One of our most exciting projects this spring is the digital marketing support we are providing Bonnie & Wild with the launch of their Scottish Marketplace in the new St James Quarter in Edinburgh.
Edinburgh’s first food hall brings together the best independent food and drink producers Scotland has to offer. With eight exclusive food stalls, three speciality retailers, a patisserie, and three bars, the open-plan venue promises to be one of the most exciting food and drink venues in Scotland - with acclaimed restaurants, chefs and food producers from across the country.
Our first step was to create a simple ‘landing page’ website to channel the positive media coverage and interest in the venture.
The immediate requirement was to deliver a simple website that would include key information about the project, contact details and social media links. Furthermore, it was decided that a sign-up form would be available, allowing users to register their interest whilst building a mailing list of people curious about Bonnie & Wild.
Over time, the website will be developed as the project progresses and concessions are brought on board.
We also worked on improving Bonnie & Wild’s social profiles; ensuring the Facebook and Instagram pages were consistent with profile and header images, content and clear call to actions.
Starting in December 2020, our initial focus was on organic social media content, creating an online community and brand advocates for the venue and concessions. Conversations, comments, messages and stories on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter all helped to increase brand awareness, whilst allowing the company to connect with influencers, concessions, producers and key stakeholders.
Bonnie & Wild’s commitment to beautiful, high-quality food and drink, celebrating the breadth and depth of Scottish produce means there is always going to be great content to share digitally - we certainly weren’t disappointed with the unrivalled collection of concessions coming on board, including:
- Masterchef: The Professionals winner Gary Maclean will open his first solo dining experience with Creel Caught.
- Edinburgh’s very own East Pizzas, acclaimed for its slow-fermentation sourdough pizzas and local sourcing ethos.
- Luxury artisanal gelato from Joelato, run by husband and wife team Joe and Lucie Sykes.
- Plant-based restaurant Erpingham House, opening its first Scottish base serving a 100% plant-based, plastic-free and mostly gluten-free menu curated by Partner and Executive Chef Meg Greenacre
- One of Glasgow’s best-loved restaurants The Gannet, holder of 3 AA Rosettes and a Michelin Plate
- MacDuff 1890, a premium meat wholesaler
- A bottleshop by Inverarity Morton, Scotland’s leading independent wine and spirits merchant
- Rico’s Pasta Bar, created by one of Scotland’s leading Restauranteurs, Stefano Pieraccini
- Broken Clock Café and Patisserie, led by the award-winning duo Anna Medjanskaja and Artem Podburtnoiem
- Fine-dining fried chicken start-up, CHIX Edinburgh, led by the Heston Blumenthal-trained chef, Ed Cresswell
Destination images (internal and external), vacancies, hirings and news all helped create a buzz of excitement around Bonnie & Wild as one of the most innovative and ambitious food and drink venues in Scotland.
What we love about running paid social media campaigns is that they allow us to target new people or specific audiences, whilst displaying our clients’ content and posts to people who otherwise may not have seen it.
For Bonnie & Wild, we ran an initial brand campaign in late January to raise the profile of the Bonnie & Wild name and the general awareness of the new food hall. We ran two Ad Groups through Google Ads – one focusing on brand terms and one on brand names. These campaigns yielded 1,540 clicks and 14,300 impressions.
As the Marketplace prepares to open in July 2021, our plans are to create multiple social media campaigns to help build the customer base for this must-visit destination. If you have a love for beautiful, high-quality food and drink, make sure to keep an eye out for what’s coming next from Bonnie & Wild.
