Nick BuchheitChallenge: Finding a video team with the creativity to bring a unique, hyper-personalized video marketing campaign to life.
Nowait was an early-stage startup that revolutionized how patrons wait for their seats at their favorite restaurants. It simultaneously improved the wait staff’s efficiency and helped restaurants maintain cooler heads and order in the chaos of their busiest nights.
Integrating a digital waitlist, which customers can use to place themselves in line before they arrive at the door into a POS and Commerce platform, Nowait created something incredibly valuable for restaurants.
The problem is they’d have to convince GMs and restaurant owners, who are not known for rapidly adopting new and innovative tools, even if it’s in their best interest, to jump on board. And the good old sales meeting wasn’t going to cut it.
No, they would have to do something different.
Solution: Covalent’s creative, bespoke videos; delivered directly to C-Level executives.
Covalent, partnering with Luke Panza, Director of Marketing (at Nowait), developed an integrated and personalized sales campaign to deliver iPads with Nowait’s app preloaded to potential customers. The campaign was coupled with a personalized video explaining how Nowait would transform their business and create a better experience for their restaurant patrons.
This video, which called them out by name and addressed the direct obstacles they faced turning tables, keeping customers happy, and staying profitable, was loaded onto the iPad the restaurant could keep for a free thirty-day trial.
In the video, we included real POV footage of customers being told to wait 30 to 60 minutes for a table at their favorite restaurants. This authentic footage struck home with the target market and visually drove home the “problem” to the decision-makers.
All of this was packaged in a custom-designed box and hand-delivered to the hotel rooms of C-Level executives as they attended restaurant conferences. After a day of meetings and lectures, they would return to their rooms to find the package on their beds.
The video campaign was so well received that it helped the sales team onboard many more customers. Nowait continued running this campaign strategy for four years until its acquisition by Yelp in late 2017.
Results: Consistent success that held through Nowait’s growth, all the way to its Acquisition by Yelp.
In all the campaigns that Nowait and Covalent ran throughout the years, results were consistent:
69% Response Rate
41% Trial Rate
20% Close Rate
It was also common for contacts to reach out and share how impressed they were with the thoughtfulness and creativity of the campaign.
The growth and creativity led to Nowait’s eventual acquisition by Yelp.
From Covalent:
Working with a savvy marketing partner, like Luke, opened our minds to utilizing our skills as storytellers beyond just video and leveraging the power of video to take advantage of any opportunity to connect with an audience. When you can create a custom, one-to-one experience for a potential customer or lead, it really resonates with them in a way you don’t normally see.
From 2013-2017 we ran multiple iterations of this campaign for Nowait and learned a lot along the way. It can seem daunting to create 50-100 unique videos for delivery. Not only do you have to be organized, but you have to be focused on optimization and how to create customization on an individual level without jeopardizing efficiency.
However, the results speak for themselves. The close rate and return on investment are high for any customer willing to take the time, resources and energy to develop a successful personalized video box campaign.