Executive Summary
The marketing strategy for Island Greek centers primarily on three distinct marketing strategies. The first strategy focuses on leveraging the popularity of social media as a means of connecting Island Greek with the local community in Sydney. Basically, this strategy focuses on leveraging social media as an easy and low cost method of brand promotion and customer support by both advertising the restaurant as well as communicating with people who are interested in getting to the restaurant as well as informing them of the various types of food that are available. The second strategy of this report focuses on using YouTube stars as a means of popularizing the restaurant by mentioning it on their videos or by vlogging about their time eating at the location. This method has the potential of reaching thousands of people within Australia at a relatively low cost as compared to creating a television commercial that would cost millions. The third strategy for this report centers on the creation of a small sporting event (i.e. a marathon) that Island Greek can sponsor. Various marathons around Australia have been sponsored by small local business and, as such, Island Greek can utilize the same strategy. This would help to “get the word out” so to speak regarding the restaurant and help to create a greater level of brand awareness. It is expected that through the implementation of the strategies that are in this paper, Island Greek would be able to gain a considerable increase in the amount of customers that visit the restaurant.
Objectives
The primary objective of this marketing strategy is to increase the market share of Island Greek by making it better known to members of the local community within Sydney. By doing so, this would help to increase the viability of the restaurant as well as increase its profits.
Marketing Growth Strategies
The primary marketing growth strategy that this report will focus on is the use of market development in order to improve the brand of the restaurant. This will focus on the use of social media campaigns, YouTube promotion and event creation in order to promote the restaurant to members of the local community in Sydney.
Consolidation Strategies
When examining the case of Island Greek and the fact that it is just a small restaurant, it was determined that no
Product Strategy
One of the initial problems that Island Greek will experience when attempting to entice customers to the restaurant is brand recognition. Branding is an important aspect of selling products since it is the manner in which consumers differentiate one restaurant from the rest in terms of what the brand represents such as quality, product longevity and popularity. As such, given an examination of the local market and the numerous restaurants that are already present, it is likely that there are already well established brands within the targeted markets with similar products lines (i.e. exotic foreign food). Sydney itself is known as one of the prime locations for foodies (people that enjoy eating unique types of food) and, as such, there is already an assortment of local restaurants that are popular with local consumers. This creates a distinct problem when promoting Island Greek to the local market since it is likely that consumers would choose a restaurant they know and are used to rather than a relatively unknown restaurant that they have never seen before. What must be understood is that Island Greek has no “claim to fame” so to speak when it comes to the type of restaurant that it is. It does not have a celebrity chef, it is far from being luxurious and is relatively unknown outside of its limited consumer base which consists of the descendants of Greek migrants. It is with this in mind that any product strategy should focus on increasing the level of brand recognition that the restaurant has with members of the local community.
Another factor that the restaurant should take into consideration is that competitors in Sydney may in fact be well entrenched within the markets that Island Greek is currently operating in which creates the possibility that demand simply will not arise due to the presence of apparently better alternatives. It is with this in mind that in order to popularize the restaurant’s products, it would be necessary to promote the brand and create interest. One possible strategy is to promote some local sporting event in order to get people to join and popularize the restaurant. As seen in the case of the New York Marathon as well as the Land Rover Malta Marathon, sporting events often draw competitors from various locations in order to be part of the event. The advantage of implementing this type of product promotion strategy is the fact that it has little need for extensive logistics. All that would be needed would be to take out a permit with the city, promote the event via the various marathon community messaging boards and place flyers in areas where people would see them. This means that compared to other product promotion strategies it does not have the same degree of difficulty and cost when it comes to its creation as compared to promoting the restaurant via a television commercial or a billboard. Island Greek could promote the event and place pictures of the different dishes it serves on the contestant numbers that the runners have to wear. This helps people to see what the restaurant has to offer (i.e. the spectators seeing the dishes as runners go past them) which would result in them visiting the restaurant in order to try out the products.
Pricing Strategy
The pricing strategy for the restaurant will remain unchanged since it is unable to leverage an extensive supply chain in order to significantly lower its prices.
Promotion Strategy
Based on an evaluation of the current financial capacity of Island Greek to sustain an effective advertising campaign, it was determined that one of the most effective yet affordable means of promoting the restaurant to the general public within Sydney is to utilize YouTube stars as a unique method of restaurant promotion. Various forms of consumable media in the form of print ads, billboards, commercials, online marketing campaigns and a plethora of other types of advertising initiatives are rife with the images of various popular individuals showing just how prevalent product endorsements are in the advertising campaigns of numerous companies. The logic behind this particular method of advertising stems from the fact that people are more likely to purchase a product or utilize a particular service if they see someone else happily using it. Studies even show that the likelihood of product patronage goes up astronomically if it is seen that a pop culture icon is utilizing a particular type of product. This speaks volumes of the influence of pop culture on consumer buying behavior however it is also indicative of the fact that companies are aware of what causes consumers to purchase a particular product and act accordingly in order to exploit it.
However, the inherent problem with using popular culture celebrities is the fact that they are often quite expensive and demand millions in fees. An alternative method that this marketing strategy has devised that overcomes this particular problem utilizes YouTube stars as a means of promoting Island Greek as a great restaurant to eat at. On average, YouTube stars such as Ray William Johnson, Philip DeFranco, Shane Dawson, Smosh and others like them often generate millions of views per video, greater even than some shows on cable television. Furthermore, these shows are watched by a global audience encompassing countries such as the U.S., China, Russia, Australia, and various states within the European Union. This would enable any marketing campaign that centers on the use of such YouTube stars to in effect target a wide range of consumer markets at a relatively low cost. YouTube stars in general do not demand a lot of money for placing ads within their show; it is usually the case that by providing a promotional code or a link in the description of the video, the company that created an advertising contract with them usually pays on the basis on the number of clicks.
This averages to around $1,000 or less on select advertising and promotional deals; this is a vast difference when compared to the millions demanded by A-list stars within Hollywood. You also have to take into consideration the fact that YouTube stars can come from a variety of different countries wherein they have a distinct level of popularity with the local populace. Based on this, a marketing campaign could spend 1 percent of the amount of money that would normally go to an A-list star yet reach 20 times the intended audience demographic by utilizing a select marketing strategy devoted to using YouTube stars from specific regions that cater to the audience demographics that the campaign is attempting to appeal to. It is based on this that Island Greek can utilize Australia based YouTube stars as a means of promoting the product to their audience.
Distribution Strategy – Use of Social Media
When taking into consideration the effectiveness of social media campaigns and their capacity to reach thousands of people, it was determined by this report that the use of social media as a means of distributing marketing material for Island Greek would be an effective strategy. The sheer proliferation of social media platforms such as blogs, wikis and online forums has created an unprecedented opportunity for Island Greek to take advantage of this new social trend in order to promote its products. Nearly 22% of all online activity within Australia is spent on social networking websites and, as such, is indicative of the consumer market share that social media platforms could potentially provide to the Island Greek should it utilize such a marketing tool.
It has been proven using social media programs such as viral marketing initiatives that a certain degree of “hype” can be generated for a particular product or service yet only cost a fraction of a standard advertising campaign. Thus, from a cost-benefit standpoint, the utilization of social media platforms as marketing tools is not only advantageous for the Island Greek in terms of brand promotion and gaining a certain degree of market penetration into potentially untapped consumer segments but it can do so at a relatively low cost and, as such, presents numerous potential avenues of approach by which the Island Greek can generate consumer awareness of its products.
One way of utilizing social media in advertising the products of Island Greek is to create a Facebook fan page for the company in order to help better connect itself with its current customer base. What must be understood is that by creating a fan page this allows subscribed Facebook fans to receive updates from the organization in the form of product launch dates, overall product availability, performance and other factors that can contribute to its sale. In fact, a fan page creates a “human” face for the organization in that by posting daily news regarding the particular industry the organization is in, this helps consumers to better understand Greek cuisine and thus create a greater degree of product awareness which translates into a higher likelihood of product patronage and sales. It is also interesting to note that through the fan page the Island Greek can also better facilitate particular promotions such as discounts, special contests and other such methods of promotional marketing that are meant to entice greater public interest over a particular wine or vintage. Various companies ranging from the alcoholic beverage maker Jack Daniels to the computer manufacturer Asus have Facebook fan pages and this has enabled them to create a larger consumer fan base since instead of the company merely being a nameless entity that consumers buy products from, it is subsequently transformed into an entity with particular views, positions on current events and even a sense of humor when it comes to posting its daily wall posts.
It is based on the various perspectives that have been elaborated on that it is highly recommend that the Island Greek venture into at least some form of social media marketing in order to better connect itself with its customers. There is little risk in utilizing this particular marketing tool and the potential rewards are massive in terms of greater brand awareness, better consumer relations and the creation of a particular image for the organization that goes beyond merely being a business entity but rather is one connected to an open attitude regarding current events, the needs of consumers and being an organization that is modernizing instead of being stuck in the dark ages of consumer marketing
Market Plan Implementation
The best way in order to fully utilize the viewership of a YouTube star is to have them sponsor the restaurant by having them mention it then have them point to either a banner location on the screen, a promotional code the viewers can use to get discounts or a link in the description of the video where viewers can go and visit a website detailing the various types of food that they can eat at Island Greek. This is often the strategy Netflix uses on either the Philip DeFranco show or on Epic Meal Time in order to gain a substantial amount of subscribers to their services. The same strategy can be utilized on select YouTube stars from specific regions and through multiple shows. By examining the viewership range and what type of viewers normally watch a particular YouTube star, the marketing campaign for Island Greek will be able to determine what star to use, how long should the promotion period last for and will be able to monitor the overall effectiveness of the campaign via the number of clicks on the link, the number of people watching the video or the sheer amount of times the promotional code is used.
Aside from promoting the restaurant by having an Australian YouTube star promote it on their show, one potential avenue of approach is to arrange for an all expenses paid trip for the YouTube star to the restaurant where they can vlog their experience to their viewership. Vlogging is a term that is a result of combining the words “blogging” (referring to act of publishing personal thoughts and experiences online for complete strangers to read) and “video”. The vlogs of YouTube stars often generate a substantial degree of views due to the current obsession over “reality viewing” wherein people want to watch people living their lives as it unfolds. By having YouTube stars vlog their experiences of eating at the restaurant and enjoying the different dishes, this in effect acts as type of commercial which shows cases the amenities and overall appeal of the location. Since it comes from a personal perspective and not through a telegraphed and obviously one sided view of the restaurant, this in effect generates a unique appeal to the market segments that the marketing campaign is attempting to target (i.e. people that have yet to try eating Greek cuisine). It must also be noted that the YouTube stars in question could also be potentially convinced to host their shows with a live background of the restaurant. This enables the marketing campaign to more effectively capture a larger audience without having to increase the amount of money paid to the YouTube star since they are already on an all expenses paid free “vacation”.
When it comes to the sport event promotion, its implementation is actually pretty straightforward. All that would be needed is to take out a permit with the local Sydney council, advertise the event on the various marathon community boards that are based in Australia, plan and route and advertise through the use of fliers. The “fun run” itself does not have to be very long (5 to 10 miles) and the proceeds from the event can be donated to charity. The main point behind its implementation is to basically promote Island Greek by turning the runners into walking billboards for the restaurant.
Forecasts and Financial Data
Based on an examination of costs which arise with doing business which consists of the cost of promotion. branding expenses and online promotional. expenses The highest cost for the business is the $5,000 paid for the online promotion through YouTube stars and online Facebook giveaways.
Year 1 estimate along with costs
Market Plan Control
Since all customers that will be attracted through this marketing campaign will be directed to the restaurant’s website, Island Greek will be able to easily track the amount of visits within a given period. This can be done automatically through an installed program on the website which would enable easy tracking and the creation of a database of customers through the site’s registration option.