Launching a new restaurant: creating buzz and attracting customers

The restaurant was a beautifully designed space featuring an outdoor garden, a bar, and a menu offering traditional Bulgarian food presented in a modern and visually appealing way. The owner, an experienced chef, had fulfilled his long-time dream of opening his own restaurant. However, the restaurant was situated in a newly developed neighborhood with ongoing construction, resulting in limited local foot traffic and no immediate residential population. The success of the restaurant hinged on effective marketing to draw in customers from surrounding areas.

To address the challenges of location and budget constraints, I developed a multi-phase marketing strategy aimed at building awareness and driving targeted traffic to the restaurant. I collaborated with influencers known for their focus on healthy, beautifully presented Bulgarian cuisine to create buzz and introduce the restaurant to their followers. Additionally, I identified popular local magazines that catered to the target demographic and secured features in two key publications to ensure significant visibility for the restaurant’s opening. To further generate excitement, I organized a live event with a well-known band, allowing many people to experience the restaurant firsthand and create positive word-of-mouth. After building initial awareness, I launched Google Ads search campaigns targeting keywords related to modern Bulgarian cuisine, healthy food, the restaurant's unique selling points, and its specialty dishes. These campaigns were continuously optimized to ensure efficient budget utilization, focusing on specific search queries that were most likely to lead to reservations or visits. To enhance our online presence, I also leveraged content from influencers and the live event to populate the restaurant’s social media channels. Given the budget constraints, we prioritized brand awareness through social media while relying on Google Ads to drive targeted traffic.

Within the first two months, I met the Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) goal set by the restaurant owner, demonstrating that the campaigns were effective and efficient. By the fourth month, I successfully reduced the CPA by 40%, highlighting the success of the optimized strategy and targeted approach.

By implementing a well-structured marketing strategy, I effectively introduced the new restaurant despite its challenging location and budget constraints. Through influencer marketing, PR, live events, and targeted digital ads, I successfully built awareness and drove traffic, positioning the restaurant for early success and growth.