Vegan Cafe soft-opened in December 2015 and set their official grand opening weekend for Friday, January 29 and Saturday, January 30.

The first step in planning for the event was a phone call with the chef / owner and manager where we plotted a multi-tiered course:

Overall Turnout

250+ guests (max. capacity: 45)

The Strategy

Public Relations

Our PR efforts began with online research to build a list of media contacts and food bloggers. We also included contacts who had written articles about Red Lentil, the chef / owner’s well-established, popular flagship restaurant, also located in Watertown, Massachusetts.

We then used Meetup.com, Facebook, and other social sites to locate health-conscious, social, and foodie groups, specifically those likely to be intrigued by the restaurant’s 100% vegan menu and/or using the space for future gatherings.

Lastly, we located all businesses within a one-mile radius likely to be interested in attending the event or utilizing the space.

We then wrote a press release and pitch emails, which we distributed to the media, bloggers, and various online groups we had researched.

We coordinated through Twitter and email to reinforce connections made with the media, arrange in-person tasting sessions for bloggers, and locate and promote articles written about the restaurant prior to and following the event.

Marketing & Design

Print Design

In conjunction with our PR efforts, we created a number of printed marketing pieces—both for the overall brand and to promote the grand opening.

We advised, due to the grab-and-go nature of the cafe, designing a single menu that could be used for both in-house and takeout purposes. We created a bifold menu design that includes their breakfast, lunch, and beverage offerings, as well as callouts for delivery, catering, and space rental.

We also designed a 10% off coupon to be handed out at the event and placed in to-go orders at Red Lentil.

We designed a rack card to announce the grand opening, which included details about the location, the special events taking place, and the dates and times.

Email Marketing

We distributed an email marketing campaign inviting a list of over 1700 opted in subscribers of both Red Lentil and Wild Rice to the grand opening event and listing the details, dates, and times.

Social Media Marketing

We created a Facebook event, which we drove people to through the email marketing campaign, Facebook posts, and Twitter. We posted to the restaurant’s growing number of Instagram followers, and we promoted all reviews and grand opening announcements to their Facebook page’s very active list of fans.

During the event, we actively manned their Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts, reposting patrons’ content, taking every opportunity to comment, thank fans, and otherwise grow and engage with their fanbase.