Blu on the Hudson has rapidly blossomed into one of the trendiest restaurants in North Jersey, offering exquisite food and beverage, top-of-the-line service and breathtaking views of New York City. The restaurant, which is located in Weehawken, can dedicate much of its online success to Eighty6, a design and marketing agency based out of Rutherford.
Before the restaurant was a big hit, before it even had a physical home to attract customers, Eighty6 began planning its marketing strategy to help grow the restaurant. They started by creating their messaging and building an aesthetically pleasing and easy-to-navigate website.
When Eighty6 began working with Blu on the Hudson, they had to start completely from scratch, creating the brand’s image out of thin air. There are struggles that can come from that lack of physical embodiment, as advertising a restaurant is difficult to do when the restaurant doesn’t exist yet.
“It’s always a challenge to assign an identity to something,” said Scott Faranda, Strategy & Client Success Manager at Eighty6. “Especially when a business hasn’t opened yet.”
The first step of Eighty6’s process to combat these issues is meeting with the key decision makers at Blu on the Hudson to fully understand the vision that they have in mind for their restaurant. They then went on to shoot with the restaurant’s beverage director, getting footage of him creating signature cocktails from multiple angles with music in the background to match the vibe that the restaurant wanted to put out to the public.
Eighty6 replicated that same process with a few of the dishes offered by the restaurant, as well. They were also able to get headshots of those in leadership positions and shots of the restaurant’s construction in progress, using all of the footage they were able to capture to maximize their marketing for Blu on the Hudson.
With all of the footage that they were able to get, their first batch of videos that were put onto social media ended up getting roughly 1 million impressions. Much of the marketing success can be attributed to the teamwork and coordination between Eighty6 and Blu on the Hudson, who worked jointly to create the best possible marketing campaign for the restaurant.
Perhaps, most importantly, they launched social media accounts, including an Instagram page that consisted of reels showcasing the restaurant’s high-quality food. Since the account’s creation in August 2021, Eighty6 provided Blu on the Hudson with the groundwork to grow their account to 34,000 followers, significantly expanding the restaurant’s outreach. Their website also averages 20,000 visitors every month.
While Eighty6 does not work on the restaurant’s social media presence anymore, they were in charge of creating its appearance online for the first 2-3 months. This time period is arguably the most important, as it helps to set the tone for the future of the restaurant’s online presence and what users expect. By establishing this foundation, Eighty6 was able to put Blu on the Hudson in a position to thrive on social media and beyond.
Looking back at the company’s time working to help grow the restaurant, Faranda stated “At Eighty6, our tagline is, “Look Good. Get Found.” We accomplished that mission for Blu on the Hudson.”