Ahead of the January 21 premiere of Bravo’s latest reality series, ‘Best New Restaurant,’ we looked at the network’s multiplatform marketing strategy – which includes a complementary digital series ‘Secret Service.’ Now, the network is rolling out a social sweepstakes that will give one winner the chance to go behind the scenes at one of Tom Colicchio’s restaurants in New York Series.
‘Best New Restaurant,’ as opposed to ‘Top Chef,’ is not only about the quality of the food, but also about the quality of the service and the atmosphere of the restaurant. These more business-focused aspects of the show led Bravo to take its sweepstakes – called “The Mentorship” – to LinkedIn, rather than Facebook or Twitter.
“We do often run our social contests on Facebook and Twitter, but have turned to LinkedIn for this contest specifically because of the premise of ‘Best New Restaurant,’ Ellen Stone, EVP of Marketing for Bravo and Oxygen Media, tells LostRemote. “Since people use LinkedIn for job postings and recruiting, it allows us to showcase the business aspect of the restaurant industry in a unique, accessible way. We’re excited to test out LinkedIn by setting up a series brand page, employing community management tactics, and utilizing LinkedIn’s paid targeting tools to tap into restaurant industry and media professionals…. All of whom we bet eat out a lot!”
While – rightly so – LinkedIn does not garner as much social TV attention as Facebook and Twitter, or even Intsgram and Snapchat, its potential for business-related TV tie-ins is there. CNBC, Fox Business, and Bloomberg TV, are all perfect matches for strategic partnerships with the networking platform.
With the ‘The Mentorship’ on LinkedIn and its cross-platform strategy for the main linear show ‘Best New Restaurant” and its digital companion ‘Secret Service’ (both of which will feature heavy sponsorship by Buick), Bravo continues to set its shows up for success early on.