Branding  |  Website Design  |  Marketing

Double Dragon was a Pop-up Japanese restaurant by Ex-Nobu Head Chef Scott Hallsworth located in Clerkenwell London. Named after the 1980’s Japanese video game, Captivate Hospitality created a distinct and original brand which used retro gaming as the theme.

We created the full suite of brand touch-points including fliers, menus, drinks list, business cards, bill folders, posters and the website. The menu includes Japanese ingredients which a lot of people in the UK won’t have heard of, so we created a place mat called “Cheat Codes” which acts as a glossary of the more unusual terms.

The bill folder continued the theme with pixelated graphics and “Game Over” written in bold on the front. As well as the branding and website, Captivate Hospitality also acted as Double Dragon’s outsourced restaurant marketing department.

Implementing a wide range of strategies which has seen the restaurant fully booked for most nights in the weeks after the launch.

PR

We wrote the press release and sent it to all major publications, following up with relevant journalists and selling the story. This resulted in a lot of coverage, the highlight being a fantastic review by Jay Rayner in The Observer. Bookings went crazy after this piece and the website received well over 10,000 visits on the day of the review! The PR coverage was not only great for direct bookings, it’s given the website a great leap forward in our SEO work.

EMAIL

Using Scott’s database we created email campaigns that built pre-launch buzz, driving bookings weeks before the restaurant opened. Subsequent campaigns have focused on menu changes, the Jay Rayner review and the introduction of Vegan and Gluten Free menus.

Google ads

A particular area of focus in our marketing strategy has been Google ads. We’ve set up and managed a number of campaigns – specifically Google My Business Ads and Google Customer Intent Campaigns. Targeting traffic to competitor sites as well as local and London-wide searches for relevant keywords, we have driven thousands of targeted people to the website.

social media

We re-skinned an existing Instagram account belonging to one of Scott’s previous restaurants – this gave us a head start with followers who we interested and engaged in his food. This ensured great engagement and reach from the start. We back this up with ad campaigns targeting local foodies as well as young professionals. Influencers have also been targeted and invited for complimentary meals. This was a key strategy when launching the Saturday brunch menu.

local marketing

But it hasn’t all been about digital marketing, we are also a firm believer in direct local marketing – reaching out to customers in the local area.. This is done with a combination of targeting local businesses as well as flyering on busy intersections.

We’ve worked with over 200 brands over 6 countries since 2009, including:

Book a Free 20-minute consultation with Guy Holmes MD of Captivate Hospitality.