Social strategy secures fundraising success
The MCG team recently joined forces with seafood restaurant LIVEBAIT Leeds to organise a fundraising event in aid of local hospices St Gemma's and Sue Ryder Care at Wheatfields. LIVEBAIT asked us to raise awareness of the event and ensure a good turn-out for the evening and boost the restaurant's profile.
LIVEBAIT wanted to attract nearby businesses, future customers and local entrepreneurs to the charity evening with the aim of raising funds but also to increase the 'buzz' around the centrally located restaurant.
With limited budget and tight timescales we decided on a mixture of traditional media relations and social networking to maximise the potential of the evening.
We created an online persona for LIVEBAIT Leeds on Twitter and Facebook in order to reach out to possible customers to the restaurant as well as heightening awareness of their presence in Leeds competitive restaurant scene.
Twitter allowed us not only to send out news of special offers but also to announce updates for specials on the menu and interact with Yorkshire's influential network of active food bloggers.
In the run-up to the event we suggested that LIVEBAIT should host a lunch for volunteers who work at the hospices and arranged a photocall for the local media. Pre-event coverage in the Yorkshire Evening Post secured 40 ticket sales and was mentioned by many of the guests on the evening.
The recently launched Guardian Leeds website also covered the event and tweeted updates to its 1000 plus followers. Four bloggers attended the event with two staying to review the menu and post their positive reviews during the two weeks following the event.
The event was a success with more than 80 guests raising almost £1500 for the charities. Guests were presented with discount vouchers and many said that they would return to LIVEBAIT for a meal. Our social media activity also secured contacts using Twitter and Facebook for any future events. Following the success of the campaign the team at LIVEBAIT has asked MCG to implement a similar strategy for its Manchester restaurant.
Get in touch
If you would like to find out more about MCG or would like to talk to us about a project, please call Christine Mortimer on 0113 268 5000 or email christine.mortimer@mcgpr.co.uk.