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CASE STUDY: Helping City of Parramatta Council promote Church Street restaurant precinct

Oct 27, 2020

Steven Kleina

Creating a social video campaign to promote local restaurants as we emerge from COVID

The problem

Parramatta’s Church Street dining precinct in the heart of the Parramatta CBD is a popular destination for Parramatta locals and visitors. The downturn in patronage due to the COVID pandemic, meant that restaurant owners on Church Street needed help to raise awareness that their venues were still open for business.

This coupled with businesses along Church Street being impacted by the construction of the Parramatta Light Rail project, which had closed down the street to all traffic. The popular dining area had become noisy and unattractive, turning patrons away from dining at the local establishments.

City of Parramatta Council needed a creative solution that would remind patrons that the restaurant precinct on Church Street was still open for business – both dining in and takeaway.

“The City of Parramatta Council’s City Engagement and Experience team needed an attention-grabbing social video campaign that would connect with the community,” explains Icon Business Partner Erica Williams. “Our job was to conceptualise and create something that would entice locals and visitors to return to the Church Street dining precinct.”

Icon Visual Marketing was tasked with producing a video that would form part of the Go Local campaign targeting residents and those living within a 30-minute radius of Parramatta. Other way round – COVID was the main driver for this campaign – PLR was secondary – see item 11.g in the attached Council minutes – this program was officially endorsed by Council as part of its initiatives initiated in response to COVID.

The solution

Icon’s creative team and marketing strategists began sketching out a script and storyboard for a fast-paced, colourful, and vibrant video. The video would be crafted around the core theme of highlighting the wide range of dining options available on Church Street without favouring a particular outlet. It was also important to take the focus off the construction zone by not featuring the actual location.

“Our job was to entice locals and visitors to return to the Church Street dining precinct.”

Erica Williams, Business Partner, Icon

Icon’s video production team developed three concepts and produced storyboards and script synopses that were presented to the City of Parramatta Council team. The creative execution selected – ‘Pass It On’ – involved the passing of an object, such as a piece of cutlery, from scene to scene, seamlessly.

The Icon team filmed all video footage in one studio location against a green screen, which meant a cost-effective production and timely delivery for City of Parramatta Council.

“Filming using a green screen wasn’t without its challenges for our Creative team,” says Icon’s Head of Creative, Glenn Robinson. “But it was a strategic decision that ensured that we delivered great content cost-effectively and to the client’s timeline.”

Local Parramatta identities – including NRL football players, actors, and City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Bob Dwyer – were featured in the video. Also featured were several local residents and restaurant staff of different ages and backgrounds, which helped to showcase the cultural diversity of Parramatta.

The fun and vibrant video is hosted on the Discover Parramatta website and was shared through City of Parramatta Council’s social channels.

The results

The ‘Pass It On’ promotional video was praised by the City of Parramatta Council stakeholders, Church Street restaurateurs, Parramatta locals, and visitors to Parramatta.

And the results are a testament to its effectiveness. So far, the campaign has delivered the following results:

· Above-average ad scores.

· High impressions, reach, and interactions.

· Increased website traffic.

· Drove 6,000 visitors to local Parramatta listing websites.

· Over 24,000 unique visitors to Eat & Drink content on the Discover Parramatta website.

The benefits

City of Parramatta Council received positive feedback from many restaurateurs along Church Street, who saw noticeable increases in business following the release of the ‘Pass It On’ promotional video.

Find out more about Icon, our video services, and how we can help your business grow, or call for a chat on 1300 138 984.