This year Olive & Key attended the Restaurant Marketer & Innovator Workshop in Dublin hosted by The Restaurants Association of Ireland and Think Hospitality.

We were lucky enough to speak on the panel alongside two fantastic local operators - Daphne Wright of Coppinger Row & Charlotte Quay and Colm McNamara of Pablo Picante, but also hear from other inspiring experts in the hospitality industry. Here are some of the best takeaways from the event!

“Followers are a vanity metric” - Loui Blake, Founder of Kalifornia Kitchen and Erpingham House

Loui suggests that working with social media “influencers” who have a huge, generic following isn't always guaranteed to make an impact on your restaurant trade.

He recommends partnering with people that are more aligned with your target customer and share the same values as your brand. For example, a local yoga teacher with a really engaged community of 500 followers is likely to be more influential in driving customers to your juice bar than the most recent Love Island runner up.

“Millenials don’t want a generic feed" - Rosie Prior, Brand & Digital Manager at Petersham Nurseries

Rosie argued the case for a diverse Instagram page with varied content rather than an overly produced, overly filtered series of photos. She advises that millennials are looking for a more authentic experience on their social platforms, and your page should reflect your personality, your people and your diverse offerings.

“Retailers are upping their game” - Russell Danks, Marketing & Strategy Director at Punch Pubs & Co.

“I was in a Marks & Spencers where a DJ was playing!” proclaimed Russell to our surprised audience. He’s noticed that modern retailers and other off-trade premises such as gyms are beginning to use their spaces in a more social way. By offering cocktails and coffees and putting on entertainment, these traditionally non-competitive businesses are taking people away from our pubs and restaurants, and we need to react quickly.

“Tel Aviv is the place to be for food right now” James Hacon, founder of Restaurant Marketer & Innovator

James sent us directly to Skyscanner to start pricing flights to Melbourne, Riyadh and Copenhagen after chatting about the most exciting food cities in the world right now. He sees Tel Aviv as the best food destination at the moment, and strongly suggested we check out Night Kitchen and The Old Man and The Sea restaurants.

“Strip everything off your menu that isn’t linked to your brand” Claire Sullivan, Account Director at MVAD Digital Marketing

As an expert in all things design, Claire knows what makes a good menu. She doesn’t abide by the one size fits all offering, and believes that too many options to please too many tastes isn’t a good idea. “It shows a lack of confidence in what you are doing.” And with customers only scanning a menu for at most 109 seconds, you want to them to choose the dishes and drinks that represent your brand the best.

We can’t wait to attend the Restaurant Innovation European Summit in London 2020!