2. Table of Contents
M e e t T h e Te a m
M e e t T h e B r a n d
S W O T A n a l y s i s
C r e a t i v e B r i e f
P r o b l e m a n d
C o m m u n i c a t i o n G o a l s
C r e a t i v e Ta c t i c s
a n d E x e c u t i o n s
S o c i a l M e d i a
S t r a t e g i c R e l a t i o n s h i p
M e a s u r e s o f S u c c e s s
F u t u r e R e c o m m e n d a t i o n s
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3. 1
Kara Wexler
Account Executive
Grizwald Lee Bearington
Mascot
Shay Fitzmaurice
Assistant Account Executive
Phillip Jones
Copywriter
Caroline Moore
Strategist
Megan Robertson
Art Director
MeetThe Brand
Seabear is a fresh take
on a classic establishment:
the oyster bar. It is the sole
oyster bar in Athens, Georgia
and fittingly brings heart and soul to all of its offerings. Dreamt up and made real by Patrick
Stubbers, formerly a chef at iconic Athenian foodie-haven The National, Seabear invokes
the briny breezes and shattered shale shores of the coast. More than just a land-locked
embodiment of oyster country, Seabear is a product of passionate collaboration. The artistry
and eclectic lean of Athens is evident in every aspect of the restaurant, from the local artwork
and hand-crafted fixtures to the innovative menu and exploratory cocktails. Whether you’re
sampling high-quality oysters or partaking in the famed absinthe bar, Seabear brings you a
warm, thoughtful, and responsibly sourced dining experience.
MeetTheTeam
4. 2
- Owners have cooking and restaurant experience
- Bottleworks location is a well-known area with a
fitting clientele and good parking
- Ties to The National
- Offers Athens’ only absinthe drip
- Only oyster bar in Athens
- Unique restaurant space/atmosphere
- Large bar selection
- Memorable name
- Owner has many connections with local
Athens business owners
- Only oyster bar in Athens
- Many organizations and business host events in Athens
- Greek student on UGA campus may be willing to spend
more money for Parents’ Weekends
- Athens has three local breweries presenting
partnership opportunities
- People respect sustainability efforts
- Athens is home to many types of individuals besides
college students, including families, young couples,
older couples, UGA faculty, etc.
- Excellent venue for after-parties
- Appealing to a niche market
- Somewhat expensive, especially for the large Athens
population of college students
- Physically small with only about eight tables plus bar
seating
- Minimal advertising since opening
- Low brand awareness
- Lack of consistent branding across all media channels
- Low interaction on social media (except Instagram)
- Other well-known restaurants in Athens offer oysters,
many that are noticeably cheaper
- Athens has many restaurants and bars competing for the
same kind of customers
- College students, a large part of the Athens economy,
generally do not like to spend a lot of money on dinner
- People are not always open-minded about trying new
foods (like oysters)
- Customers might not know about other menu options
besides oysters
strengths
opportunities
threatsweaknesses SWOT
5. 3
Target Audience
Male and female Athens natives above the age of 30 who enjoy fine dining. They don’t mind
spending somewhat heavily on a meal because they know they are supporting a local business
with sustainable environmental practices and strong ties to the Athens community. They
enjoy Seabear’s warm, hip atmosphere and well-stocked bar that includes local options.
Research
Our team conducted a short survey to collect information on dining habits, familiarity with
oysters, and customers’ cost expectations when eating out.
Creative Brief Key Fact
Seabear is Athens’ newest and only oyster bar, with
many strong ties to the local culture.
Problem
The current customer base is small due to low awareness
of the restaurant and the owners are uncertain about the
particular persona of the Seabear brand.
Problem
The current customer base is small due to
low awareness of the restaurant and the
owners are uncertain about the particular
persona of the Seabear brand.
Tone and Manner
All brand communications will have a
sophisticated tone and will be imbued with
a wry and whimsical tone.
Media/Communication Vehicles
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, flyers, stickers
(Possibility of guerilla, outdoor, print)
Mandatories Logo and address
Support
Seabear’s environmental practices are
sustainable and, in fact, lead to cleaner water.
Almost everything in the restaurant space
was created by Athens locals, contributing
to a collaborative, artful atmosphere. The
rarity of oysters in everyday cuisine makes
the Seabear dining experience unique and
memorable; they also offer other unusual
products, such as absinthe and local, short-run
beers. Recommendations for food/beverage
pairings provided by the restaurant add to the
quality of the dining experience. Seabear’s
ties to it’s sister restaurant, The National, may
also ensure quality in the minds of customers
since The National is already well-established
and highly respected in Athens.
Promises
Seabear promises to provide a distinct and
delicious dining experience that values local
products and culture while also promoting
thoughtful and sustainable food practices.
64 percent of survey
respondents eat at
a restaurant once
or twice a week,
spending more than
$10 each time.
41 percent
of survey
respondents
have never
eaten oysters
before.
68 percent of
survey respondents
had never heard of
Seabear Oyster Bar.
6. 4
Problem and
Communication
Goals
When we began working with
Seabear, they were still firmly in the
introductory phase. The problem was
that much of Athens was unaware
of who they were, what they stood
for, or even where they were located.
As such, our initial and primary goal was to
reach out to potential consumers. We wanted
them to get to know the Seabear brand: to
see the quirky, gourmet-leaning oyster bar as
a flavorful member of the Athens community.
We wanted to build off of the prestige and
foodie following of The National, but establish
an independent Seabear identity. The first
step was just getting the name out into the
heart of Athens—people had to recognize the
name before they could love what it meant.
Patrick had previously worked with local
newspapers and noticed virtually no impact.
The steep cost of producing and placing
a television spot was too impractical. We
brainstormed ways to drive awareness in
the community and disperse the Seabear
name. We knew it had to stay true to the
eclectic, artisanal, and wryly whimsical
tone of the brand. In essence, we needed
to communicate the brand name, what
the brand is (an oyster bar), and the brand
persona.
It became a focus to create branded content
to be shared digitally (through social media)
and through physical, more guerilla means.
One example of our goals becoming realized
in our executions is the branded keychain
bottle openers. This seemingly simple
concept fulfilled all of our communicative
criteria and would be a branded accessory
that the Athens market would gladly
carry around. We created a mock-up and
now, several hundred branded “Bottle
Shuckers” are now floating around Athens,
cracking open cold ones and reminding the
community to enjoy their next brew with a
half-dozen oysters at Seabear.
7. 5
CreativeTactics
and Executions
Flyers
Our creative work for Seabear included digital flyers
for specific events, which were sent out on their email
listserv and social media; a sticker design; keychains that
doubled as bottle openers (or “shuckers”); a flip book to
be displayed on tables and provide relevant information
about the restaurant; guerilla marketing with chalk; and
Instagram and Twitter posts.
For our flyers, we created a fuzzy sidekick
who came to be known (to us) as “Grizwald Lee
Bearington.” He first appeared in a flyer for a New
Year’s Eve event in an “Old Man and the Sea” role,
but we couldn’t get enough of him after that.
Grizwald’s first seafaring
adventure. This image was
presented to our client,
Patrick, for approval of the
bear character.
A beginning digital sketch of Grizwald.
8. 6
297 Prince Avenue Suite 10
seabear’s First
NEW YEAR’S EVE Dinner
January 1, 2015 at 12:00 AM
Grizwald in his favorite party attire. This was the final image sent
out on Seabear’s email list for their New Year’s Eve Dinner event.
Grizwald gets re-purposed for Valentine’s Day. This image was
also sent to the email list and posted on the Seabear Twitter.
9. 7
Stickers
One of our first big projects was a sticker design for Seabear. Many popular Athens
restaurants like The Grit and Mama’s Boy have stickers with distinct design and prolific
reach. We wanted to emulate their success with a simple but recognizable design.
Process work for the sticker design. The concept was a visual
combination of a bear paw print and an oyster, which was easily
adaptable to a circle-shaped sticker.
After presenting a few options to Patrick, he
chose this sticker design. (It was our favorite,
too!) In February 2015, we went to press and did
a first run of 500 stickers.
The final product, on display at Seabear’s bar.
After snagging a few for the team (and our
moms), they were available to customers at
the restaurant. And they went fast!
SEA
B
EAR OYSTER
B
AR
10. 8
Flip Book
Our next big physical project was a flip book to be set at every table in
the restaurant. This would be a simple design with a few permanent pages
giving customers salient information about the oysters they were eating,
sustainability efforts, and pages that could be easily replaced with timely
updates about upcoming events.
INSIDERTIP:
The only absinthe drip
in Athens happens to be
in the same room as you.
Coincidence?
TO EAT:
1. Snag an oyster.
(They go fast.)
2. Oysters can be shy, so get to
know yours with a few icebreaker
questions. “Any siblings?”
3. Gently tip the oyster
into your mouth.
4. Masticate.
Page design was clean and simple, with strong visuals and playful copy.
The completed flip book.
The wooden stand blends in
with the locally-crafted wood
products in the restaurant,
and the pages are a mix of
informative and humorous.
11. 9
Keychain
For a promotional item, our team came up with the concept of a keychain
that did double duty as a “bottle shucker,” or bottle opener. With a little
research we found an inexpensive bottle opener in the shape of a bear and
were able to mock up a prototype with Seabear’s logo laser engraved on the
side. We took it to Patrick, who enthusiastically approved, and had us order a
first round of 200.
A first mockup of
the keychain.
We decided to go with
a simple logo and no
words on the back of
the keychain.
The final piece. These
keychains were given to
customers in the store,
and the first order of
200 was gone in less
than two months.
12. 10
Social Media
Patrick Stubbers wears many hats: founder,
owner, CEO, head chef, and of course, social
media extraordinaire. After analyzing his
existing social media presence, we knew it
was important to keep the local and personal
vibe he brought to Seabear’s accounts, but
it was imperative that he become more
efficient in his time spent creating social
content. Our first item of business was to
show him the ins and outs of social media
management software including Hootsuite
and Latergramme. Using these tools, Patrick
could monitor various streams, see who
was talking about the restaurant, and follow
people using relevant tags, in addition to
the most important feature: scheduling
social content ahead of time. This essential
feature allows Patrick the flexibility of time
management and allows him to focus on
his craftsmanship in the kitchen during busy
times, and spend only down time promoting
Seabear online.
One of our most effective
strategies for growing the
Seabear audience organically
was merely increasing brand
engagement to the existing
conversation. Fortunately,
Seabear’s unique atmosphere,
beautiful presentation of
delicious seafood, and
impeccable bar selection
cause many customers to
feel inclined to document
their wonderful experience on
social media. We encouraged
and helped Patrick to engage with these
customers in meaningful ways including
likes, retweets, and replies to comments.
Additionally, we leveraged future interest
in Seabear by following the accounts liking
consumer’s various posts, increasing our
follower base organically with relevant
consumers.
Our main goal was to help Patrick become
self sufficient on social media, so rather than
solely providing content, we taught him our
many tricks of the trade. We taught him how
to leverage various mobile editing applications
to give them a more polished look, as well
as more advanced editing with text overlays
on his graphics. Due to the high volume of
consumer postings, Patrick has also been able
to repost stunning photography and extend
the sophisticated aura of the restaurant into
his social profiles.
Throughout the year, Seabear’s social
media presence has worked off of various
social media trends and hot topics, all while
maintaining a level of witty humor true to
the brand. We had a great time seeing the
increased engagement and watching Athens
fall in love with Seabear and our owner as
many refer to him: “Stubbs.”
Social Media
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13. 11
Twitter
In addition to increasing Seabear’s
engagement on Twitter, we composed
tweets that referenced current trends
and events and, in some cases, elicited
the social media gold star of a “lol.”
When we weren’t making so-bad-
they’re-good puns, we were on the
lookout for customers tweeting (and
sub-tweeting) about Seabear and
favoriting, re-tweeting, and responding
from Seabear’s acount.
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14. 12
Instagram
Patrick runs his own social media accounts
and already had great success with Instagram
when we partnered with him. We aimed
to make him more efficient and hone his
existing skills; the personal feel of his
Instagram presence was important, and we
wanted to maintain that.
Rather than taking over his social media
accounts, we supplemented them, and gave
him advice that he took to heart: post more
pictures of people, overlay text on some of
his images, and utilize photo-editing apps to
make life easier.
User engagement with Seabear’s social
media accounts is strongest on Instagram, so
we encouraged Patrick to keep that up and
maintain helpful, friendly interactions with
every customer who reached out online.
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15. 13
Strategic
Relationships
Hotel Indigo
Georgia FoodTours Garden and Gun
We have worked to establish a relationship
with Hotel Indigo that will allow us to
promote Seabear Oyster Bar to hotel guests
by providing menus and offering special
discounts. We hope to expand these
efforts to other local hotels in the future.
By providing menus to the hotel concierge,
we hope to be one of the first restaurants
mentioned to guests upon their visit to the
Classic City.
Georgia Food Tours is a former Talking
Dog client that wanted to give back to the
agency that helped get them where they are
today. After we contacted them, they added
Seabear as part of their Prince Avenue Tour.
The tour is also complete with many other
townie favorites, historic architecture, and a
lively entertainment scene. It brings many
potential new customers right to Seabear’s
front door.
We have reached out to Garden and Gun
Magazine inquiring about possible ad or
editorial space for Seabear. Patrick is a big
fan and wants to submit one of his original
recipes to be featured. We are still currently
awaiting a response back.
Seabear’s menus are on display at Hotel
Indigo in order to attract Athens visitors who
are looking for a nice dinner.
Now, foodies get to fight over
the last bite when they swing
through Seabear on the Prince
Avenue Georgia Food Tour.
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16. 14
Measures
of Success
Total social media presence has almost doubled
since we took over and continues to grow daily.
200 bottle shuckers ordered,
0 remaining.
500 stickers ordered,
approximately 100 remaining.
7 flip books designed and constructed,
dispersed throughout the restaurant.
Registered on
LocalEats.com and
UrbanSpoon.com
Reserved spot on
Georgia Food Tours.
Instagram
Before: 1,088
After: 2,685
Twitter
Before: 150
After: 332
Facebook
Before: 889
After: 1,326
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17. 15
Future
Recommendations
After a successful eight months
with Seabear Oyster Bar, we
have several recommendations
for future marketing efforts. We
encourage Seabear to participate in
more event marketing. This could
include anything from hosting live
television show viewings to hosting pop-up
restaurant events at art galleries. We also
suggest that Seabear takes advantage of
the many Greek events at the University of
Georgia that often bring parents to Athens,
including Parents Weekend. Reaching out to
these parents through advertising and special
offers has the potential to increase restaurant
traffic throughout the year. We also hope
that the restaurant’s number of strategic
relationships will grow, and we hope to see
more promotional efforts in Athens hotels.
This may include anything from special offers
for hotel guests to branded hotel key cards.
Increasing customer loyalty programs will
also be beneficial to Seabear’s long-term
customer relationship management goals.
In addition to this, we hope that Seabear will
grow into a more professional voice while
still maintaining its whimsical personality.
Patrick’s hands-on approach to every aspect
of his restaurant gives it a personal feel that
drew in many customers who know the
man behind the curtain (or, in this case, the
counter). However, he will be able to leverage
that personality by making it slightly more
refined and accessible to more members of
his target audience.
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18. 16
So long, and thanks for all the oysters.
That’s All,
Folks
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