Bravo’s new culinary competition series ‘Best New Restaurant’ premieres on Wednesday, January 21, and it will be complemented with a host of multiplatform initiatives.
The linear show – which is hosted and judged by Tom Colicchio and will feature 16 restaurants competing to impress across a range of measured (food quality, decor, concept)- will immediately be followed each week by a digital companion series, ‘Secret Service.’ ‘Secret Service’ will, with hidden cameras, follow the paths of three food experts who dine at eight of the winning restaurants from the preliminary rounds of ‘Best New Restaurant.’ When the eight restaurants meet in the semifinals rounds, Colicchio will surprise them with the footage from the digital series, and he will cut the semifinal field in half based on the results.
One of the reasons digital series’ do not move the needle is that they are completely distinct from their linear counterparts. Bravo, though, has found success by having what takes place in their digital series’ directly impact the linear series. We asked Lisa Hsia, Executive Vice President of Digital, Bravo and Oxygen Media, why this is important:
“Our fans are looking for a meaningful content experience beyond the one-hour show window,” Hsia said, “and we’ve learned this resonates with them from our past digital series that complement and affect the broadcasts of our shows. For example, with Top Chef’s “Last Chance Kitchen,” our fans loved the high stakes transmedia content and they crossed platforms to find it.”
In addition to ‘Secret Service,’ Bravo will also make use of their ‘Play Live’ technology and ‘Social Snaps.’ More details on these initiatives below:
Play Live
As part of Bravo’s award-winning “Play Live” technology, fans will become the not so undercover diners during each week’s premiere episode of “Best New Restaurant” by rating the eateries on key elements of the dining experience and sharing their opinions. Fans join on mobile, tablet or desktop at BravoTV.com to enter their ratings and comments in real time which will be featured on-air during that night’s episode. Each week, Play Live fans will crown one restaurant who impressed viewers the most as the “Viewer’s Choice” which will then be featured across digital and social networks.
Social Snaps
“Social Snaps” allows fans to follow the conversation surrounding all things “Best New Restaurant” by aggregating social and editorial conversations around the competing restaurants, host and judge Tom Colicchio, “Secret Service” diners, and Buick into one destination on BravoTV.com.
In addition, BravoTV.com will debut a robust slate of digital content surrounding “Best New Restaurant” including video series “Restaurant Secrets Revealed!” focusing on tips and tricks from culinary insiders so fans can eat out like the professionals do; video tours of each of the sixteen restaurants; and restaurant photo diaries which will give a behind-the-scenes look at a day in the life of some of the country’s best restaurants.
Follow Adam Flomenbaum on Twitter: @FloBombin