Overview
In May 2023, Meet Bros entered the London F&B scene as the city's first Asian-fusion, fully halal steakhouse. Located down the road from Paddington Station, the modern medieval-style restaurant offers a gathering place where Western and Malaysian cultures unite as a melting pot for people of London's diverse ethnicities and beliefs over a semi-fine dining experience and premium steaks.
Brought to the UK capital by Serai Group and Palace Butcher Resources (PBR), Meet Bros plays a significant role in the group’s mission to expand globally and develop its international footprint. PBR is best known for the success of Me’nate Steak Hub, an exceptionally popular eatery across Malaysia with 13 outlets.
To fulfil their objective of becoming the world’s finest Asian-fusion halal steakhouse, the Meet Bros team brought on Posh Cockney in April 2023 to utilise our full marketing, social media and PR services.
Our Objective
To develop, execute and sustain a comprehensive, integrated marketing, social media and PR strategy to initiate and grow brand awareness, presence and preference in the London F&B scene.
Challenges
Turnaround
We had less than a month to establish all digital platforms from scratch and plan and manage the soft and hard launch events. The restaurant was still under renovation until days before opening its doors. On top of the digital introduction of the Meet Bros brand and the restaurant opening, the launch event required significant planning, operations management and social media and PR coverage as Her Majesty Queen Azizah of Malaysia attended.
International Marketing
We worked closely with the team in Malaysia, who operate in a different time zone, making optimal meeting scheduling a priority. Furthermore, we needed to understand Muslim and Malaysian customs and traditions, so we planned and promoted Meet Bros’ offerings authentically and respectfully. This task was especially important for the launch event, where royal guests and key figures from Malaysia attended.
In-Restaurant Demand
Managing customer expectations and knowing when to scale back on promotional initiatives to ensure demand doesn’t surpass the restaurant’s employee force and supply of other resources.
Our Approach
We used an interdisciplinary and multi-phase approach to developing, executing and sustaining our marketing tactics. Our timeline was as follows:
- Pre-Launch: April
- Launch: May & June
- Post-Launch: July onwards
What we did
Pre-Launch
Beginning in April, the Posh Cockney team familiarised ourselves with Meet Bros’ history, brand and menu through discovery meetings, site visits and research. To position Meet Bros in the London F&B scene, we conducted a competitor analysis, exploring the offerings of steakhouses in London and other restaurants in the Paddington area to help the restaurant refine its pricing and to determine the target audience.
Since the steakhouse is fully halal, our team also learned about Muslim practices and Malaysian traditions. We crafted target audience profiles and built our launch and post-launch strategy and promotional calendar, including significant Malaysia, Muslim and UK holidays and fun food-related dates. Posh Cockney’s marketing and social media team developed the Q2 promotional editorial calendar and social media grid plan from this research, leaving room for adjustments based on monthly performance. For PR and social media, we compiled lists of journalists, publications and influencers to invite to cover Meet Bros’ launch. Our press release covered the restaurant opening and the royal launch event, and we sent it out to key UK media contacts.
On the digital side, Posh Cockney developed, set up and managed all digital platforms. Our priority was establishing the Instagram and Facebook pages to generate buzz and excitement for the launch. We created the restaurant email, CRM and booking platform and set up the Google Business, TagManager, SearchConsol, Ads and Analytics accounts. A significant project was developing the website with SEO copywriting using our organic keyword research based on the restaurant’s offerings, competitors and target audience. We held a professional photo shoot to accumulate content for all digital initiatives.
Launch
On the 12th of May, we welcomed Her Majesty Queen Azizah of Malaysia, other royal guests and key figures from Malaysia, journalists and influencers for a private event for the launch of Meet Bros. Posh Cockney booked and managed suppliers, including the entertainment, a custom step-and-repeat board, two large-scale balloon installations, the AV system, a red carpet, ribbon for the ribbon cutting and cocktail tables. We provided professional photography and videography services and captured live social media content. Posh Cockney helped manage the operations and flow of the event. We developed a run sheet and organised event day management, and as there were royal guests, we adjusted plans to meet security protocols.
Beyond the launch event, we invited journalists and influencers to review and post about Meet Bros throughout May and June. We heavily pushed social media initiatives and set up Meta, and Google paid ads. Additionally, we began our bi-monthly email marketing campaign, offering a free treat offer upon sign-up.
We slowly transitioned into our post-launch strategy beginning with Father’s Day on the 18th of June, while we solidified and scheduled our post-launch Q3 and Q4 plans.
The Results
Posh Cockney’s May and June end-of-month reports revealed the overwhelming success of Meet Bros’ introduction to the UK.
The launch event was a huge success, driving a massive spike in social media and website traffic. From May to the end of June, our Instagram account grew to over 5,250 followers and website traffic to nearly 18,500 users. A successful Instagram collaboration with @halalmemoirs reached over 390,000 accounts. The media featured Meet Bros in nine publications.
Two months in, the restaurant is bustling, with up to 230 bookings on weekend days. Meet Bros surpassed its goal of 120 bookings on Father’s Day with 184 reservations made, plus walk-ins. Posh Cockney is determined to keep momentum with its upcoming marketing, social media and PR activations.
What's next?
Post-Launch
Going forward, Posh Cockney will grow Meet Bros’ brand awareness, presence and preference in London through our pos-launch strategy, with our key campaigns revolving around summer break, Malaysian celebrations in the early autumn and Christmas. Meet Bros will soon launch their breakfast, lunch and kids menus and promotions, which Posh Cockney has designed strategic creative campaigns to execute.
In addition to developing these in-restaurant promotions and discounts, we began promoting private events and parties, outreaching out to corporate businesses, community groups and networking organisations. In August, we will support Meet Bros’ plan and execute their booth at a large Malaysian festival with vendors and merchandisers with anticipated 5,000 guests. Like the launch event, we will source decor suppliers and entertainment and help manage the event.
We continue to push on social media and email marketing campaigns. In addition to our continued focus on influencer collaborations, our PR focus is on getting Meet Bros into “Top Ten” lists for things to do in London and other target audience-specific publications. Our team will increase its web reach through organic SEO blog writing and paid ads.
The Posh Cockney team has thoroughly enjoyed working with this international client! We will use its lessons and expertise to continue supporting Meet Bros and restaurants and hotels that are ready to leap into the UK market.