case study 1

A fishy business

One of the best things about Cambridge is that it has an abundance of places to eat, and part of its cosmopolitan nature is that many of these are not well-known high-street chains but restaurants with their own particular style of cuisine – Turkish, Greek, Italian, Singaporean, even Mongolian. So when Loch Fyne Restaurants Ltd decided to bring its successful menu of fresh and smoked seafood (from the shores of Loch Fyne itself) south of the border and open in Cambridge, it knew that competition would top the menu.

Having successfully worked with other restaurants in the area, we were asked to prepare a feast of PR activities to help Loch Fyne establish a presence in Cambridge, aiming to build up to 1,300 customers each week in six months. However, by mixing some of the staple PR ingredients with our very own secret blend of spice we helped to treble Loch Fyne's expectations within the first three months. Here's our recipe for success:

Loch Fyne was keen to attract Cambridge businesses to lunch at the restaurant, anticipating that it would be harder to fill the restaurant at this time of day, and that this would also lead to more people coming in the evenings. Step one: we drew up a list of 'movers and shakers' in the Cambridge area. Proving that there is such a thing as a free lunch, these carefully chosen people were invited, with guests, to special trials days before the official opening. Over 400 people packed the restaurant out over two days, and response was very favourable.

Step two: we arranged for the world expert on oysters, Professor Nield of Cambridge University, to officially launch the restaurant to the press and invited guests. We also organised a business breakfast meeting to which the local media were invited, and reviews appeared in the local press, including one on the business side of the restaurant. It was also featured in the Saturday Independent. One of the local radio stations ran a competition to win a dinner for four for the best impression of an oyster seller!