The pandemic driven food delivery market boom was beneficial for delivery companies, but restaurants held up worse.
A food delivery platform took the opportunity to tell their stories, while introducing their own technology to a new market, proving that Public Relations can be used for good.
Flipdish entered the food delivery market in 2015, in Ireland.They had good reputation there, however they wanted to improve their presence in the UK. They provide a delivery technology that gives restaurants more control over their deliveries. With it, restaurateurs can gather more insight and run their own marketing campaigns. in addition to not having to pay large commission fees to platform providers.
Issues within the Industry
In many cases restaurateurs are subjected to commission fees up to 33%. Adding insult to injury, platform providers keep all delivery data, handicapping restaurants’ ability to adapt. Flipdish drew attention to this problem in the market. They became a voice for restaurant owners who had no choice, but to use exploitative platforms.
Firstly, they held a workshop with Flipdish’s leaders to position the campaign. Then the company created, a toolkit of messaging, Q&A, data and proof points to help communicate the existing problems regarding the status quo.
Secondly, they identified restaurant owners, who would share their experiences regarding the market leading platforms. One of them was royal chef Damian Wawryzniak, who volunteered free of charge to join the campaign. This really signified how important the message was.
Thirdly, Peter Backman got on board, a highly respected food-service consultant. He calculated the value of the exploitative platforms’ commissions in the UK hospitality sector. His estimate was £1.2 billion. A huge amount of money siphoned away from the ecosystem’s hardest workers. A very actual and strong issue, which needed exposure.
Finally, the last piece of the campaign was to provide testimonials from respected clients of Flipdish. The goal of sharing these people’s stories and advices was to mobilise restaurant owners.
Represent the Disenfranchised
Without previous coverage in the region, Flipdish earned 49 media appearances across all types of UK media, in three months. Their Sky News interview led to a 4068% increase in website traffic, and 500% more organic visits to the company’s LinkedIn. They did this sharing hard, concrete data and real human stories and struggles.
It is safe to say that by choosing a very actual and important topic and shining light on it, Flipdish had improved their reputation greatly. They did not just simply promote themselves, but took a hard stance regarding an important issue. They proved that Public Relations can be used for good, and that Activación de marcas can also achieve social change.