Now more than ever, it’s important to promote your restaurant. And a promo that’s about to debut at New York City’s Smith & Wollensky steakhouse illustrates why it pays to think out of the box when it comes to developing an event or program.
In a city with more than 150 steakhouses, each with its own cadre of diehard devotees (Sparks, Ben Benson’s, Peter Luger, The Palm—not to mention outposts of chains like Ruth’s Chris and Morton’s), S&W parent Fourth Wall Restaurants is asking customers to “pledge allegiance” to the 34-year-old bastion of beef in exchange for having the restaurant renamed after them … for a day. From October 3 through the end of the month, a different pledgee will be chosen daily at random and their last name will replace the “Smith,” on everything from the signs and awnings to the matchbooks and cocktail napkins.
The beauty part of this promotion is that it’s aimed straight at creating ownership and brand superiority. The pledge includes such credos as “Smith & Wollensky is MY steakhouse. I will have no other,” and “If I am taken to another steakhouse, I will politely direct the table conversation to the inferiority of the steakhouse to Smith & Wollensky”: 10 Wollensky-centric promises in all.
Facebook fans have furthered the message in kind ( “I pledge allegiance to S&W of midtown NYC and to the midtown for which it is in, one NY strip, medium well, uncut, with creamed spinach and fries for all!”)
The brilliant catch? You have to make a reservation in order to enter, which means—as the website points out—means you’ve already won.