#DigOutDineOut, a social media campaign to promote discounts and promotions for Boston restaurants to make up revenue lost to the snow, was launched Monday by Kevin Long, executive chef at GEM Italian Kitchen Nightclub & Lounge, with the support of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association and Boston Mayor Martin Walsh.
The #DigOutDineOut Twitter page has since attracted over 600 followers on Twitter, said Christie Bellany, director of sales and marketing for Big Night Entertainment Group.
“With all the snow we’ve been having, folks haven’t been able to get out of their houses as much as usual,” said Long, who is also a partner at Big Night Entertainment Group. “As a result, business at restaurants across Boston and Cambridge and beyond is way down. This [campaign] is a way for restaurants to offer valuable deals to customers to encourage them to beat cabin fever by getting out and supporting local businesses. It’s really a win-win.”
The campaign is not exclusive or competitive, but rather one that accommodates any restaurants in the area that are interested, Long said. While each individual restaurant manages its own deals and offers through their own accounting, it is overall a group effort.
“More and more restaurants are being added every day, and we welcome them all,” Long said. “The more the merrier.”
Bellany attributed the success of this campaign to a young, tech-savvy consumer dynamic.
“I do know that for us as a company, we feel like our audience is tech friendly, social media friendly and very trendy,” said Bellany, who is involved with marketing and sales for GEM, Empire Restaurant and Lounge and Red Lantern Restaurant and Lounge of Boston. “So for us to do something that builds an awareness via social media is cool.”
While the snow won’t last indefinitely, the option to continue to offer deals will. Each company is free to choose how long they wish to keep these discounts going, Bellany said.
“We are running the idea of the campaign through spring,” she said. “Everyone is doing something different, [but] the idea wasn’t even totally about the specials, but more about building a movement.”
Bellany said another another goal of the campaign is to help waiters and waitresses as they struggle to make money when storms slow business due to cancellations.
Big Night Entertainment has been receiving requests from companies looking to get on board. For them to get involved, Bellany said, “it’s as easy as them using the hashtag and tweeting out specials and inviting people into their restaurants.”
Vincent Polcari, operations manager at Glynn Hospitality Group, said their hospitality agency is participating in the campaign, and he described the movement as a joint effort.
“From time to time over the last few months, we would all exchange emails about different ideas and share things that were going on in our industry,” he said. “[The campaign] is a perfect example of what you can do if you treat your competitors as partners instead of the enemy.”
Polcari said with snow removal budgets at an all-time high, commercial entities want to reward customers who have had to endure the weather to visit their businesses.
Several residents said they appreciate the efforts to help get businesses back on their feet, but the campaign may need to go beyond social media.
Megan Gale, 23, of Back Bay, said she doesn’t use social media much and hasn’t often gone out to eat lately due to the bad weather.
“I do Dine Out Boston which is restaurant week. I always do that, but I don’t [participate in] this one,” she said. “I only use Facebook.”
Warren Hurley, 30, of West Roxbury, said the “Dig Out Dine Out” campaign will not have a significant effect on business for restaurants.
“Customers will get a slight discount, but the portions might be smaller,” said Hurley, an accountant firm manager in the Financial District. “However, if the weather continues to be unbearable, I think diners will stay in.”
Barbra Blair, 42, of West Roxbury, said other factors might impede citizens’ travel to restaurants.
“It’s a good idea,” she said. “Some of the limitations still on people getting out there are being able to find parking and the accessibility of the city.”
