In west Cornwall, the harbour town of Hayle is undergoing significant regeneration with the start of long-awaited development on its North Quay.
With golden sandy beaches, a historic harbour, and modern new homes being built, the area was crying out for a relaxed new restaurant to fit the coastal lifestyle of its residents and visitors.
Along came Lula, a beachside shack serving seafood and ribs with an east coast American vibe.
We were brought on board for a three month project to launch Lula – developing brand strategy, deliver a new website, establish social media audiences, and take care of PR while the restaurant got up and running.
We started by hosting a strategy session with the Lula team, working through the key brand principles and how these would translate into the brand identity and personality. In this session we established a clear tone of voice, target audience and marketing plan that would guide the launch communications.
The brief for the website was simple – an introduction to the brand, what’s on the menu, and its location and contact details.
Launching the restaurant during the coronavirus pandemic meant we also needed to consider creating clear information about how things worked at the shack.
Operating mainly as a takeaway, we created content about staying safe at the shack, and the process for ordering and collection.
We set-up the Lula Facebook and Instagram pages, and created a set of brand guidelines to inform the style of imagery posted and content themes.
We looked after content creation for the first three months of Lula opening, including a two week lead up to its launch. Alongside this, we took care of paid advertising campaigns, image editing, and monitored private messages to assist the customer service team with the high volume of enquiries.
We set up a collaboration with an influencer who focuses on what to do in Cornwall. Visiting Lula in the second week of opening, they posted Instagram stories whilst enjoying their meal, reaching more than 6,000 people, a grid post on Instagram reaching more than 16,000 people, and a post on Facebook which reached a further 6,500 people. This resulted in more than 1,000 new followers on Instagram, and a surge in visitors due to the recommendation.
As part of our content creation for the website and social media, we commissioned a photographer to focus on the Hayle area whilst the shack was being built, ensuring we built a picture of the idyllic location to draw people in for the launch.
Once up and running, we sent a photographer back to Lula for food, interior, and shack images to create a full, well-rounded image library.
We drafted two press releases, one for the launch and another with updates about adapting the shack for the winter, which created significant interest with journalists in Cornwall, and also in national trade titles.
As a result, a live radio interview with BBC Radio Cornwall was arranged, and BBC Spotlight used Lula as a TV film location for a news feature.
Our campaign reached more people within three months of opening than its sister restaurant has in 10 years.
Followers on Instagram in first three months
People reached on Facebook in first three months
People reached nationally through press coverage, TV and radio appearances
People reached through a social media collaboration with a Cornish influencer