We have our leading candidate for worst promotional email of the year, knocking off the ALL CAPS BLAST FROM PADDY O’SHEA’S, but first…
- Mr. Brau gives two curry-stained thumbs up to the new Pink Loft (in the former Browns spot). He went for dinner and says the staff is “awesome”, the food is “excellent”, and the value is “good.” He also noted there is a RMB38 lunch special, which I will soon check out.
- Both stevelee and m-dawg report the Renaissance Hotel (Shuangjing) is featuring RMB12 bottles of Guinness this month. Apparently, it is available at the lobby bar and at Fratelli’s.
- Hopes for Mare to reopen near Workers Stadium are low given the place is empty of furniture. Mare drew heavy traffic, which makes one wonder if the culprit here is property issues. Those looking for tapas in the area can check out related spot OLAS in Sanlitun Village.
- Displaying the marketing style behind sibling establishments Klubb Rouge and Stadium Sports Bars, German bar and restaurant Drei Kronen 1308 has sent an email that includes a customer survey and a new happy hour.
The buy one, get one free happy hour runs 5 to 8 PM and 10 PM to midnight until March 31. Given my previous experiences with bills at DK1308, I expect some confusion for patrons whose imbibing bridges the happy and non-happy hours.
As for the survey, it asks respondents to list name, nationality, telephone number, e-mail address, dining frequency, and suggestions for improvement. My suggestions for improvement:
- Fix your email format: This one was loaded with bad spacing, varying font sizes and styles, a rainbow of font colors (pink, green, red, orange, blue and black), inconsistent spacing, sections with ALL CAPS, and a layout that even a motherboard couldn’t love.
- Proofread the message: “RUN HOURS” (“hours of operation”?), “FEATURE：brewery with a kingly privilege”, etc.
- Use “BCC”, not “CC”, so you do not disclose the email addresses of customers and potential customers.
- Have some, uh, survey questions (asking how often I eat there and “Do you have any comments about our service, food, atmosphere or any other comments?” does not cut it).
- When announcing there is a happy hour, also list the details of it (buy one, get one free).
DK1308 has a nice layout, good home brew, and a friendly staff, but methinks there just might be a wee gap between the precision of the franchiser and brew-making time and the local marketing team.
You can find many examples of what not to do when marketing in English. You can probably find enough content to dedicate an entire site to these marketing oversights.
As a former marketing director from the US, I have a strong eye for detail, and probably see more of this than a non-marketer. As a consumer, I am concerned as to where the lack of attention to detail ends. Does it end in a restaurant’s kitchen, or with a business’s products and services, or training and operations, etc.
I assume most of the bars and restaurants do not have a dedicated marketing personnel, if they do, they are under-qualified. More than likely there is a lone manager wearing many hats and juggling so much that checking ad content is a low priority.
However the publications like CW, TBJ, Agenda, China Daily all have editors on staff and full marketing staffs. These publications are providing a disservice to themselves, their readers and their clients by allowing erroneous ads and articles to run.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy these publications and read them regularly. However, when I see these errors I wonder how much credibility and confidence consumers lose with the publications and their advertisers.
Rules on Defending Your Fine Dining Establishment on the Internet
http://www.thebeijinger.com/reviews/2009/02/18/Aegean-Art-House-is-NOT-an-illegal-establishment
1. Do not use the China Daily as your authority on western food.
2. Do not use Pizza Hut as the standard by which to judge the qualities of your pizza.
3. Always, always, always proofread.
beware of Greeks bearing gifts..