The Goal

Drive traffic to the restaurant. (Or, in the client’s words, “Put butts in seats.”)

The Challenge

Standing out in Austin’s super-saturated restaurant market.

Our Strategy

Establish El Arbol as a culinary and experiential departure: Food from another hemisphere. Swank from another century.

The Tactics

• A deeper digital footprint
  • Online listing/review sites – Yelp, Urbanspoon and others
  • Social media plan and ramp up – Facebook and Twitter
  • Location-based promos – Gowalla, Foursquare, Facebook Places
• A website redesign geared toward conversions
  • Reservations through OpenTable.com
  • E-mail opt-in program and e-newsletter
• Promotions, sponsorships and advertising
  • Groupon offer
  • UT football tie-in, radio spots + mentions
  • Ads in Tribeza, Glossy, The Alcalde (UT alumni publication)
  • Participation in Edible Austin’s Eat Local Week and Sip & Savor Austin
• Media and blogger relations

The Results

In just three months:

• 172% increase in web traffic
• 211% increase in number of reservation conversions
• Press highlights
  • KXAN morning show demonstration segment
  • Ranked #8 out of Texas Monthly’s “Best New Restaurants of the Year”