Made the restaurant visible
We added display advertising to introduce the restaurant to a new audience.
Workflows / Client case study / HoReCa
How integrated marketing increased restaurant demand and occupancy
We built communication across the funnel, from awareness to measurable website actions, and increased booking-page visits and event inquiries severalfold.
Client project: the website, awareness campaigns, performance advertising and analytics worked as one guest acquisition system.
Context
The challenge and analytics limitations
The restaurant needed more table reservations, steady occupancy and stronger banquet and corporate event demand during a highly competitive season.
We initially planned to measure actual bookings. While connecting the website, CRM and third-party booking service, we found that advertising tags were lost during redirects and the CRM could not reliably link a booking to its source.
We adjusted the KPIs to verifiable actions. Reports included booking-page visits, submissions of the table reservation form, banquet inquiries and inquiries about large events. Increased occupancy was recorded through client feedback, but was not attributed to individual advertising channels.
Strategy
From restaurant awareness to conversion
Tests showed that targeting only people ready to book immediately limited scale. We therefore built communication across the entire funnel.
Matched offers to occasions
The website gained dedicated sections for family dinners, business meetings, celebrations and corporate events.
Built on existing interest
Paid search and retargeting brought back users already familiar with the restaurant.
Reallocated budget based on data
We tested DSP platforms in parallel and increased investment in the clear leader after the first few weeks.
Stage 1
Preparation and testing
We carried out basic SEO and competitor analysis, improved landing pages and updated menus, photography, chef information, seasonal offers and event options.
In parallel, we developed social media, tested small volumes of targeted and paid search advertising and sponsored placements, and configured analytics through Yandex Metrica and Calltouch.
The main finding was that the restaurant was absent from the top of the funnel: potential guests first needed to discover it and understand which occasions it suited.
Stage 2
Active advertising campaign
We launched several DSP platforms with different buying models, narrowed the geography to the main region and nearby areas, and continued addressing all identified audience segments.
After identifying the most effective platform, we moved most of the budget there and strengthened retargeting through paid search advertising. In the second half of the campaign, the client confirmed sustained growth in reservations and restaurant occupancy.
Measurable results
Conversions grew faster than the budget
Comparing the preparation stage with the active campaign phase.
4.6-fold growth
almost fourfold
1.8-fold growth
more than 11-fold growth; 291 inquiries over the project
more than 15-fold growth; 477 inquiries over the project
the main campaign budget roughly doubled
Project data
Website and analytics
Screenshots verify the working digital foundation and changes in the measured metrics.
Findings
What worked
The top of the funnel affects performance
Display advertising created a new audience that demand-driven advertising and retargeting then brought back.
KPIs must match the analytics
Reliably measured actions are more useful than unreliable attribution of actual reservations.
Content can support segmentation too
Different audiences received tailored reasons to choose the restaurant on one landing page.
Parallel tests speed up optimization
Testing several platforms helped us identify the leader quickly and reallocate the budget.
Commentary
Why the integrated approach worked
Display advertising alone does not complete a reservation. Its impact emerged when combined with the website, content, paid search and retargeting: a new audience discovered the restaurant, while interested users gained more reasons to return and convert.
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