Who cares what it tastes like. Does it look good on Instagram?

Good afternoon and happy Friday!

I had the pleasure of attending the WSTA RIG Seminar yesterday and the even greater pleasure of hosting one of the discussion groups towards the end of the day. My given topic was that of the selfie-friendly, Instagrammable “experiential venue”; notably whether outlets such as Bounce, Flight Club and other “not just here for a pint” pubs and bars were a fad or here to stay.

The general consensus was that the new consumer is more demanding and that these outlets will continue to change the on trade landscape, and that the main reason for this was the huge growth in importance of Social Media. The constant need to inform others of our every move, to find Instagrammable venues and to capture that perfect moment. And to do that, pubs, bars and restaurants need to be looking, even more than they used to, at interior design, about the photographic qualities of food and drink and at the connectivity of the outlets themselves.

So (you guessed it!), we asked the members of KAMunity, our online consumer panel (drop me a note for details as to how you can access this fabulous insight tool) a few questions;

Firstly, how important is it that the pub/bar or restaurant that you are in has Wifi? 56% of people interviewed told us that it was very or somewhat important. About what we expected. What we didn’t expect is that 45% told us that they would choose one venue over another BECAUSE it had good wifi.

But that doesn’t matter so much if you aren’t locking onto that WiFi to upload your picture onto social media immediately, right? Except 36% are. 36% of people we interviewed have instantly uploaded a picture to social media whilst on site and in the moment.

Personally, I think Social Media is playing a big part in the shift of outlet choice to that of experiential venues, but remember- execution is everything. In this digital, visual world, it needs to be perfect or it’s not even worth the smile.

I have my friend’s daughters (5 & 8 years old) being dropped off tonight for a little quality time with Auntie Katy; we plan on making unicorn bracelets and eating pizza in front of some daft Disney movies. 

After they’re picked up tomorrow, Mr Katy and I are going to some club night in South London to make sure there is a little Yin to tonight’s Yang. That’ll be a late one so Sunday is reserved for recovery and a short bike ride on my new bike, bought solely for the purpose of training for next February’s charity bike ride along the coast of Vietnam…. what on EARTH have I agreed to do….?!

Have a great one- and please recommend any great experiential pubs/bars and restaurants that you think I should pay a visit to!

Katy

Follow me on Twitter @katykammedia

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