Wagamama

A company with real flair that’s striving for excellence was how one of the judges summarised restaurant chain Wagamama, this year’s winner of the Best Group Marketing Campaign.

The judges, who were looking for the most enterprising and effective campaign run by a multi-unit hospitality business, were wowed by the significant results achieved by the group, especially with a budget of just £25,000. The campaign’s prime objective was to place the new Wagamama Cookbook into all major bookstores in the UK, with a copy on display in-store as well. A second objective was to raise awareness of the brand through increased press coverage in the UK and worldwide to achieve increased footfall in the restaurants.

Using a multi-channel approach, the campaign started with the official book launch in Dublin, which generated more than £100,000 of publicity in a wide range of print and broadcast media. Following a UK press release, extensive reviews and features were achieved here and internationally, while an online promotion targeted at regular customers led to 199 books being ordered in 24 hours.

A placemat advert for the cookbook used throughout the restaurant chain triggered a  staggering increase in book sales of 95% on previous figures. What further impressed the judges was Wagamama’s innovative use of third-party tie-ins to achieve its objectives. For example, an in-store cooking demonstration in John Lewis showed audiences how to cook selected Wagamama dishes, while encouraging them to buy the book, bringing in sales of 53 books in one hour.

At Borders bookstore, a Wagamama tasting night was hosted by the cookbook’s author, Hugo Arnold, and head chef Steve Mangelshot, achieving record audiences at the store. The cookbook stayed in Border’s best-selling section for eight weeks.

A range of merchandise was also sold in more than 300 Boots stores in the UK, and radio station BBC London held a live sampling session with Arnold.

Judge Keith Brown, ice-president marketing at Hilton UK & Ireland, the winner of last year’s group marketing award, commented: “The variety of channels that was used was highly successful. It was an energetic campaign that created a lot of excitement.”

Clear results were achieved, too. With minimal financial investment, 78,000 books have been sold in total since the launch, with press coverage valued at over £300,000. The cookbook is now on its eighth print run.

Fellow judge Pamela Carvell agreed: “Wagamama has proved that it achieved what it set out to achieve. They really got it right. The campaign was very clever and absolutely the clear winner.”

The judges

• Annabel Baker, marketing manager, AA Publishing
• Keith Brown, vice-president marketing, Hilton UK & Ireland
• Jane Burgess, marketing director, Reed Business Information
• Pamela Carvell, owner, Pampas Training and Marketing
• Penny Moore, chief executive, Hospitality Action
• Rod Taylor, relationship director, Barclays Bank
• Brandon Weston, restaurateur, the Glasshouse Restaurant, Worcester