One of the opportune – and also challenging – aspects of the local media and marketing landscape is the sheer size of the addressable market. We’re talking tens of millions of SMBs and high-value multi-location brands. They’re arrayed across myriad categories and verticals – from restaurants to roofers. Category-wise, we also continue to see a lot of convergence and mashups. We’re talking cat cafes, goat Yoga and beer spas – all real things. Another category mashup has been both longstanding and emerging: eatertainment. The classic example is Medieval Times, for all you Jim Carey fans.
This category continues to see growth, outside of medieval-themed fare. This includes several common outposts you may not have thought of – everything from Dave & Busters to Chuck-E-Cheese to your local Bowling Alley. For music fans in the New York area, check out Brooklyn Bowl if you haven’t already.
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Optimize and Automate
The latest development in this eatertainment category comes to us from Tiger Pistol. The multi-location marketing innovator has partnered with eatertainment powerhouse Diamond Hospitality Group (DHG). The deal positions TigerPistol to power social campaigns for DHG’s varied eatertainment locations.
To name names, some of the brands in DHG’s portfolio include Spins Bowl, Grand Prix New York Racing & Entertainment, Grand Prix Extreme Play, District Social, and Danbury Arena. All will now benefit from Tiger Pistol’s technology to optimize, federate, and automate their social media tactics.
More specifically, Tiger Pistol will help these brands with some typical social media pain points such as scaling their ongoing social activity and execution on individual (location-specific) Facebook business pages. It’s also about maintaining consistency in brand message and adherence to brand safety.
“Diamond Hospitality Group venues offer spaces where families and friends forge lasting connections through neighborhood hospitality,” Tiger Pistol VP of Business Development Sarah Cucchiara told Localogy Insider. “At Tiger Pistol, we are excited to amplify Diamond Hospitality Group’s community-driven approach by leveraging local social advertising on Facebook and Instagram to promote these venues and inspire discovery.”
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Eatertainment – Genuine Vibes
All the above speaks to a key challenge that multi-location brands face. Their size creates a scaling challenge when it comes to daily marketing execution – especially in social feed-based media. So it’s all about achieving the scalability of automation while preserving the genuine vibes of individual locations.
This usually involves a delicate balance of corporate brand support (e.g., approved image assets, logos, brand-safety guidelines etc.), and some degree of latitude for social media execution at the location level. Tiger Pistol alleviates headaches and guesswork with post templates among several other things.
Meanwhile, for Tiger Pistol, this is a strong move into a large category, expanding their addressable market. As noted, eatertainment is both longstanding and growing. In fact, Datasential reports that four in five consumers have visited an eatertainment venue. We’ll keep watching this category, and Tiger Pistol, to see where it goes next.
