Italian Restaurant Week

 

Thank you for signing on to take part in the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce’s Italian Restaurant Week, organized in collaboration with OpenTable and sponsored by Vecchia Cantina di Montepulciano, the world’s leading producer of Vino Nobile. We are looking forward to a fantastic week (June 1-8) showcasing New York’s best Italian restaurants and are honored to count you among them!

Please take a moment to read the information below:

REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS

1. Restaurants must participate in the full duration of the promotional period (June 1-8, 2019).

2. Restaurants are encouraged to feature at least one Vino Nobile di Montepulciano product of their choosing by-the-glass during the promotional period.

3. Restaurants are encouraged to promote IRW among existing client base, on website, and on social media platforms.

4. Restaurants agree to display IRW promotional materials (flyers and postcards) in their establishment.

5. Restaurants will offer diners any combination of three prix-fixe menus ($29.99 2-course lunch; $49.99 3-course dinner; $79.99 4-course gourmet tasting dinner; $40 add-on wine pairing with dinner)

6. Restaurants may be contacted by Votto Vines, the importer for Vecchia Cantina di Montepulciano. However, you are under NO OBLIGATION to purchase any product.

PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

In order to assist you in promoting the initiative, we will provide your restaurant with the following marketing materials. You will also receive these in the postal mail just after the Memorial Day holiday.

1. IRW Restaurant Flyer (click for PDF)

2.  IRW Promo Postcard 2019 (click for PDF)

DIGITAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN

 ITALIAN RESTAURANT WEEK WEBSITE (Please note, the site is currently being updated with a full list of participating restaurants. A list of 2019 participants will be visible shortly.)

• All participating restaurants are featured on www.italianrestaurantweek.org.

• Restaurants who are part of the OpenTable network are featured on the “Participating Restaurants” page with reservation links to the IRW OpenTable promo page.

• Restaurants who do not work with OpenTable are featured on the “Participating Restaurants” page with a link to their own websites (if available).

OPENTABLE MARKETING BENEFITS

• OpenTable sends four emails promoting Italian Restaurant Week to its 4 million-plus subscribers in the NYC-metro area. These emails are/were sent on May 18, May 25, June 1, and June 3.

• All participating restaurants who are in the OpenTable network are featured on OpenTable’s Italian Restaurant Week promo page. (click for promo page)

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

This year, the IACC has partnered with Food and City, a brand development company with a social media and influencer marketing focus, to market and develop Italian Restaurant Week and your restaurant. Food and City is curating, posting, and engaging on social platforms for us, bringing IRW’s digital presence to the next level, while generating buzz for participating restaurants leading up to and throughout the period of the promotion.

IRW is currently being promoted on the following channels:

IACC Facebook Page Italian Restaurant Week Event 

Instagram: @iaccnewyork, @eatandbefull, @foodandcity

SUGGESTED MARKETING/OUTREACH FOR PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS

1. Consider adding the IRW logo (click for logo) and the dates of the promotion on your website, with a hyperlink to our Italian Restaurant Week website (www.italianrestaurantweek.org).

2. Display the Italian Restaurant Week flyer and postcards prominently in your restaurant.

3. If you are currently working with a media/marketing company, ask them to spearhead an IRW campaign. This is your chance to gain greater exposure to a larger audience and further promote your brand through digital, using IRW as a platform to turn your social media into a revenue driver.

4. If are not already working with an agency, here are a few suggested actions you can take:

• When posting on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter please use hashtag #ItalianRestaurantWeek.

• Post a few times leading up to and during IRW. The more you post, the more the social media algorithm will work in your favor.

• Post fun social media forward dishes and mention that you are participating in IRW in your caption.

• Your bio should announce your participation in IRW. Consider adding the Italian Restaurant Week OpenTable promo page link (https://www.opentable.com/promo.aspx?m=8&pid=3004) in your bio. We will be able to track and quantify all reservations made through OpenTable, as well as through the IRW website.

• Encourage people within your bio and in-feed captions to make a reservation using link in bio.

• Videos generally get better engagement than photos, so post videos if possible.

• It’s ok to mention your participation in IRW in every in-feed post. Think of social media as your “fun” advertising channel.

QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions about the specifics of your participation, please do not hesitate to contact Amie Servino, Director of Communications and Special Projects, at servino@italchamber.org.

GRAZIE!

Thank you for all the time and energy you are dedicating to Italian Restaurant Week! We are so excited to share your cuisine with New York-area diners, are grateful for all you are doing to make the promotion a success!