Hospitality Public Relations / February 26, 2024
Positioned Viet:Nom as the Exclusive Destination for Authentic Vietnamese food
Context
Catering to the cravings of food enthusiasts and their fascination for unexplored cuisines Viet:Nom, Vietnamese Kitchen and Cocktail Bar opened its doors in June 2019, serving them with Asian food. Situated in one of the prime locations in Gurugram- Cyberhub, Viet:Nom embodies the spirit of Vietnam with vibrant interiors, flavour-packed Vietnamese dishes and exotic cocktails.
With Viet:Nom, Manish Sharma and Sahil Sambi forayed into the space of premium dining that goes beyond its exquisite food, it’s a “deep dive” into the shared cultural history of Vietnam.
Viet:Nom encapsulates the rich sensual spirit of Vietnamese culture and food with a delicious dose of age-old native flavours and techniques. The authenticity of the restaurant speaks volumes about the extensive research done by the Chef post which an eclectic selection of traditional family recipes was listed down in the menu. Not a usual party place in Cyber Hub, Viet:Nom comes with a relaxed vibe, cosy atmosphere, astounding music and casual dining offering delicious food giving an unforgettable experience.
Communication’s narrative
Viet:Nom collaborated with WBS with the aim of reaching out to their target audience of well-travelled patrons, corporates, millennials, families, food connoisseurs and Asian food lovers.
WBS understood the F&B space and how the new entrants and experts made it a competitive market, and thus, strategically positioned Viet:Nom as the pioneer in introducing Authentic Vietnamese cuisine to the capital. The team substantially emphasised on Viet:Nom being responsible for bringing the quintessential essence of Vietnamese home cooking and serving it in a modern, chic Indochine style within an urban setting.
To get a strong and steady stream of media attention for Viet:Nom, WBS boosted their presence in the F&B press and highlighted how it is a trendsetter in its domain. This approach helped the brand in highlighting its vast offerings and achieve a top-of-mind recall value.
The team further positively utilised the legacy of Manish Sharma and Sahil Sambi as serial restaurateurs with successful ventures like Molecule, The Drunken Botanist etc. and the fact that they wanted to set foot in the fine dining and specialized cuisine space with Viet:Nom.
Our strategy
The PR approach and intent was to build strong brand recognition for Viet:Nom from the very beginning. WBS with a goal to establish Viet:Nom as one of the trending restaurants introducing a completely new cuisine in the market, positioned it as the Specialized Authentic Vietnamese food destination. The message reached the masses through substantial media coverage and extensive buzz on social media platforms.
Being the creative strategic advisors, WBS ensured Viet:Nom stands out as a pioneer in the extremely competitive F&B market. The same was achieved by leveraging the extensive research done by team Viet:Nom in designing the restaurant and setting the menu. The effort put in by team Viet:Nom to bring the authentic flavours of Vietnam to India was thoughtfully pitched in the media. This not only got Viet:Nom massive admiration from the food writers but also helped the restaurant in establishing a strong and loyal customer base.
The Solution
With the launch of the restaurant in Gurugram, WBS initiated various online and offline activities to increase awareness of the brand. From tapping social media influencers to food bloggers, the brand witnessed major visibility on social media. Wishbox Studio as PR partners helped the brand in growing overtime through both Corporate and food stories by showcasing their USP in the saturated F&B market in the NCR.
The team also lined up food reviews to ensure the media attention for the new brand in the market. WBS invited prominent food writers like MarryamReshi, Ayandrali Dutta, Atul Sikand, Sourish Bhattacharya, Pallavi Pasricha, Navneet Mendiratta, Anindita Ghosh, Pushpa Nair, Osama Jalali etc. for a delightful dining experience that transports the guests to Vietnam.
Furthermore, WBS highlighted Manish Singh as an F&B enthusiast with a strong penchant to introduce innovative concepts for his patrons. Emphasising on his adventures as a restaurateur and trend-setter, various profile stories were initiated for him. WBS also set in motion Chef-based stories for the head chef Vaibhav Bhargava based on his in-depth research for designing the restaurant menu. His skills and knowledge were shared with the media through various personal interviews and recipe placement opportunities.
In addition to food tastings, WBS systematically curated numerous events and special hostings one after the other to sustain the buzz. Selected media and Top-level influencers werehosted on important Vietnamese festivals like the Hoi Anmid Autumn full moon festival, Lantern festivaletc.
Several other hostings like Patio and new menu launch(addition of new dishes to the menu and launch of the patio area), Independence day hostings(Tri-coloured dishes served in order to celebrate Independence day), #NOMsteyPRIDE(a special LGBTQ table hosted during the pride month to show support for the community) etc.
Highlighting some specially-crafted dishes from the menu, WBS also hosted tables like Raining seafood(showcasing vast seafood offerings at Viet:Nom) and #Caphe(showcasing all the Coffee inspired dishes at the restaurant).
Flaunting the beautiful hand-painted walls and thoughtful interiors of the restaurant, WBS invited some of the finest fashion and lifestyle influencers like Shreya Jain, Komal(My happinesz, Karan Sehgaletc.) for their social media shoots at the restaurant.
Outcome
WBS successfully established Viet:Nom as one of the first restaurants to bring Authentic Vietnamese cuisine to NCR. The restaurant has been covered exhaustively by the senior journalists of the F&B press, influencers and Food connoisseurs.
Publications and online platforms like Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Financial Express, Business Standard, Femina, Vogue.in, The Indian Express, Mail Today, The Tribune, Asian Age, The Sunday Guardian, The Morning Standard, Times Life, NDTV Food, Conde Nast Traveller, The Week, India Today, IANS, WhatsHot, Living Foodz, Lonely Planet, Travel and Leisure.in, Outlook India, Hospitality Outlook, Restaurant India, Franchise World, Aviation Times, Spiritz etc. covered Viet:Nom through profile stories, Industry stories, trend stories and media listings.
The restaurant also created a massive buzz on social media by hosting leading Influencers like Cherry Jain, Ankush Bahuguna, Shreya Jain, Amar Sirohi, Priyanshu Kumar, Anupriya Kapoor, Sahagun Raizada, Sukrit Jain, AkanshaRedhu, NainaRedhu, Manmeet Kaur, SahibaGursahney, Karan Tripathi, Karan Sehgal, Srishti Bhatia, Sumit Kapoor, Karan Marwah, Chinar Grover and many more at the restaurant. Viet:Nom was also covered several times by online communities with monumental social media reach like LBB, DforDelhi, PopXo etc.
In addition to this WBS hosted noted members of the Fashion and lifestyle media likeSaumyaa Vohra(Lifestyle editor-GQ), Parvati Mangal (Stylist- Harper’s Bazaar), Nupur MehraPuri (Editor- Brides Today), NirijaDutt (Luxury stylist- Elle), Aeysha Nigam (Chief stylist- Bazaar bride), Shaurya (Stylist – Brides Today), Samar Rajput (Stylist- Cosmopolitan magazine), Amber Tikari (Fashion Editor- Hello Magazine), Dessidre Fleming (Lifestyle Editor- Scoopwhoop) to further introduce them to the world of Viet:Nom.
