Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

Diego, your question reminded me of a similar question posted here. The DETAILS are different, but there were a lot of creative ideas offered to the asker! Check it out:

Dilemma in restaurant positioning

You might also try the Search Questions link on the right side of the page. Use the keyword "restaurant" to see what else has been posted.

Good luck!

- Shelley

p.s. I'm in Houston, where all the best restaurants seem to be Italian! Carraba's is VERY successful, and the owners have managed to franchise it. Lucky for Kevin in Dallas... ;]

Since you're in Argentina (where there are probably more Italians than here in Italy), I would go for AUTHENTICITY. I know that a restaurants also sells ambiance and service, but if the food isn't right, then you're not likely to get those repeat customers.

Most restaurants outside Italy are not authentic. Rather, they cater to what most people expect from an Italian restaurant (spaghetti and meatballs, for example--yuck). I'm Italian American and when I lived in the States, I never went to Italian restaurants because the food was just WRONG (yes, even Carrabas, Shelley!). The one exception is Miami, where most Italian restaurants are owned by Italians.

Since you're a trattoria, I would first get the feel of Italian trattorias and agriturists online (search Agriturismo Toscana" for Tuscany, and "Agriturismo Veneto" for Venice's region). Alot of them have recepies and typical products from each region. Here's a nice little site with typical products from my region www.lemarche.it. Also, here is the url for Esperya in Spanish https://esperya2.kataweb.it/JSP/home.jsp, which is the best resource for authentic and fresh Italian foods online.

As for promotional ideas: why not co-brand your restaurant with Segafreddo/Illy Caffe' or San Pellegrino or Barilla etc.? You have exclusivity for their coffee/water/pasta and they usually give you big sun umbrellas or branded plates/cups for your restaurant. It's a way to draw in those that are just walking by.

Another idea, is to draw the lunch crowd by specializing in a certain type of homemade pasta every day. Thursdays Italians eat Gnocchi alla Bolognese. Saturday and Sunday it's usually Lasagna or tagliatelle.

But, not everyone wants to eat pasta every day. I would add carpaccio, insalata di pesce, and grigliate to the menu options for those that are health-conscious.

Here's another resource that lists all of the best restaurants in Italy. You can visit them to get a feel for what each region offers. https://www.jre.it/italiano/b/b.html

Gotta run. If I think of something else I'll post it later.

Ciao.