I am not sure that this (see the video story below) is going to be quite as big as the video suggests because most restaurants don’t have the ability to pull this kind of PR stunt the way Mortons did (and yes, I am quite sure they have a PR firm that monitors twitter for the company name and responds when they have an opportunity to make splash- this was NOT random luck!).
But, the point that restaurant marketing which touches people instead of simply blasting a message out in a coupon pack or on a billboard is on target- the return on investment is going to be much better.
I think the way to do it for smaller chains and independent restaurants is to engage in person in the restaurant and then follow up individually through social media. For example, take a photo of a few guests who come in each day and get their names and then post the pic that night on facebook with a thank you for coming in message (we’ve written about this type of personal restaurant marketing before in fact).
Just getting to 5% of your customers each day would produce huge dividends in sharing and social buzz. And all it costs is a little time- far less than traditional advertising and priceless in terms of personal impact.
PS- Is it just me or do you wish he would just use one camera and stop jerking his head from side to side? Distracting!!
