Client name withheld under NDA.
The group had three outlets and a new tasting menu to launch at its flagship. Its own social accounts had a steady following, but posts reached mostly existing customers. Past influencer work had been a handful of free meals handed to whoever asked, with no brief, no tracking and no way of knowing whether any diners had come because of a post. Two of the posts had gone out without any disclosure at all.
The owners wanted new diners at the flagship on weekdays, when tables sit empty, and they wanted proof the money was working. We started with a baseline across social, reservations and Google Maps so the campaign could be judged on more than likes. Likes feel good, but they do not pay the rent or fill tables on a Tuesday.
We agreed one clear goal, weekday dinner bookings at the flagship, and set a budget split between creator fees, meals and tracking. We shortlisted 40 Singapore food and lifestyle creators using their audience location, engagement quality and past food content.
Reach is easy to buy and hard to use. Most of the work in a good campaign is in the shortlist. A creator whose audience lives in Singapore and eats out is worth more than a larger account with followers abroad. We also checked recent posts for fake engagement and for how often the creator promotes other restaurants.
We contacted 22 creators, agreed with 14 and sent each a written brief. The brief covered the tasting menu story, the dishes to feature, the booking link, mandatory disclosure of the partnership and what not to say. Creators kept full freedom on style. Over-scripted posts look like adverts and perform worse than posts that sound like the creator.
Singapore's advertising code expects clear disclosure of paid or gifted content. Building it into the brief protects the restaurant and the creator.
Creators visited on weekday evenings in small groups of three, which kept the dining room busy and the content varied. Staff were briefed in advance, so each creator got the same warm welcome and the same story about the menu. We coordinated timing so posts went live across the same two weeks, giving the launch a visible moment on social.
Posts that land together look like momentum, and the algorithm tends to favour accounts that are being talked about at the same time. Staggered tastings on weekdays also filled tables on the quietest nights.
Each creator got a unique booking link and a diner code. We boosted the three best-performing posts with a small paid budget, aimed at people near the three outlets, and collected the creators' content rights for reuse on the group's own accounts.
Unique links and codes turn an influencer campaign from a guess into data. Boosting the best posts extends reach to people who do not follow the creators. The group's own accounts also reposted the best content, with permission, for several weeks.
We compared each creator's reach, saves, bookings and code redemptions with the cost, and ranked them. The top five were offered a repeat collaboration for the next menu, and weaker creators were not rebooked.
The second campaign is where the value shows, because the first campaign tells you which creators to trust. Knowing who delivered bookings makes the next shortlist far more accurate. A creator who brings a few bookings at a low cost is more valuable than a famous one who brings none.
One month after the campaign ended, the group reached more than five times as many people on Instagram each month and was taking far more reservations from social. The flagship was fuller on weekdays and more people were searching for directions to it. Followers on the group's own account rose from 6,100 to 9,800, and engagement on brand posts went from 2.1% to 3.4%.
Goal and budget agreed, 40 creators shortlisted, 14 booked and briefed.
Weekday tasting sessions, posts live across two weeks, small paid boost on the top three posts.
Creators ranked by bookings and cost. Repeat collaboration offered to the top five.
The 14 creators were mostly small and mid-sized accounts with local, engaged followers. Reach grew from 18,500 to 94,000 a month at a fraction of what one large account would have cost.
Unique links and diner codes showed which creators produced bookings. Reservations from social grew from 160 to 410 a month, and the group knew exactly which posts to thank.
Weekly covers at the flagship rose from 640 to 830 because tastings were scheduled on the slowest weekdays. Influencer campaigns work best when they solve a specific problem in the restaurant. Pick the problem first, then pick the creators.
How we find, brief and measure creators for Singapore brands.
Extending the reach of your best posts.
Content that keeps your accounts active between campaigns.
A food business grown across several channels.
Tell us about your outlets and what you want to launch. We will suggest a creator plan, a budget and how we would measure it.