Case Study

MEDIA RELATIONS

With an extensive and growing network of industry contacts, SMC team members maintain authentic relationships with traditional journalists, television anchors, food and lifestyle bloggers and social influencers on behalf of St. Lawrence in order to increase visibility for the restaurant in the Vancouver market and beyond.

Ongoing strategic media relations activities include:

• Development and distribution of press releases and targeted pitches to secure high-profile placements for St. Lawrence in traditional and emerging media outlets;

• Pitching, scheduling and providing on-site support and media training for earned TV segments and radio interviews on major broadcasters;

• Coordinating and staffing hosted media dinners for top-tier journalists;

• Supporting editorial opportunities by providing copywriting services for speaking notes, Q&As, staff bios, recipes, etc.;

• Ongoing tactical media outreach to keep St. Lawrence top-of-mind for prestigious industry awards, including the annual Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards and Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list.

EVENT PLANNING & CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT

In collaboration with Poirier and his team, SMC conceptualizes, promotes and executes seasonal dining events, menu and product launches, and one-of-a-kind promotional campaigns designed to keep St. Lawrence top-of-mind among Vancouver diners while maximizing media exposure and delivering value-added ROI for the client.

Highlights:

• ‘Cabane à Sucre’ Dining Events (January 2020)
• ‘St. Lawrence à la Maison’ Takeout Service Launch (April 2020)
• ‘Table D’Hote’ Dine-In Menu Launch (May 2020)
• ‘STL Salt and Spice’ Product Launch (June 2020)

WEB DESIGN & DIGITAL SERVICES

Website Design

• A world-class restaurant deserves a world-class online presence. In order to take the St. Lawrence brand to the next level, SMC reconstructed the restaurant’s original website and developed an integrated digital marketing strategy to appeal to Vancouver’s savvy dining audience. Custom built from scratch, the client’s upgraded website features an elegant mobile-compatible visual design, new e-commerce functionality, and an intuitive menu that helps users navigate the platform with ease.

E-Newsletter Campaigns

• To complement St. Lawrence’s new digital identity, SMC’s graphic designers developed a customized e-newsletter template featuring the restaurant’s signature logos, fonts and other design elements. Our content management team regularly assists in designing, copywriting and distributing regular restaurant newsletters to subscribers and provides support for ongoing consumer database management.

Photography

• SMC’s in-house photographer conducts regular photoshoots at the restaurant to capture custom, high-quality imagery of menu offerings, interior and staff for promotional campaigns, special events collateral and editorial requests.

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS

• As part of SMC’s big-picture strategic vision, the firm works alongside the client to develop annual promotional calendars, campaign-specific work-back schedules, and detailed reports to clearly identify short- and long-term goals and manage deliverables for optimal results;

• SMC also conducts weekly media monitoring, competitor analysis and trend reporting to stay one step ahead of rival restaurants, positioning St. Lawrence and its chefs as industry leaders.