The Case
Last year, the Chart House restaurant chain celebrated its 37th birthday ... and promptly suffered a midlife crisis. Its traditional steak and prime rib menu was dated, the
restaurants themselves were faded and the clientele was aging. New management responded with a dramatic makeover designed to make Chart House an elegant choice for modern,
everyday dining.
But a fresh look and a new menu don't constitute a satisfying meal for hungry reporters. Chart House would have to launch a substantial marketing communications campaign to
feed journalists' appetite for news and appeal to a broad new group of diners who had previously considered Chart House their grandparents' restaurant.
Full Speed Ahead
Chart House partnered with Cramer-Krasselt to develop a campaign that would generate favorable restaurant reviews, grow membership in a frequent dining program and generally
reinforce the brand's new personality - "a great seafood restaurant without the pretentious attitude."
The team pitched local journalists on that new 'tude with press materials outlining Chart House's companywide revitalization and its new seafood-focused menu. By targeting
local market journalists covering very specific beats, Cramer-Krasselt was able to generate some unusual media hits. "We were very successful in getting TV hits on cooking
segments," says Andy Clark, Cramer-Krasselt VP. "And because Chart House is in unique locations [usually on a body of water], we were on lots of weather segments. They're cool
places to do weather shots."
These unusual placements helped to underscore the restaurant's fresh approach. Hits like the weather segments offered Chart House an opportunity to showcase its new look, and
cooking segments brought the retooled menu to the public's attention.
Navigating Risky Waters
Restaurant reviews offered a more traditional approach to generating publicity for the restaurant - but were also riskier than other coverage. "Restaurant reviewers tend to
dwell on negatives vs. positives," Clark says. Whereas communicators tend to maintain contact with other journalists throughout their writing or production process, reviewers fly
solo, which can make for some tense waiting periods.
Cramer-Krasselt had to be especially careful in pitching reviewers on Chart House since the restaurant was essentially undergoing a relaunch. Many food critics had covered
Chart House in the past and would be underwhelmed if the changes weren't obvious. Since the roll-out schedule for the new menu was different in various markets, ensuring that
critics were pitched only after the new menu took effect in their area was crucial. Promising a critic sesame-crusted salmon and seared peppered ahi tuna when the chef
still specialized in prime rib would be a major tactical error. The team guaranteed accurate pitching by assigning staffers to specific regions.
That regional approach to PR also helped in developing reopening events that introduced key media and other community influencers to the new Chart House in 11 markets.
New ViewPoint on Loyalty
While getting diners in the doors with high expectations for fine seafood and dramatic views was a major goal, Chart House also wanted to prove to its new clientele that it was
a great place to eat on a regular basis. "The goal was to get away from 'special occasion' dining," Clark says. A revamped frequent diner program helped meet this goal. The old
program, based on a punch card system, offered little to modern diners who were used to TGI Fridays-style promotions. But the restaurant also wasn't looking to align itself with
more casual dining options.
ViewPoints, a new frequent diner program, offered members a $25 gift certificate each time they spent $250 at Chart House. "It wasn't 'a free seafood platter and drinks,'"
characteristic of low-price restaurants, Clark says. "But it was essentially a 10% discount." The program, along with a quarterly newsletter for more than 120,000 ViewPoints
members, drove repeat business and alerted already loyal customers to upcoming promotions.
Clear Sailing
The campaign generated 60,876,742 media impressions, including 21 positive restaurant reviews. Revenues increased an average of 15% in more than 85% of restaurants as a
result.
Would they have done anything differently? "We always thought we'd like to do more specific seafood promotions," Clark says. Nevertheless, the overall campaign anchored the
restaurant's new seafood focus, and two promotions for Copper River Salmon and South Pacific Seafood were especially successful. Press previews allowed reporters to sample the
restaurant's latest delicacies, resulting in positive coverage - and on-air interviews with Chart House staff posed the perfect time to offer on-air tastings that reeled consumers
in.
(Chart House, Marla Williams, 312/266-1100; Cramer-Krasselt, 312/616-9600)
Conquering Critic Phobia
Dealing with restaurant critics can be nervewracking to say the least. Washington's notorious Phyllis Richman was so bent on ensuring that her visits to local hotspots would
go unnoticed that she mastered the art of disguise. And many a chef has been singed out by a reviewer's scorn. Plus, the fact that most critics are in communicado after initial
pitching contact makes many media relations practitioners cringe.
The only solution is to have all your ducks (and steaks and salmon) in a row. Cramer-Krasselt team members pitched reviewers only after the new Chart House menu had been put
in place in each reviewer's market. Not only that, but they gave the kitchen staffs plenty of time to master their new fare before serving Chart House up to critics. We bet that
meant plenty of taste-testing.
The Team
- Andy Clark - Vice President, Account Director
- Maria Jamroz - Account Supervisor
- Katie Cushing - Account Executive
- Jennifer Antonini - Account Executive
- Gaby Beecher - Account Executive
- Alma Quindipan - Assistant Account
Executive
Cramer-Krasselt
Headquarters: Chicago
Founded: 1898
Billings: $470 million (projected 2000 billings for advertising and PR)
Employees: 475
Employees on Chart House Account: 6