For 10+ years, my bucket list event was attending the National Buffalo Wing Festival in Buffalo, New York. I had it on my calendar to attend Labor Day of 2020, and the world shut down. I was freaking bummed! I thought, of course, the year that I finally decided to go, it was canceled.
But it was back in 2021, and I decided to reach out to the organizer, Drew Cerza, to see how we could partner up for the event that year. Drew didn’t reply to my email immediately; he called me INSTANTLY! From that moment, a friendship was born.
This year marks my 4th year attending Wing Fest. America’s Best Restaurants has been the media sponsor since 2021, and this year is my 3rd year judging the wings.
But today’s blog post isn’t about the National Buffalo Festival; it’s about the GOLD MINE of marketing that can come from your affiliation with events like this. Today’s blog is about Grassroots and organic marketing at its finest. In episode 710 of Restaurant Marketing Secrets, I covered Grassroots marketing and what it can do for your restaurant. CLICK HERE to listen after you read this blog 🙂
Let’s start from the beginning.
1st = Your restaurant needs to DRIVE SALES.
2nd = To drive sales, you need more customers.
3rd = To get more customers, you need more attention and occupy their brains more often.
4th = To dominate their attention more often, you need more social content
5th = To not have more of the same ole social media posts, you know, the ones about your FOOD, you need some GREAT content.
6th = Grassroots marketing gives you these moments. Just follow many of the restaurants I talk about in my content.
7th = What’s better than content from Grassroots marketing efforts, double dipping with AUTHORITY marketing! Being at an event, just being there, will give you bragging rights in your community. Then let’s imagine if you can win awards, like the man pictured above, Andy LiButti of Booty’s Wings, Burgers & Beer. Andy and his team have won over 20 trophies in the past 15 years of going to Wing Fest. And he milks that for everything it’s worth through his marketing.
Attending an event like the National Buffalo Wing Festival and capturing great content there could give you a fantastic marketing campaign you can tap into for years to come. It’s a great way to leverage someone else’s brand and perceived value. Customers will see, “WOW, they won an award at the National Buffalo Wing Festival,” and put you on a pedestal. And if you use that content throughout the year, you can get a lot of mileage.
FYI, one of my BIG goals is to create and or be involved with a series of events like this, but in EVERY food category that exists. That way, America’s Best Restaurants can give YOUR restaurant chances every year to be involved in something fun and beneficial.
Hope to see you at Wing Fest,
MP
