Feature

Culture, Media and Sport: Meat draws cult following on Twitter

Following the success of the Meatwagon burger van, owner Yianni Papoutsis and entrepreneur Scott Collins wanted to open MEATliquor as a permanent restaurant. To test the concept's potential, a temporary venue called Meateasy was set up that attracted a large cult following on Twitter.

by John Owens / October 04, 2012

MEATLiquor: Launched as a permanent restaurant

Campaign: MEATliquor launch
Client: Meat
PR team: W Communications
Timescale: May 2011-April 2012
Budget: Less than £10,000

Objectives

To open the permanent MEATliquor

To create a cultural Meat phenomenon while maintaining a reputation based on food credentials rather than media hype.

Strategy and plan

The PR team decided not to engage with the mainstream media and instead capitalised on Meat's online following, approaching only a small number of food bloggers. During Meateasy's closure and the opening of MEATliquor, the team teased Meat's Twitter fans with clues such as menu hints to maintain the buzz. Meat invited more than 100 fans for an exclusive opening, which resulted in widespread social media coverage followed by mainstream coverage.

Measurement and evaluation

MEATliquor received more than 60 items of coverage, including The Times, The Guardian, Esquire and GQ, among others.

Results

Within six months of opening, MEATliquor took almost £2m. Meat is looking at international expansion and plans to open three more restaurants this year.