Promoting local restaurants as part of a larger chain can be a challenge: what are the best channels, how not to have your local restaurants competing against each other in terms of bidding, etc…
It can also be quite rewarding: local restaurants benefit from the global brand awareness and have access to the headquarters expertise in terms of marketing campaigns.
In this case study we’ll analyse how Burger King Belgium helped their local restaurants increase their online visibility and generate more online orders.💪
Ready, steady, go!
Context: How Burger King Belgium promoted their local restaurants with local ads
Burger King Belgium wanted to figure out if it was pertinent for their local restaurants to invest a budget to improve their online visibility.
They choose to try it out for a select number of their locations, on a specific campaign to increase their Uber Eats online orders, from their Google Business pages. The trial was held over the course of a week.
Results
The trial was a success in terms of increase of visibility and customers interactions. The listings that were part of the campaign registered:
- +58% search increase compared to the average number of searches per restaurant
- +60% impressions increase compared to the average number of impressions per restaurant
- +38% activations increase compared to the average number of activations
Restaurants that were part of the campaign got significantly better results than the ones that weren’t, showing the actual impact of doing local ads campaigns for restaurants.
In addition to increased numbers in search volume, impressions and activations, it’s crucial to note the importance of an omnichannel approach for online-to-offline actions. Indeed, in the case of restaurants, online orders can be a game changer to revenue.
However, it can be a competitive arena in terms of visibility and conversion, and involves several aspects such as general referencing, ranking within the online ordering app (Uber Eats, Deliveroo, take Away,…), website optimization, customer journey and brand experience.
In the case of this specific campaign, Burger King Belgium choose to facilitate their local restaurants customers ordering journey by promoting their Uber Eats profiles. Cross-linking their Google and Uber Eats profiles, allowed gaining visibility for online order and restaurant orders.
Why? Because the listings are made more visible through the customers’ search journey with the campaign on Google Search, Business and Maps. Indeed, ads appear on top of search results. Customers-to-be can then choose the way they would like to order: online, pick-up or in restaurant.
“Our goal was to measure the impact of ads campaigns for our local restaurants, to see if it was worth it, traffic and investment wise. Also, we wanted to get more visibility for our restaurants and to supplement our national campaigns.
Laurens Marynissen, Trade Marketeer Burger King Belgium
We’re satisfied to see the impact on a local level, even within a short time period. We’re looking forward to using these campaigns on the scale of our network with Mobilosoft, especially with the holidays season coming!”
Conclusion
Local ads for restaurants are relevant. They allow increasing awareness about local restaurants, and in this case facilitating online ordering for customers-to-be, which can be a game-changer in a very competitive market.
As national campaigns bring awareness to the brand, this kind of campaign is relevant for local restaurants because it allows increasing the audience reached and intervene one step ahead in the customer search intent, on a local level.
Indeed, in the case of online ordering, customers often search first on their browser, then go to the brand website or choose online ordering platforms/apps (Brand app, Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Take Away,…) and ranking well on them depends on many factors, which can be quite competitive, especially for restaurants being part of a chain.
These campaigns allow restaurants to intervene one step before in the customer search intent, on Google Search and Maps, and helps local restaurants to effectively gain visibility for a qualified audience in terms of proximity.
Want to know more on how to organize your local campaigns and optimize your local outlets’ online visibility? Check-out our Local Ads page or contact us!
