The challenge:
Insurance company HSB was replacing the well-known On20 restaurant in its iconic One State Street building. With the stated intention of “bringing an elevated experience” to Hartford and beyond, HSB planned to lean into its own 150-year history of innovation in creating The Foundry, an upscale restaurant that would feature an industrial chic atmosphere designed to echo its storied past.
With a vision in place — and not much else — Rebellion Group had just a little more than a year to carve out a presence in a crowded urban market.
The insight:
Our Market Intelligence Analysis told us that customers are increasingly seeking dining experiences that go beyond the food, valuing unique ambiance, personalized service, and memorable interactions. It also revealed that our prospective diners had a desire for an upscale feel in a welcoming environment. In other words, an elevated experience featuring prestige without pretension.
The solution:
It was about creating the “impression” of an elevated experience well before The Foundry ever opened. We developed a detailed plan featuring carefully structured PR and highly targeted media designed to slowly uncover facets of the restaurant as we drew closer to its grand opening. We incorporated visuals of the high-end materials being used to create the restaurant, videos of menu items being prepared at a partner’s existing eatery, and images of the construction as it took place (e.g., highlighting the beautiful bar and sweeping skyline views) to slowly pull back the curtain prior to a full reveal.
It served us well, as our socials and local media partnerships — such as a cooking segment on Fox61 featuring The Foundry’s executive chef — created a powerful buzz that helped build a bulwark of earned media and outsize community engagement.
We caught lightning in a bottle, with our plan deployment leading to the creation of a large, connected community of excited prospective diners several months before the ribbon-cutting. For example, within five days of launching our social media efforts, we achieved immediate engagement, as shown in the numbers to the right. More importantly, within weeks of The Foundry’s opening, we needed to scale back our media outreach because the restaurant was booked for a solid 60 days out and has not slowed down since opening.
+100%
Tables booked <6 hours after reservations opened
4,660%
Engagement across owned channels
43.19%
Average email CTR
