Room, The Bourse Courtyard, Leeds
Room, the 2003 best independent marketing campaign winner, was described as the "most creative" entry that "fully exploited all available marketing opportunities" by one of our judges, Hannah Bailey, chief operating officer, Chess Partnership.
When John Pallagi decided to open a restaurant in Leeds in November 2002 he had six objectives - to establish Room as a leading restaurant in Leeds within the first year of operation; to rapidly stimulate and grow awareness; to drive footfall across overall the target market; to communicate the brand in line with positioning and core values (quality, trust and style); to fully exploit all promotional opportunities identified, and to gain extensive media exposure.
He achieved his results with a diverse marketing campaign which included a number of original initiatives. For example, he ran a "Room Taxi Drinkable Flyer Campaign", whereby branded mini espresso coffees were served up at Leeds city-centre train station, and a "Room Concierge Initiative", where the city's hotel concierges earnt a £1 voucher for every prebooked customer they recommended to Room.
The restaurant was also promoted to target audiences in Leeds. Businesses were invited to try the restaurant with a "Room for lunch" offer, as were doctors from local medical training centres and employees of the large pharmaceutical companies in the area. Yorkshire Post readers were given 50% off for lunch and the restaurant targeted theatre-goers in a similar way. The campaign also involved setting up an interactive website capable of taking bookings.
The mini campaigns were extremely cost-effective - the restaurant's budget was £12,000, but the campaign achieved its objectives with a spend of just £9,520 yet generated revenue of over £17,000.
The concierge initiative alone brought in £4,565, and a Valentine promotion created 128 bookings and revenue of £7,717. The website achieved 4,500 hits in five months, and despite never advertising, the restaurant has had a number of excellent reviews.
This was an example of a campaign "where they haven't spent a fortune and have conveyed an excellent message", said judge Kevin Thomson, president of Enterprise Business and Brand Engagement.
The Room entry had "more oomph" than the others, said last year's Independent Marketing Campaign winner Brandon Weston, proprietor of the Glasshouse restaurant in Worcester. "The presentation is the best by far, it's a great initiative," he added.
"A great example of how you can achieve great things with a limited budget," the judges summed up.
Judges
HANNAH BAILEY Chief operating officer, Chess Partnership
JANE KEENAN Marketing manager, Travelodge
PAUL O'FARRELL Commercial director, Wagamama
MICHAEL ROBINSON Head of marketing, Caterer.com
ROB SUTTON Channel marketing controller, Coca-Cola Enterprises
KEVIN THOMSON President, Enterprise Business and Brand Engagement
BRANDON WESTON Proprietor, Glasshouse restaurant
Previous Winners:
2002 The Glasshouse
2001 Crab Manor Hotel
2000 The Royal College of Physicians
1999 Brazz, Taunton, Somerset
1998 Castle Green, Kendall
1997 Gibbon Bridge Hotel, Forest of Bowland
1996 The Weavers Shed, Huddersfield
1995 The Wentworth Club, Virginia Water
1994 Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Great Milton
1993 Rutland Hotel, Sheffield
1992 Congham Hall, Grimston
1991 Keavil House Hotel, Dunfermline
1990 Grant’s Hotel, Harrogate
1989 Greenway Hotel, Cheltenham
1988 La Belle Epoque, Knutsford
1987 Inn on the Lake, Godalming
1986 Mrs Crossley’s Yorkshire Kitchen, Halifax
1985 Forest & Vale Hotel, Pickering
1984 D’Artagnan Restaurant, London
Sponsored by: Autograph Foodservice
Sponsor message:
This year the Catey’s celebrate 20 years of recognising high standards in the catering and hospitality arena and Autograph Foodservice are delighted to be involved for the first time in sponsoring the Best Independent Marketing Campaign Award.
In today’s highly competitive marketplace change, innovation and creativity are all pre-requisites for survival and success. All organisations need strategic and tactical marketing to aid visibility and differentiate their service and products from their competitors. Using marketing affectively and incorporating various elements of the marketing mix, such as PR, direct mail or advertising all add value to any business.
As a past Catey winner, we would encourage any independent catering business has developed a marketing campaign that has assisted them in achieving their business objectives to submit an entry for this award category.
Winners have the opportunity to inspire through example, providing valuable insights into what results can be achieved if you are creative and have the drive and ambition to see things through to the end.
The Cateys are firmly established as the industry’s eminent awards and everyone at Autograph Foodservice is thrilled to be part of an event that identifies and rewards excellence.
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