Company Background
The Create Foundation is a Social Enterprise that provides ‘Life Changing Food’ and run a programme that gets the less fortunate in our society get back into work. Through the flagship restaurant in Leeds city centre they serve a fine dining experience or through their delivered food centres in Newcastle, Manchester and of course head office in Leeds Create continue to raise the bar in ‘for-more than profit’
Sarah Dunwell is one of the co-founders and Chief Executive of the organisation. The restaurant in Leeds launched in August 2011 and the people of Leeds and beyond have taken this Social Enterprise restaurant to their hearts.
Goals
The months of January and February are notoriously difficult in the restaurant trade – never more so than in these times of austerity. Create wanted to make sure they retained the footfall during this time, and if possible make an increase.
Approach
After review of existing Twitter accounts and Facebook pages it was apparent that the majority of Creates social media activity had taken place on Twitter. We needed to maintain this in the voice of Create, whilst utilising other channels, primarily their Facebook page. We also wanted to look at Pinterest and establish a Create blog.
Pages – Create already had a Facebook page but weren’t making full use of it. Our first step was to update the timeline and add images and video to enhance the user experience, and generate interactions and shares. We also set up a Facebook Places page so that people could ‘check-in’ whilst at the restaurant, resulting in even more shared content.
>Tech – We created 4 new landing tabs allowing bookings to be made direct from the Facebook page as well as building blogs for the region delivered food centres.
Results
Throughout January and February 2012 Create monitored where the customers had heard about the restaurant. 20% cited that they were aware of the restaurant through its social media activity.
We have worked closely with Create throughout 2012 on various different projects as well as providing social media support through high profile television, radio and magazine PR campaigns.
1500+ increase in fans on Twitter for the restaurant and Create West Yorkshire.
What Create had to say;
“Create is a fast moving and dynamic business and also a social enterprise.
We have been working with Cat for a year now and we have been able to see direct and tangible results. In January and February this year 20% of the footfall through our restaurant was a result of their work on social media, but they are more than that. When I founded create I wanted to start a business and a mission, something that would work but something to believe in.
Working with Cat I feel that we have people who believe in us and our business as much as we do.”
“During 2012 Create won 3 highly recognised awards; The Observer Best Ethical Restaurant, a listing in the Good Food Guide (Bib Gourmand) as well as Best Restaurant by Yorkshire Life magazine. None of the awards are nominated by members of the public; rather, it’s done through industry experts and ‘secret diners’. The only way that can have happened is through the noise made on social media, in particular Twitter. We have won these awards as a result of the right noise being made and the work done by Cat Creative.”
Sarah Dunwell
CEO & Founder of Create Foundation.
Additionally Gary Stott, Co-Founder made the following observation.
“During 2012 Create won 3 highly recognised awards; The Observer Best Ethical Restaurant, a listing in the Good Food Guide (Bib Gourmand) as well as Best Restaurant by Yorkshire Life magazine. None of the awards are nominated by members of the public; rather, it’s done through industry experts and ‘secret diners’. The only way that can have happened is through the noise made on social media, in particular Twitter. We have won these awards as a result of the right noise being made and the work done by Cat Creative.”