Austin Restaurant Week Spring 2011 Case Study

Austin Restaurant Week

Campaign Expertise: Social Media Marketing , Event Production and Promotion, Media Relations, Partnership Development

The Client

Austin Restaurant Week

Austin Restaurant Week is a celebration of dining in Austin and of Austin’s amazing culinary scene. Austin area residents and tourists are given the opportunity to dine at the finest establishments throughout the city for a three-course pre-fixe menu. Local food oriented charities receive a portion of the proceeds. Austin Restaurant Week has helped put Austin on the map as a national dining destination.

Introduction of the Austin Restaurant Week App:

To help navigate the appetizing adventure, Austin Restaurant Week commissioned graphic designer Bart Kibbe of Rival Creative and the Austin-based Big Momma Apps to create an innovative and interactive smart phone app, reflective of Austin’s early adaptive tech scene as well as with the city’s growing culinary creativity. Austin Restaurant Week wanted the event to reach its full potential by inciting more interaction from participating foodies and attendees. Many tech savvy patrons already utilize social media such as Twitter, Facebook and Food Spotting. Now, with a simple click of a button, diners were able to create their own profiles,  invite friends via forwarded invitations,  book reservations, read reviews, read menus, and map out locations for all of the participating restaurants.

The Challenge

Austin Restaurant Week needed  help spreading the word about the participating restaurants (over 75),  the new Austin Restaurant Week mobile phone application, and assistance with producing and promoting a launch party and wrap-up party. Due to Austin Restaurant Week’s desire to not conflict with the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival and some technical issues with the Austin Restaurant Week website, ARW decided to delay the start of Austin Restaurant Week. The public needed to be promptly notified about this date change.

Austin Restaurant Week signed Jetté Momant PR and Event Productions as the agency of record on March 3, 2011. The event took place on April 10th.  There was only one month to spread the word rapidly and strategically.

Creative Solutions

• Jetté Momant PR & Event Productions provided Austin Restaurant Week with a comprehensive media and event production strategy for promoting the event, parties and new mobile app.

• To address the date change, Jetté Momant PR & Event Productions promptly alerted press and bloggers through a well crafted press release and media alert submitted to targeted media influentials  and social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook.

• The team met with Big Momma Apps to download the beta version of the ARW app and learn about its intricacies before release to the public. After doing so, the PR team created and serviced a search engine optimised press release introducing the new mobile application to the public.

• Assistance with drafting the Austin Restaurant Week launch and wrap up party sponsorship packet and acquiring media sponsors and venue sponsors.

• Assistance with obtaining and promoting nonprofit partnerships with Meals on Wheels and Capital Area Food Bank.

• Creation of launch party and wrap party invite, inviting media to both parties and maintenance of RSVP’s and guest list.

• Procurement of Brock Design Studies as photography sponsor for launch party.

Results

Event Production & Publicity

Jetté Momant PR & Event Productions secured Garrido’s Restaurantas the Austin Restaurant Week Launch Party sponsor venue and as the food sponsor for the party. Over 80 media and bloggers attended the launch.

Social Columnist Michael Barnes gave the party rave reviews in his Out and About Column.

Blogger Tiffany Diane (Austin is Burning) mentioned Garrido’s in Nylon Magazine’s blog sent to Austin subscribers after attending the launch party.

 

 Mobile Marketing

 

A press release about the mobile phone app was created and serviced to local publications.

This resulted in a feature in the Austin Business Journal: Bon ‘App’étit

And Smart Phone App Downloads:  Total Android App downloads: 1637 Total iPhone App downloads: 2680

 

Social Media

There was substantial social media growth in followers, fans and interaction:

Twitter:

Total Followers (March 1, 2011): 2,312

Total Followers (May 21, 2011):  2,624

We helped to garner 312 new followers.

An increase of approximately 14 new followers a day.

Facebook Fans

Total fans (March 1, 2011): 2,897

Total fans (May 21, 2011): 4,034

We helped to garner 1,137 new fans from March 1,  2011 – May 8th 2011

Up 463 % from the 12/13/2010 – 2/28/2011 numbers

 

The Craigslist Date

Google alerts and Social Media mention alerts were set so Jetté Momant PR & Events would be notified whenever Austin Restaurant Week was mentioned online or on Twitter and Facebook. Because of this, they were made aware of a Craigslist posting for W4M in the classified section and promptly alerted the client to the ad.

“It’s AustinRestaurantWeek,&my friends r too lame to try restaurants w/me! Looking for someone to have dinner w/, nothing more. I’m busy wrapping up my last yr of college so I probably won’t see you again unless you’re into sitting your butt down at a coffee shop for hrs (no, seriously) Yes, we can split the bill.”

Austin Restaurant Week Craigslist Date Google Alert

It was decided that the Executive Director, Taylor Perkins would take the Craigslist poster on a date and they’d dine at multiple Austin Restaurant Week locations.

 

 

Media Sponsors

 

Jetté’ Momant PR & Event Productions also garnered three media sponsors including:

•  YNN who created over 200  ten second spots (ID’s)  appearing on YNN that promoted Austin Restaurant Week, Two event web banners planced on  YNN.com promoting Restaurant week with over 75,000 impressions.
• Interviews on  YNN  included a  segment with urban, an americangrill and an Off the Plate segment with East Side Showroom’s Chef Sonya Cote.
• KXAN- NBC, provided 4 interview segments, 3 ID’s on TV (5 to 15 seconds) and a “gal on the scene” interview segments with The CW Star, Mandy Dugan.
• Interviews were secured on KXAN-NBC with Garrido’s Restaurant owner, Chef David Garrido, Austin Restaurant Week Executive Director, TaylorPerkins and Jeffrey’s Chef Deegan McClung.
•  AustinTidbits sent an email blast 10k influential Austin subscriber.

 

CW Star Mandy Dugan

We cross marketed with CW Star Mandy Dugan in the Most Epic Austin Restaurant Week Challenge Ever, dining at three different Austin Restaurant Week restaurants for three different meals (brunch, lunch and dinner) all in one day. She also dinned at four additional restaurants participating in Austin Restaurant Week.

Jetté Momant PR & Events lined coordinated the dinners at participating restaurants and accompanied the CW Star at each dinner to make certain she was introduced to chefs and key staff members so she could interview them and learn more about them and the restaurant.

Mandy chronicled this dining adventure and other Austin Restaurant Week experiences in a series of blog posts dedicated to Austin Restaurant Week and to The CW Fans  and CW Austin Star Facebook Fans and Twitter followers.

The CW has 16,579  Facebook Fans

The CW Austin Star has 1,291 Facebook Fans

Blog Entries:

• Austin Restaurant Week: TRACE at the W Hotel!
• Austin Restaurant Week: Fabi+Rosi!
• Austin Restaurant Week: Urban at the Domain!
• Tacos and Tequila for lunch!
• Elegance at The Mansion

Media Coverage

Jetté Momant PR & Event Productions also secured media coverage in numerous publications, blogs, radio shows and TV News spots including:

TV

• KXAN: Austin Restaurant Week Spring 2011
• KXAN: Garrido’s restaurant joins KXAN in advance of Austin Restaurant Week
• KXAN: Quail with preserved lemon on the menu
• KVUE: Deals of the Week
• KVUE: Austin Restaurant Week Underway
• KVUE: I Wonder: Luxurious Austin dining
• YNN: Foodies unite for Austin Restaurant Week
• YNN: Off the Plate Chef Sonya Cote East Side Show Room

Print

• Austin Business Journal: Bon ‘App’étit
• Austin 360: Forklore: Date change for Austin Restaurant Week
• Austin 360: Forklore: Austin Restaurant Week
• Austin American Statesman: Austin Restaurant Week Launch Party at Garrido’s
• Austin 360 Forklore: More Restaurant Week Options

Radio

• Entercom Radio: Interview with Austin Restaurant Week Executive Director Taylor Perkins
• Food Love Austin KOOP: Chef Wolfgang Murber – Fabi & Rosi
• Field and Feast KUT NPR: Navigating Austin Restaurant Week
• Field and Feast KUT NPR: Austin Restaurant Week
• Field and Feast KUT NPR: Aquarelle Chef Teresa Wilson

Blogs & Online

• Austin Tidbits: Social Diary: April 5-11
• Andriod Apps: Austin Restaurant Week
• Smashapp: Coolest App
• Austinist: Food: Get Ready for Austin Restaurant Week!
• Yelp: Austin Restaurant Week is Here
• 365 Things to Do in Austin, TX: Austin Restaurant Week
• Examiner.com: Austin restaurant week: Finding the best lunch in Austin
• Foodie is the New Forty: Austin Restaurant Week
• Food and Flame: Refreshed Austin Restaurant Week Stimulated Palates and Economy
• Food Dilettante Austin Restaurant Week 2011 Spring Kickoff Party at Garrido’s
• Austin Social Planner: Austin Restaurant Week
• Austin Food Journal: UPDATE: Austin Restaurant Week Lives On
• The Thread Austin: Austin Restaurant Week
• Girl Eats Words: Austin Restaurant Week Snapshots
• Austin Post: Week in Review: Fashionable/Edible 4.8.2011
• Hop Skip Shop: Austin Restaurant Week
• The Smart Kitchen: Austin Restaurant Week begins 
• Going out Austin: Austin Restaurant Week
• Ginny’s Austin: Perlas
• BZ Events: Austin Restaurant Week 
• Love (and Hate) at First Bite: Carmelo’s
• Bite of Austin:  UPDATED: AUSTIN RESTAURANT WEEK 2011 (WITH NEW DATES)
• Capital Area Food Bank: Pay it forward at Austin Restaurant Week. And, yea, there’s an app for that
• Young Austinian: “One City, Two Weeks, Three Courses:” Austin Restaurant Week, Now Serving Lunch
• City’s Best Austin: Austin Restaurant Week: 5 Essential Eateries
• Gables Grandview: Eat and Be Merry During Austin Restaurant Week in April
• Gables Central Park: Taste the City’s Best During “Austin Restaurant Week”
• Networked Blogs: Try sushi from Kenichi during Austin Restaurant Week