Get Creative Restaurant Advertising… Completely “Free”?

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In the latest issue of Nation’s Restaurant News, Gregg Cebrzynski mentioned Chipotle’s video contest. The short story is the restaurant chain hosted a contest that had students (and others) produce Chipotle commercials in exchange for prizes.

Terrasynth LLC was closely involved with a similar video contest earlier this year for T-Mobile’s Sidekick phone, hosted on Myspace. You will see here that not only did the video contest go extremely well, but the popularity of Myspace alone was able to drive interest in the new product.

What does all this mean to you?

People will do creative work for you absolutely free. Period. It’s simply a matter of you being creative about it in the first place… and making sure that you have high standards (otherwise your contest is likely to bust).

So, what are steps to consider when asking your customers to make advertising images for your restaurant?

1. Remember that contests don’t have to be Video. You can have a contest for people to create newspaper advertising, radio spots, logos, billboards… just about anything you want.
2. Giving recognition and value is the key. Artists want recognition, praise… and free food. Giving a combination of these will drive benefits to your restaurant and the designers fighting for the prize(s).
3. Make your contest a newsworthy event to double the miles. When was the last time a local restaurant had a contest worth noting? Make the contest interesting and when you start to promote it on-site, tell your local news station about it.

After you have entries coming in, prepare your customers to get involved!

People get weirdly excited at the opportunity to make a difference. Get the public involved and have votes taken as a way to decide the “winner” for your contest. Quickly design little voting slips, and request the name, email and any other information you’d like ON THE VOTING SLIP.

DO YOU SEE THE POWER OF THIS IDEA?

By running a contest for advertising ideas, having the public vote on the winner, and getting each voter’s contact information… I have no doubt that you could easily revolutionize your restaurant for an entire year or more!