Within the fast-paced world of meals and drinks, standing out isn’t nearly having the tastiest dish on the menu—it’s about having your model be seen and heard in all the proper locations. Enter influencer advertising and marketing: a medium that’s not only a pattern, however a should for eating places and cafes trying to interact youthful crowds and amplify their model presence.
With 70% of Millennials and Gen Z more and more making eating selections based mostly on influencer suggestions, it’s no shock that the influencer advertising and marketing business is on a severe development spurt.
However right here’s the factor: It’s not about discovering the most important movie star to snap an image together with your signature dish. Oh no, it’s about authenticity—connecting with influencers whose real voices resonate with their followers, and leveraging the facility of micro-influencers and user-generated content material.
Take McDonald’s “Menu Hacks” marketing campaign, for instance. With its good mix of creativity and influencer energy, this marketing campaign took the model to new heights.
Inquisitive about how they did it? Maintain studying to uncover the technique behind their success—and uncover the very best influencer advertising and marketing techniques on your restaurant or café.
1. Making a Buzz by Celebrating Buyer Creativity
In a world the place shoppers are bombarded with numerous advertising and marketing messages, it’s straightforward to miss one thing so simple as a burger. However when a model can faucet into the creativity of its prospects—like the key menu gadgets or “life hack” orders all of us whisper about on the counter—it sparks a complete new degree of engagement. The technique right here? Let your viewers co-create the expertise. As an alternative of simply selling your merchandise, rejoice how your prospects already take pleasure in them.
McDonald’s did simply that with its “Menu Hacks” marketing campaign. Reasonably than introducing a complete new set of menu gadgets, the model cleverly performed off the rising pattern of menu hacking—the place folks combine and match current gadgets to create one thing uniquely their very own.
McDonald’s requested influencers to spotlight their very own customized “hacks” whereas showcasing how straightforward (and enjoyable!) it’s to combine and match menu gadgets for a customized meal. This wasn’t simply influencer advertising and marketing within the conventional sense—it was about giving followers the stage to point out off their creativity and fueling the cultural pattern of customizing meals in a method that felt genuine and relatable.
The Menu Hacks marketing campaign was designed to faucet into the buyer fact that everybody has their very own “secret” strategy to take pleasure in McDonald’s. Give it some thought: whether or not it’s stacking additional patties on a Huge Mac or pairing a McFlurry with a facet of fries, folks have been creating their very own particular orders for years. McDonald’s determined to show this insider information right into a full-fledged marketing campaign, celebrating the concept that there’s no fallacious strategy to take pleasure in a Huge Mac (or some other McDonald’s merchandise).
Right here’s how they did it: Influencers, who had been fastidiously chosen to resonate with McDonald’s various, multicultural audience, had been tasked with showcasing completely different hacks on their TikTok accounts.
Influencers featured in style menu gadgets just like the Hash Brown McMuffin or Surf + Turf, turning these into viral sensations by way of enjoyable, relatable content material. The marketing campaign wasn’t nearly sharing a recipe—it was about encouraging prospects to make their very own creations, fueling the cultural dialog round personalized meals.
McDonald’s additionally harnessed TikTok’s Branded Hashtag Problem and Branded Results to have interaction customers instantly. The marketing campaign’s hashtag, #McDonaldsHacks, blew up on the platform, reaching over 7.8 billion views in 30 days. Folks weren’t simply watching influencers—they had been actively collaborating, importing their very own hacks and constructing a group across the idea.
@sarahmargareteats Making an attempt TikTok well-known McDonald’s Hack! #mcdonalds #mcdonaldshacks #mcdonaldssecrets #fries #nuggets #buffalosauce #bbqsauce #sweetandsoursauce #fastfood ♬ authentic sound – Sarah Margaret
However let’s discuss numbers. The marketing campaign drove hundreds of thousands of shoppers to McDonald’s, desperate to check out the hacks they noticed on-line. On TikTok, the marketing campaign generated over 1.82 million user-generated movies and racked up a powerful 361 million likes, 12 million feedback, and 20 million shares. The #McDonaldsHacks hashtag grew to become a viral sensation, reaching a click-through price (CTR) of 0.22% in the course of the “educate” section—nicely above the platform’s benchmark.
Maybe essentially the most telling determine: the marketing campaign achieved a price per go to of $0.03 to $0.09, which was considerably decrease than the QSR benchmark of $0.31, making it one of the vital cost-effective campaigns McDonald’s had ever run.
Key Takeaway: Give Your Viewers the Highlight
Right here’s the actionable perception for eating places and cafes trying to replicate this success: As an alternative of making a advertising and marketing marketing campaign round your newest product, attempt specializing in the customizations your prospects are already making. Encourage your viewers to create their very own distinctive takes in your menu, and provides them a platform (like social media) to share their creativity with the world.
2. Harnessing the Energy of Native Influencers to Drive Regional Consciousness
With regards to rising a restaurant or café model, particularly in new markets, there’s nothing just like the authenticity of native affect. Regardless of how well-known your model is, tapping into the localized attraction of influencers can work wonders in creating actual pleasure the place it issues most: near residence.
The technique? Activate native influencers to create buzz on your model’s enlargement into new areas. By partnering with influencers who’ve a robust connection to particular areas, you may drive pleasure, generate belief, and enhance engagement—all whereas conserving your message hyper-relevant.
Panera Bread proved simply how efficient this technique may be when it launched its supply service in 27 new cities throughout the U.S. As an alternative of choosing a one-size-fits-all method, Panera centered on leveraging native influencers within the cities the place it was launching supply providers. These influencers, with loyal followings inside a 10-mile radius of the goal markets, helped construct genuine pleasure across the new service, producing regional buzz and visibility.
Panera Bread teamed up with Social Native to implement a extremely focused influencer advertising and marketing technique. Reasonably than casting a broad internet, Panera fastidiously chosen native influencers who had sturdy connections with their communities in particular cities resembling Phoenix, Austin, Las Vegas, Cleveland, and Milwaukee. This allowed the model to create geo-targeted content material that resonated with potential prospects in every market.
What made the marketing campaign significantly efficient was its concentrate on hyper-localization. Influencers created authentic content material about Panera’s supply service tailor-made to their native audiences. These movies and pictures weren’t simply generic shout-outs—they had been designed to talk on to the wants, pursuits, and existence of individuals in every metropolis. This felt much more genuine than a nationwide influencer touting supply service to everybody, in all places.
@katielopynski♬ authentic sound – katie lopynski
The model didn’t simply cease at influencer posts; it additionally repurposed the content material into paid adverts, which helped lengthen the marketing campaign’s attain even additional. In a nutshell, Panera turned every influencer’s content material into beneficial artistic belongings that might work each organically and as half of a bigger paid technique.
This determination to work with native influencers paid off massive time. The marketing campaign generated over 500 items of genuine content material, which resonated deeply with native audiences. Not solely did this drive over 11 million potential client impressions, however the marketing campaign additionally achieved an common engagement price of 4%, which is nicely above the business norm for food-related influencer advertising and marketing campaigns.
Key Takeaway: Get Native, Keep Genuine
If you happen to’re planning to launch a brand new location a selected area, native influencers are a goldmine. They’ve the belief of their communities, and their content material feels much less like a branded commercial and extra like a pleasant suggestion. To make this technique work on your restaurant or café, concentrate on influencers who’re deeply embedded within the tradition of your goal space. Don’t simply choose anybody with a whole lot of followers—search for voices that actually matter to the folks you wish to attain.
3. Leverage Know-how to Discover the Proper Voices
Not all influencer advertising and marketing is created equal. Whereas many manufacturers depend on influencers with massive followings and aesthetically pleasing content material, the actual game-changer lies find influencers whose viewers actually aligns together with your model’s splendid buyer.
The technique? Use AI-powered influencer discovery and viewers evaluation to make sure each influencer partnership is optimized for engagement, conversions, and model match. As an alternative of guessing which influencers may work, this method depends on knowledge to match manufacturers with the proper voices—maximizing ROI whereas minimizing wasted advert spend.
Sweetgreen took this idea to the following degree by partnering with RAD Intel, utilizing AI-driven audience-first personas to pinpoint influencers who resonated deeply with their goal demographics. Reasonably than working with generic “foodie influencers,” Sweetgreen centered on viewers conduct, figuring out key curiosity teams—like eco-conscious foodies and on-the-go wellness seekers—and tailoring influencer partnerships accordingly.
Sweetgreen wished to scale its influencer advertising and marketing efforts whereas sustaining model integrity and driving measurable outcomes. Nonetheless, the model confronted challenges in guaranteeing its influencer partnerships had been delivering actual enterprise impression—not simply social media impressions.
By leveraging RAD Intel’s AI-powered influencer discovery, Sweetgreen was in a position to:
- Determine audience-first personas based mostly on actual client conduct, slightly than conventional demographic assumptions.
- Use data-driven expertise choice to make sure every influencer had the proper viewers overlap.
- Monitor influencer content material efficiency and optimize paid adverts with influencer-generated content material for optimum impression.
One key perception? The marketing campaign dispelled the frequent perception that Sweetgreen’s $25 salad worth level was a barrier. As an alternative, knowledge revealed that accessibility—not price—was the actual concern amongst potential prospects. With this data, Sweetgreen adjusted its messaging, aligning influencer content material with themes of comfort and wholesome on-the-go choices.
This hyper-targeted method allowed Sweetgreen to execute influencer campaigns with unprecedented precision, guaranteeing that each collaboration was strategically designed to succeed in and convert the proper prospects.
Sweetgreen’s AI-powered influencer marketing campaign didn’t simply generate buzz—it delivered quantifiable outcomes. In comparison with earlier advert campaigns, RAD Intel-powered influencer content material achieved:
- 188% enchancment in engagement price throughout the check group.
- 27% discount in cost-per-acquisition (CPA) for paid media.
- 137% enhance in click-through charges (CTR) in comparison with previous influencer content material.
- 153% enchancment in advert effectiveness over a six-month interval.
Through the use of AI to refine influencer choice and marketing campaign execution, Sweetgreen ensured that its advertising and marketing {dollars} had been spent on content material that resonated, transformed, and contributed to long-term model development.
Key Takeaway: Use Knowledge to Discover Influencers Who Really Convert
If you happen to’re nonetheless selecting influencers based mostly on follower depend and “aesthetic,” it’s time to rethink your technique. AI-powered influencer discovery helps eating places and cafes transcend surface-level metrics, guaranteeing that influencer partnerships are rooted in precise client conduct and curiosity alignment. To duplicate Sweetgreen’s success, leverage viewers knowledge to:
- Determine micro-audiences that matter to your model.
- Select influencers based mostly on viewers match, not simply attain.
- Optimize influencer-generated content material for paid media to maximise impression.
On the finish of the day, the very best influencer advertising and marketing technique isn’t nearly who’s posting—it’s about who’s listening.
4. Creating Viral Buzz By way of a Festive Hashtag Problem
Let’s face it: in the course of the vacation season, everybody’s attempting to unfold slightly pleasure. However how can a restaurant or café stand out amid the flood of holiday-themed content material on social media? The key is easy—faucet into the group spirit of the season, give folks an opportunity to be artistic, and create a problem that’s not solely enjoyable but additionally authentically related to your model.
That’s precisely what Pret A Manger did by launching the #JoyWithPret TikTok problem, proving that if you mix festive spirit with influencer creativity, magic occurs.
The technique right here is all about leveraging user-generated content material by way of a branded hashtag problem. Not solely does this method generate engagement, however it additionally encourages natural, genuine content material creation that brings your viewers into the dialog.
The problem isn’t nearly getting influencers to speak about your product—it’s about getting your viewers concerned, making them really feel like they’re a part of one thing larger, and sharing moments of pleasure that replicate your model’s values.
In mid-November, Pret A Manger, identified for its recent and festive choices, launched its first-ever TikTok marketing campaign with a twist: it invited customers to share their moments of pleasure utilizing the hashtag #JoyWithPret. The problem wasn’t nearly selling Pret’s new Christmas menu, it was about spreading festive cheer and permitting customers to showcase their very own creativity—whether or not that was by way of adorning, household moments, or sipping on a Pret seasonal drink.
The marketing campaign rapidly gained traction, with TikTok creators like @grandadjoe1933, @shericebanton, and @laurieelle becoming a member of in to encourage their followers. Influencers created heartwarming, enjoyable, and relatable content material that seamlessly integrated Pret’s new Christmas cup designs—turning the branded cups into symbols of pleasure and vacation spirit.
The marketing campaign was a powerful success when it comes to engagement. Influencer-generated content material in the course of the marketing campaign’s debut week garnered spectacular engagement charges, resembling:
- @grandadjoe1933—17.6k likes, 184 feedback, and 206.4k views, with an engagement price of seven.7%.
- @shericebanton—16.3k likes, 128 feedback, and 84.2k views, with a 5.9% engagement price.
- @laurieelle—8.2k likes, 78 feedback, and 118.7k views, with a 3.3% engagement price.
- @ellis_atlantis—11.9k likes, 435 feedback, and 136.2k views, with an enormous 44% engagement price.
@grandadjoe1933 #advert Thanks for at all times bringing me Christmas Pleasure @brookepaintain .Inform us your #JoyWithPret #Advert ♬ LA LA LAND (Half 1) – Official Sound Studio
What’s most spectacular? The viral nature of the problem. Not solely did the marketing campaign encourage participation from influencers, however it additionally sparked natural, user-generated content material from on a regular basis prospects who had been excited to share their moments of pleasure and their love for Pret’s festive choices.
Key Takeaway: Create Challenges That Invite Participation and Spark Creativity
Right here’s the actionable perception: If you’d like your model to face out in the course of the holidays (or anytime), create a marketing campaign that’s not nearly promoting a product, however about spreading pleasure or celebrating a shared expertise. Hashtag challenges are a incredible strategy to interact your viewers, particularly once they’re inspired to create content material that feels private and genuine. To make this work on your restaurant or café:
5. Amplifying Model Evolution with Influencer-Led Occasion Activations
One of the highly effective methods to drive consciousness for a restaurant or café model—particularly when increasing into a brand new market—is thru influencer-driven occasion activations. However this isn’t nearly internet hosting an occasion and hoping for some Instagram posts.
The actual technique is fastidiously crafting an expertise that speaks to your audience, tapping into influencers who actually resonate together with your model values, and making the occasion an extension of your model’s tradition. By combining media tales, high-profile influencers, and an unforgettable in-person expertise, your model can get seen—and talked about—for all the proper causes.
This technique focuses on creating buzz round a bodily house or expertise, utilizing influencers and media to amplify the thrill each earlier than and after the occasion. It’s about making your restaurant or café the it place to be, backed by the facility of influencer content material that captures the magic of the expertise.
When Exhausting Rock Cafe opened its flagship location in Piccadilly Circus, London, it confronted a singular problem: how one can entice a youthful, pop-oriented viewers with out shedding the rock-and-roll coronary heart that the model is thought for. To strike this steadiness, they turned to Kallaway to plan a method that might attraction to each their loyal rock followers and a brand new, youthful crowd.
The marketing campaign, aptly titled “Has to Be Exhausting Rock,” was constructed round an influencer-driven occasion activation that might place the brand new location as a must-visit vacation spot. The plan was two-fold: generate buzz earlier than the opening and amplify the thrill in the course of the grand opening itself.
Pre-launch, the marketing campaign centered on media protection and influencer partnerships. Exhausting Rock enlisted a mixture of music icons, resembling pop trio Bang Bang Romeo’s Anastasia Walker, alongside influencers from actuality TV like TOWIE’s James Lock, creating a various media combine that appealed to each pop and rock fans.
Tales in regards to the new location and its music memorabilia (that includes the likes of Rihanna and Freddie Mercury) unfold throughout main shops, from The Every day Star to Kerrang, fueling anticipation.
On the grand opening, the occasion grew to become the discuss of the city. Over 100 influencers, media, and celebrities (together with Slipknot’s Sid Wilson) gathered on the venue to expertise the brand new Exhausting Rock Cafe firsthand. Performances from Keane and an iconic guitar smash by Sid Wilson didn’t simply make the occasion memorable—they generated real-time content material that flooded social media channels, extending the thrill nicely past the venue itself.
The Influence: Totally Booked and Talked About
The outcomes had been simple. The occasion generated media tales and social engagement, reaching a powerful 6 million folks throughout the model’s goal audiences. Protection appeared on main information websites like The Mail On-line and OK! Journal, whereas reside ITV broadcasts captured the thrill for a wider viewers. The influencers who attended shared their experiences, additional boosting Exhausting Rock’s visibility with their followers. The hashtag #HasToBeHardRock took off, and the restaurant was absolutely booked from the very first day.
The marketing campaign efficiently attracted the youthful, pop-focused viewers Exhausting Rock was aiming for, with out alienating its core rock-and-roll fan base. It helped to redefine the Exhausting Rock expertise for a brand new era whereas conserving the model’s heritage intact. This wasn’t simply an influencer marketing campaign—it was a celebration of Exhausting Rock’s distinctive identification, amplified by way of an expertise that was as a lot in regards to the music because it was in regards to the meals and ambiance.
Key Takeaway: Make Your Model Launch an Occasion to Bear in mind
If you happen to’re planning a brand new restaurant or café launch, don’t simply deal with it as an extraordinary opening—make it an occasion that individuals will wish to speak about. To do that:
- Create an expertise that resonates together with your audience
- Companion with a mixture of influencers
- Make the expertise shareable
6. Turning TikTok Creators into Model Ambassadors with Paid Amplification
It’s one factor to get influencers to speak about your model—however what in the event you may take their best-performing content material and ensure the proper folks see it at scale? That’s the place influencer content material amplification is available in. This technique goes past natural attain by leveraging paid media to push influencer-generated content material in entrance of extremely focused audiences, maximizing visibility, engagement, and real-world motion.
By strategically boosting influencer posts by way of paid promoting, eating places and cafes can lengthen the lifespan of their influencer collaborations, guaranteeing their content material doesn’t simply disappear into the social media void after a day or two. This method not solely drives extra consciousness but additionally delivers a measurable return on funding by reaching the best prospects almost certainly to have interaction with the model or go to a location.
When Peet’s Espresso wished to introduce its new summer season drinks—particularly its brown sugar jelly drinks—the model didn’t simply depend on conventional influencer partnerships. As an alternative, it partnered with DMM to execute a three-phase marketing campaign that mixed influencer-generated content material with strategic paid amplification utilizing TikTok’s Spark Adverts.
Right here’s the way it labored:
- Rigorously chosen influencers—DMM recognized 10 TikTok creators with a robust affinity for espresso and matcha, guaranteeing the marketing campaign felt genuine and related to their viewers.
- Customized content material creation—Every influencer created partaking content material that includes the brand new summer season drinks, showcasing the style, texture, and expertise of attempting Peet’s drinks in a method that felt natural to their fashion.
- Paid amplification technique—As an alternative of relying solely on natural attain, Peet’s Espresso used Spark Adverts to spice up the top-performing influencer posts, pushing them to 4 extremely focused audiences. This prolonged the marketing campaign’s attain and made certain the content material obtained in entrance of the proper folks—these almost certainly to transform into in-store prospects.
@realadamrose i believe my spouse likes them much more than i do you gotta attempt these drinks at your native @Peet’s Espresso and let me know what you assume! #PeetsPartner #peetsjelly #peetscoffee ♬ authentic sound – Adam Rose
The marketing campaign’s outcomes converse for themselves:
- 10 influencers with a mixed following of 17 million collaborated with Peet’s.
- 62 items of content material had been posted throughout TikTok and Instagram Tales
- The marketing campaign racked up a staggering 19.4 million+ impressions and 161,000 engagements.
- The strategic paid amplification resulted in a 0.83% engagement price, guaranteeing that Peet’s content material wasn’t simply seen—it was actively interacted with.
By extending the attain of influencer-generated content material by way of Spark Adverts, Peet’s Espresso ensured that the marketing campaign wasn’t simply restricted to the influencers’ current audiences. As an alternative, they had been in a position to introduce their new summer season drinks to a fair broader viewers, all whereas sustaining the credibility and engagement that influencer advertising and marketing naturally offers.
Key Takeaway: Don’t Let Nice Influencer Content material Go to Waste
In case your restaurant or café is investing in influencer advertising and marketing, don’t cease at natural attain. As an alternative, maximize your outcomes by boosting the best-performing influencer content material with paid media.
Gas Your Restaurant and Cafe’s Progress with Good Influencer Methods
Maximize your model’s attain with strategic influencer advertising and marketing. From celebrating buyer creativity and leveraging native influencers to amplifying content material with paid media, these methods ship measurable outcomes.
By specializing in authenticity, utilizing knowledge to focus on the proper viewers, and creating viral moments, eating places and cafes can construct lasting relationships with their prospects. Implement these techniques to drive engagement, development, and long-term success within the aggressive meals and beverage business.
Continuously Requested Questions
What’s influencer advertising and marketing for eating places and cafes?
Influencer advertising and marketing entails collaborating with people who’ve a considerable and engaged following on social media to advertise your institution. These influencers create content material—resembling critiques, pictures, or movies—that showcases your menu, ambiance, and distinctive choices, serving to to succeed in a broader viewers and construct credibility.
How do I discover appropriate influencers for my restaurant or cafe?
Determine influencers whose viewers aligns together with your goal demographic. You’ll be able to search social media platforms utilizing related hashtags (e.g., #foodie, #[YourCity]Eats), monitor user-generated content material tagged together with your location, or use influencer advertising and marketing platforms to find people who resonate together with your model values.
Ought to I pay influencers or supply free meals?
Compensation varies based mostly on the influencer’s attain and engagement. Whereas some micro-influencers might settle for complimentary meals in alternate for protection, others, particularly these with bigger followings, might anticipate fee. It is important to debate and agree upon compensation strategies that replicate the worth they bring about to your advertising and marketing efforts.
What platforms are finest for influencer advertising and marketing within the meals business?
Instagram and TikTok are significantly efficient for food-related content material on account of their visible nature and excessive engagement charges. Nonetheless, platforms like Fb and YouTube will also be beneficial, relying on the place your audience is most energetic.
How can influencer advertising and marketing profit my restaurant or cafe?
Partnering with influencers can enhance model consciousness, drive foot site visitors, and enhance on-line orders. Influencers present genuine endorsements that resonate with their followers, probably resulting in elevated belief and buyer loyalty.
What forms of content material ought to influencers create for my institution?
Influencers can produce varied content material, together with high-quality pictures of your dishes, behind-the-scenes movies of your kitchen, tales about distinctive menu gadgets, and reside critiques of their eating expertise. Genuine and fascinating content material is vital to capturing viewers curiosity.
How do I measure the success of an influencer marketing campaign?
Monitor metrics resembling engagement charges (likes, feedback, shares), referral site visitors to your web site or reservation system, the variety of new followers gained in the course of the marketing campaign, and any enhance in gross sales or bookings that may be attributed to the influencer’s promotion.
In regards to the Creator
Author
Kalin Anastasov performs a pivotal position as an content material supervisor and editor at Influencer Advertising Hub. He expertly applies his web optimization and content material writing expertise to boost every bit, guaranteeing it aligns with our pointers and delivers unmatched high quality to our readers.
