Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

Randall --

I'd like to help if I can but pls. clarify what is "one of six" -- six restaurants in a mall? Will Italian night be a one-time happening for a week-long event like some Manhattan restaurants that group for charity? Will this be a regular occurence weekly or monthly?

Feel free to e-mail me offline if you wish.

Randall,

I'd think about some premium item that the owner can advertise and give to everyone who comes in on Italian night -- something from Italy, something with the restaurant's name/number on it (tastefully), something that has perceived value in excess of its cost.

One idea is a cruet with Italian Virgin Olive Oil, like the ones they put on the table at many/most Italian restaurants. Another is a packet of blank notecards with pictures or drawings of the Italian coast, or a few of the famous Italian landmarks, etc. I'm sure there are at least a dozen other premium possibilities. (Hey, I'm a strategy guy, not an ad specialties rep.)

Is the restaurant in Dallas? If so, maybe we'll meet there for dinner next time I land at DFW. (I used to live there, as you know.)

Local Italian restaurant always has light opera music in the background ... mostly familiar, quasi-popular stuff. That's not a special promotion, but could be another way to differentiate from the dozens of other Italian restaurants within an hour's drive. Could also sell a custom CD with a collection of popular opera music, and/or give it away if you can find stuff in the public domain. Put restaurant info on the CD and the case, of course, and/or put the menu in a PDF on the same CD.

One of the problems in having an Italian restaurant is the risk of being just another pizza palace. I assume that you want to rise above this and be more than food i.e. an experience.

So the question is what is different on an Italian night as opposed to any other? What transforms a meal into a cultural experience. Try these for some ideas:

1. On normal nights you have the standard individual tables, but on an Italian night it is communal. A mix of delightful food is brought out on large platters which are then spooned onto the plates. Dishes are designed to be educational i.e. go deeper than Spaghetti cabonara and pizza, and into the real food which Italians eat.

2. Focus on what makes Italy culturally exiting. Have Olive oil tasking sessions, education evenings on how to make good pasta, explanation on what is considered preferred pasta.

3. Maybe if you have some type of celebs, cooks, artists who have a link to Italy.

Just some ideas

Tim