Dine4AZ.com

Initial Dine4AZ Campaign Results Outperform Expectations

(Phoenix, AZ) — Dine4AZ was launched by Shamrock Foods on September 10, 2009 as a multi-pronged media campaign to encourage the public to help drive the economy into an upward trend by dining out at one of Arizona's great eating and drinking establishments. Several key aspects of the initiative have out-performed expectations, resulting in a highly effective and successful campaign to date, seven months into the initiative.

Dine4AZ kicked-off with a press conference featuring several dignitaries, including AZ Governor Jan Brewer and rockstar Alice Cooper, who expressed their support of the campaign and its objective to drive Arizona's goal for economic development recovery. Media coverage extended nationally, reaching an estimated value of over $78,000 on launch day alone.

The interactive website associated with the campaign, Dine4AZ.com, has become one of the largest restaurant databases in Arizona, with an average of 13,600 visitors to the site each month. In just 7 months, Dine4AZ.com has comparable traffic numbers to dining pages of popular Valley sites such as AZCentral.com and PhoenixNewTimes.com. With over 9,000 listings, various detailed search options, and hundreds of money saving coupons offering a wide range of deals and offers, Dine4AZ has proved to be a big hit among Arizonans. "Restaurants across the state have been struggling financially and look at every opportunity to increase sales. Dine4AZ has provided a creative way in which to communicate restaurant deals to Arizona diners, a fundamental tenet of marketing that has been extremely well received in both the restaurant and consumer world," states Stephen Chucri, President/CEO of the Arizona Restaurant Association.

A Social Media initiative is also part of the campaign, resulting in much success for this growing new media phenomenon. With over 1,300 followers on Twitter and nearly 1,500 Facebook fans, Dine4AZ has become one of the top food industry Social Media Followings in the State of Arizona. Trivia questions, gift cards, and discounts were integrated into the social media strategy, leading to an interactive forum and a continuous increase in fan base. Chucri adds, "Never before has Arizona's restaurant industry had such a comprehensive dining resource for consumers. It has become one of those programs that we look back and wonder how we ever lived without it." Text messaging of coupon offers will soon be added to the Dine4AZ campaign, as well as Social Media enhancements.

With over seven months into the campaign, several restaurants have seen a dramatic increase in sales, leaving an optimistic outlook on the recovery process. Janie and Bill Riddle, Owners of Valle Luna Mexican Food Restaurants concur: "Our Sunday Valentine's Day was the best in 27 years of business at Valley Luna Mexican Food restaurants. All three locations experienced approximately a 50% increase in sales on the bottom line." Riddle adds, "It proves that customers are looking for good deals and if you develop them they will come. Almost everyone uses the internet in some fashion and being able to go online and print off a discount is the right way to do things these days."

Kevin McNeal, Owner of Corbins Restaurants, is also grateful for the rise in traffic, "It's been nothing but successful for us, it's brought us new customers, it's brought us repeat customers, we see the frequency of our guest visits more often through our coupons with Shamrock Foods and Dine4AZ -and we couldn't be happier!"

According to the AZ Dept. of Revenue, when the Dine4AZ initiative kicked off on Sept. 10, 2009, tax collections for bars and restaurants totaled $33,617,183. This figure was down 6.6% from Sept. 2008, substantiating another reason to launch the campaign and cultivate the restaurant industry.

"Shamrock Foods, being the largest restaurant distributor in the Southwest, felt it was time to initiate a plan to help both consumers and restaurants. The response from eating establishments and customers was phenomenal, exceeding expectations and providing a positive direction for the industry," said Mike Duran, Marketing Manager for Shamrock Foods Company.

As of Dec. 2009, tax collections for restaurants had improved to $36,037,488, which is an increase of 7.2% in just 3 months. Duran views this as an opportunity to shift the current mindset of challenges presented by an ailing economy, "The upswing in consumer confidence is a coup for everyone — in addition to helping restaurant's bottom line, there is a trickle down effect that will boost economic circumstances for all industries across the state."

The future of the Dine4AZ campaign looks promising, with the objective to maintain the website as long as restaurants and consumers are benefiting from it. A recent survey conducted by The NPD Group (an international market research firm) states that eating and drinking establishments that offer deals have a 14% increase in traffic over the previous year, whereas no discounts result in a decline of 8%. There is no cost for restaurants to post specials on Dine4AZ.com, and users are able to sign up to receive promotional email offers at no charge — resulting in a win-win situation for all with anticipation of returning to a rapid-growing state in terms of restaurant development.

Duran concludes, "Shamrock Foods is committed to supporting both its customers and consumers and setting in motion an economic-engine domino effect that will ultimately contribute to nationwide prosperity."