As mentioned in a few articles back, Marketing Week ran a piece talking about brands that showed great innovation. I want to discuss how one of these brands utilised the media landscape to promote their message.
Red Hot World Buffet set out to change the image most us have of buffets: poor over cooked food. They recruited top chefs who cook food every day, in front of customers, from several different cuisines.
The company really honed in on the dining experience to continually draw customers in. In July and August it ran a month long Caribbean food and drink festival, each of their venues developed authentic dishes with the help of the local Caribbean communities. They went one step further and had a live steel drum band play as diners were eating.
RHWB recognised the importance of social too. Local bloggers were invited to come and try the food and were offered exclusive vouchers for their readers to download. This is something that many brands have recognised, Bryan Boy and Issac Likes’ blogs have become major real estate for Hugo Boss to promote their brand. Not to mention the brand power Yvan Rodic’s blog has. It’s interesting that even local restaurants are seeing the importance of tapping into people’s social media assets in an attempt to make them brand advocates
The company has also recognised the need to look after their staff so they represent the brand in the best possible way. They invested more than £60,000 in the Red Hot way, a motivational programme for their staff. It rewards the top performers with prizes and holidays.
Here's a bit about their restaurant in Manchester.
