Thesis

The Importance of Online Branding and Targeted Social
Media Campaigns within the Restaurant Industry
Modeled for Hennessey’s Tavern Inc.
By Taylor Brightwell
Spring 2017
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Table of Contents
BACKGROUND 3
Executive Summary 4
Client Description 5
Purpose of the Project 9
Problem Statement 10
RESEARCH REPORT 11
Literature Review 12
SWOT Analysis 21
SPEC Analysis 24
Situation Analysis 30
Primary Research 49
CAMPAIGN PROPOSAL 57
Goals and Objectives 58
Strategies and Tactics 59
Social Media Best Practices 61
Timeline 65
Evaluation 66
Future Recommendations 68
APPENDIX 70
Deliverables 71
Works Cited 78
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Background
3

Executive Summary
Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. is a restaurant group headquartered in Redondo Beach,
California. Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. represents several restaurants, located throughout
Southern California and Las Vegas, all owned by Paul Hennessy.
Paul Hennessey founded the first Hennessey’s Tavern, an Irish themed pub, in 1976 in
Hermosa Beach, California. Since then the former Wall Street stock trader has grown his
company to include 16 different restaurants; 10 Hennessey’s Taverns, one H.T. Grill
location, the Lighthouse Café jazz club, one “beachy casual” Mickie Finnz & The Fish
Bucket operation, one new modern concept bar called Rebel Republic, one Wine Bistro
location and a live music venue at the Las Vegas Country Saloon.
Thirteen of these restaurants are located in Southern California and three are located in
downtown Las Vegas.
For the last 10 years, the Hennessey’s Tavern business has experienced revenue growth
of approximately 8 percent each year. The most successful locations are Hermosa
Beach, Las Vegas and Dana Point.
To help Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. improve its online and social media presence, best
practices within the restaurant industry were explored, and campaign was created to
help refresh the overall Hennessey’s Tavern brand.
This campaign focuses primarily on the 10 Hennessey’s Tavern-branded locations
because they represent the majority of the company’s restaurant concepts and they
have the greatest combined brand presence online.
Objectives, strategies and tactics based upon findings from secondary research and
feedback from interviews with different Hennessey’s Tavern managers and the current
marketing head at Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. were used to guide this campaign.
Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. will be provided with the following tools for improving its
current social media and online presence: social media best practices plan, a new
website and examples of more effective social media posts on various platforms.
By implementing this campaign and utilizing its deliverables, Hennessey’s Tavern Inc.
will be successful in refreshing and expanding its brand and social reach online.
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About Hennessey’s Tavern Inc.:
Client Description
Paul Hennessey opened Hennessey’s Tavern in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. Over
the past 41 years he has grown his company to 16 different restaurants including 10
Irish themed Taverns, located throughout Southern California and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Paul Hennessey was born in New Jersey. He attended the New York Business College of
Finance and later became a Wall Street stock trader. After visiting his sister in San
Francisco one summer, he left New York for California where he took a busboy job.
Hennessey soon moved into a management position and when that business began to
expand, he decided to leave and start a restaurant of his own.
Since opening the first Tavern in 1976, Hennessey has been able to add a new
restaurant location on a regular basis. The company itself has no outside investors and
expands only when “the right opportunity presents itself.”
Timeline of Hennessey’s Tavern Inc.’s Expansion:
The Mickie Finnz locations in Redondo Beach and Dana Point have closed. The
Redondo Beach location was replaced with a new modern concept restaurant called
Rebel Republic in 2017. The Brass Lounge in Las Vegas has also closed.
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The Taverns:
The Hennessey’s Taverns are located in Carlsbad, Dana Point, Hermosa Beach, Laguna
Beach, La Jolla, Las Vegas, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, San Juan Capistrano and
Seal Beach.
Each of the Hennessey’s Tavern locations are managed by different individuals, and
although they all have the same brand, they operate as separate entities. The managers
are currently in charge of running the restaurants as well as each location’s social media,
which includes Facebook, Twitter and in some cases Instagram accounts.
Paul Hennessey is the sole investor in the company, and with the help of his executive
team, the restaurants run smoothly. Most decisions regarding day-to-day operations are
handled by the location managers.
Customer Demographics:
21-65 year olds.
• 21-45 year olds for bar nightlife.
• Most Hennessey’s Tavern restaurants cater to every age.
• Households whose heads are in their peak earning years (35-54) spend more in
restaurants than younger and older adults. (National Restaurant Association,
2015).
• 60 percent of customers are locals, according to Paul Hennessey.
CAUCASIAN
• As of 2013, 73.5 percent of California’s population is white/Caucasian. In the
smaller beach cities like Hermosa Beach, the population is 86.8 percent white.
(United States Census Bureau, 2015).
• A majority of Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. customers are over the age if 21.
• 95 percent of the time at least one person per household eats out at least once a
month (National Restaurant Association, 2015).
Customer Psychographics:
MIDDLE/UPPERCLASS
• The amount spent on food away from home in one week by the average
household is $32 (National Restaurant Association, 2015).
• All entrees at Hennessey’s restaurants range from $11-$30.
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• On average, an American will eat out at least 25 times per year (National
Restaurant Association, 2015).
• In 2015, California restaurants are expected to have $72.3 billion in sales
(National Restaurant Association, 2015).
• The number one driver of restaurant spending is a household with annual
incomes of $70,000+. They account for 1/3 of all U.S. households and 1/2 of total
restaurant spending (National Restaurant Association, 2015).
• The estimated household income in Los Angeles County is $48,466. The
estimated household income in California is $60,190 (City Data, 2015).
Senior Management:
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Contact Info:
Corporate Office
1845 S. Elena Ave, #300
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
Telephone: (310) 540-2274
Fax: (310) 316-2534
http://hennesseystavern.com/
Logo:
Competitors:
According to Sharon Rich, Hennessey’s Tavern Inc.’s head of marketing, the biggest
competition for the Hennessey’s Tavern locations are new restaurant concepts in the
surrounding areas and American-style burger restaurants. Hennessey’s Tavern
competitors are broken down further in the Situation Analysis section of this document
on page 46.
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Purpose of the Project
In order to explore the importance of online branding and social media in the restaurant
industry, this thesis will apply concepts from the literary analysis to Hennessey’s Tavern
Inc.
The purpose of this project is to present research and create a campaign based upon
these findings that will help Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. improve its online presence and
social media, starting with its 10 Hennessey’s Tavern locations.
The deliverables and research will provide Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. with a detailed audit
of its current brand and ways in which it can be improved.
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Problem Statement
Hennessey’s Tavern Inc.’s main problem is that its brand needs a refresh and its social
media platforms for its overarching brand and all of the locations are inconsistent,
outdated and not consumer focused.
Although Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. is a well-established franchise with 41 years of
history, it lacks the online presence that it needs in order to bring the business into the
modern age.
Its current website isn’t very user friendly and does not fully portray the experience
customers would have at its taverns.
Some of the social media accounts have not shared content in months or years, even
though they all have a significant following. The content that is posted on these
accounts is either repeated daily, only a link to a Facebook post or lacks an engagement
component that would make consumers want to interact with the post.
Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. is the perfect business to use as a model for a study and
application of online branding and targeted social media campaigns within the
restaurant industry and therefore the focus of this creative thesis project.
In order to create a campaign proposal for Hennessey’s Tavern Inc., thorough research
on the restaurant industry was conducted. The research was used to determine how the
company can apply online and social media branding concepts to expand business and
refresh its overall brand.
The restaurant industry is currently focused on the customer experience and providing
the best service possible, and this also translates to customer service online. A
restaurant’s online image has become an extension of its overall brand, and restaurants
with active, engaging and customer-serving social media are financially better off (Copp,
2016).
In order to help Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. with its online presence, a new website for
Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. was created along with a social media best practices plan to
improve its online communication and examples of more effective social media posts on
various platforms.
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Research Report
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Current State of the Restaurant Industry:
Literature Review
According to the National Restaurant Association the United States restaurant industry
generates about $799 billion each year (National Restaurant Assosiation, 2017). There
are over one million restaurants in the U.S. and they account for nearly 14.7 million
employees (National Restaurant Assosiation, 2017). There are also about 5,400 more
restaurant employees in January of 2017 than there were in December of 2016. (Bureau
of Labor Statistics, 2017).
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that eating and drinking place sales are up $56 billon
in January 2017 as opposed to $55.2 billion in December 2016 (U.S. Census Bureau,
2017). The U.S.’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) is measured in relation to a steady
state level of 100, where values above this line indicate expansion and values below
represent contraction. The RPI in January registered 100.1, down 0.4 percent from a
level of 100.5 in December (National Restaurant Association, 2017). This data is based
off of numbers from 400 restaurant operators nationwide regarding sales, traffic, labor
and capital expenditures. The National Restaurant Association’s Expectations Index also
shows a level of stability that hasn’t been seen since the first half of 2015.
In regards to service success, research shows that service quality has an effect on both
relationship quality and customer loyalty (Chen, 2016). It also states that restaurants
should focus on the responsiveness and assurance aspects of their business to achieve a
higher service quality rating. The more satisfied a customer feels with his or her
experience translates directly into how strong of a relationship the restaurant can
establish. Each restaurant must win over its customers by establishing trust and
confidence in their service and brand (Chen, 2016). Once the restaurant has established
a relationship with its customer it can begin to build customer loyalty. The more
customers embrace this relationship the stronger their loyalty will be.
When evaluating overall service quality, customers focus on four main aspects, price
fairness, food quality, service quality and physical environment (Ryu & Lee, 2013). They
also consider three dimensions of relational benefits, confidence benefits, social
benefits and special treatment benefits (Ryu & Lee, 2013). Customers that sense a high
relationship marketing investment (RMI) in these aspects are more likely to revisit the
restaurant. This principle of customer reciprocity highlights the need for restaurants to
develop and reinforce perceived RMI (Ryu & Lee, 2013).
A study within The Journal of Service Marketing concluded that customer satisfaction
was influenced most by the responsiveness of front-line employees, followed by price
and food quality (Andaleeb & Conway, 2006). This study also concluded that physical
design and appearance had little effect on customer satisfaction, but it can be argued
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that these contribute to customers’ overall perception of the restaurant and its brand.
While it is important to present customers with an aesthetically pleasing environment, it
is imperative that businesses continue to train employees on best practices in good
customer service.
In order to assess the role of customer value within existing service quality and
customer satisfaction, a study for the International Journal of Hospitality Management
concluded that the future of service quality may be improved with the use of an
integrated approach (Oh, 1999). The perceived value of a service is determined based
on the trade-off between price and service quality and also the influence of
performance perceptions. This observation indicates that there is a relationship
between all of these concepts and conventional methods may be ineffective.
Technology has also dramatically changed the way the service industry works and
operates, and it has also greatly affected service quality, relationship quality and
customer loyalty. About 81 percent of U.S. restaurants use an electronic register system,
68 percent of restaurants offer Wi-Fi for guests and 32 percent of restaurant operators
consider their operations to be lagging in technology use (National Restaurant
Association, 2017). A 2013 survey by Ipsos MediaCT showed that 80 percent of U.S.
restaurants use social media and 68 percent said they monitored restaurant review sites
(eMarketer, 2013).
Social Media in Business and the Restaurant Industry:
One of the biggest changes in technology over the last decade has been the expansion
of the world of social media. Businesses all over the U.S. were forced to join the online
conversation if they wanted to interact with and market to customers. Everyday there
are over 500 million Tweets, 4.5 billion likes on Facebook and 5 million photos and
videos uploaded to Instagram (Copp, 2016). Social Media has provided businesses with
the unique opportunity to market and interact directly with its most loyal customers,
but only about 3 percent of businesses use social media to its full potential (Holmes,
2015). These social sites provide a wealth of information on customers including, who
they are and how they feel about certain brands (Copp, 2016).
Most of the studies previously referenced highlighted the importance of service quality
and how it can be used to build customer loyalty, and social media is another way to
increase brand awareness and loyalty. Connecting with customers on social media will
most likely increase customer retention and brand loyalty (Copp, 2016). Businesses can
now take an extra step in providing the best service quality by giving customers the
opportunity and platform to express their opinions. Over 67 percent of customers now
go to social media for customer service and expect fast responses (Copp, 2016).
Businesses that can deliver this experience and level of customer service see bigger
financial gains; businesses with helpful social media see about 7.5 percent year over
year growth, while businesses without only see 2.9 percent growth (Copp, 2016).
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A 2012 McKinsey Global Institute Report stated that social technologies stand to unlock
$1.3 trillion in business value (Holmes, 2015). Besides financial growth, another positive
aspect about social media use for business is building stronger relationships with
customers and showcasing everything that a brand represents. Social media drives more
traffic to websites than search engines, and the more social media shares a business
receives, the higher its ranking on Google’s search engine results page (Copp, 2016).
Customers are more likely to understand more about a business’ brand if it has a strong
website and social media presence. Many businesses today forget that social media is a
two-way conversation platform and users are less likely to interact with a brand if its
only agenda is to spam followers with sales pitches (Copp, 2016). Three-quarters of U.S.
adults use social media sites and the average user logs in for nearly 1.7 hours a day or 12
hours a week (Holmes, 2015). According to a Pew Internet study, Facebook is the most
popular platform and it is used daily by 76 percent of the studies participants (Pew
Research Center, 2017). This study also stated that young adults were the earliest to
adapt to social media and continue to use platforms at high levels, but usage by older
adults has increased in recent years.
Pew Research Findings on Social Media Usage Across platforms via (Pew Research
Center, 2017):
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Each social media platform has become ideal for posting certain types of content. While
something may be accepted on one platform, it may not be as well received on another.
Facebook is good for sharing photos, videos, important company updates and more
tailored content for specific demographics (Corcione, 2017). A Facebook message study
revealed that photo statuses and regular statuses receive more likes and comments
than any other type of post, and conversational messages are endorsed more than
marketing messages (Kwok & Yu, 2012). Twitter is different than Facebook in the sense
that a business’ content must be concise, engaging and sharable. Twitter is also a great
platform to market a business and handle customer service (Corcione, 2017). Twitter
has an average of 320 million active users, making it an important platform for
businesses to utilize, but it is also important to remember to share relevant content,
other than just what your business is doing.
Another platform that businesses have started to utilize is Instagram. Instagram has
more than 600 million active users that typically share photos of food, art, travel,
fashion and their daily lives (Corcione, 2017). Some of the most successful accounts on
Instagram excel because they belong to these more-artistic niches (Corcione, 2017).
Using Social Media to Connect with Consumers:
Once a business determines its social media strategy, it must identify how it can utilize
technology best. The internet helped establish one-to-one marketing and managers who
best understood how this new marketing tool could be used won out (Anderson,
Simester, & Zettelmeyer, 2010). Social media is important because when businesses use
it correctly they are able to provide consumers with unique interactions and sometimes
great customer service. Understanding how today’s consumer uses social media is key in
building and maintaining a positive reputation (Biederman, 2015). Implementing an
organized and fluid process of social media management builds trust with customers
and works to increase positive engagement (Biederman, 2015).
It is necessary for companies to align marketing strategies with response protocol online
because it helps manage reputation and builds brand awareness. If used correctly, social
media can be leveraged to help a business in many ways, but proper management
online requires constant attention. By designating an employee to handle online
customer service, companies can position a brand as active, responsible, diligent and
open to customer concerns (Biederman, 2015). Today, social media has become a
“representation of the brand’s identity in its purest form” because one simple
interaction can lead to gaining or losing a loyal customer (Biederman, 2015, p. 23). Some
of the most followed brands online today are successful because they have personality
and a charm that draws consumers in. When a brand forgets that social media is a
conversation platform, it loses credibility and becomes burdensome to customers.
While it is beneficial for restaurants to deliver good customer service on social media, it
has also been found that since 2013, customers have been turning away from social
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media to complain (Catran, 2016). One of the biggest reasons for this shift away from
social media can be attributed to companies’ failure to meet customers’ needs. Some
users feel that it takes too long to address issues online, and other think it has limited
ability to change more complex issues (Catran, 2016).
Customers have a relatively low expectation for customer service in the U.S. and this
also varies by generation (Catran, 2016). About 78 percent of baby boomers will leave
due to customer service issues, while only 54 percent of millennials will (Catran, 2016).
Each generation finds different qualities in customer service important. Even though
more and more people shy away from complaining on social media, it is important for
brands to continue to respond and help customers online. The decline in social media
customer service may be attributed to a decline in company usage of social media of
this purpose. If business doesn’t appear open to responding to customers, online users
will take note and direct their complaints elsewhere or maybe not complain at all
because they feel as though their voice won’t be heard.
Every second, 12 newly-active mobile accounts are created on social media, adding to
the already 2.3 billion currently active worldwide. Restaurants have become the hub of
social sharing, whether it be guests sharing their location, photos or even leaving a
review (Social Hospitality, 2016). Yelp still seems to dominate the online restaurant
review scene and it holds a lot more power in the restaurant industry than most people
think (Social Hospitality, 2016). Restaurants whose average rating increases by one star
on Yelp could potentially see a 5 to 9 percent boost in revenue (Social Hospitality, 2016).
Yelp is a good platform for consumers to leave personal reviews, but now that
restaurants have started to interact more on social media many platforms offer the
opportunity for review.
Social media is changing the way customers communicate with businesses following
service failures. While this allows social media savvy companies to capitalize on
engagement opportunities, it also runs the risk of crisis for others if not handles
properly (Grégoire, Salle, & Tripp, 2014). It is very important for companies to lay out a
plan on how to respond to each type of criticism, whether it be a simple fix or a more
complex issue. The way a brand responds can often effect the way the customer will
feel about the brand in the future.
The number of positive reviews directly effects three pieces of financial performance
including net sales, guest counts and average check amount (Kima, Lib, & Brymerb,
2015). Positive reviews hold restaurants to a high standard that promotes high quality
service. If a restaurant can provide customers with well-rounded strong service in every
aspect, it will see financial growth. A hospitality management study on firm value in U.S.
restaurant companies stated that there is a correlation between a restaurant’s social
media activity and the businesses overall value, and it also found that financial markets
reward restaurants with strong social media (Kima, Kohb, Chaa, & Leec, 2013).
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The other advantage to having strong social media customer outreach is Search Engine
Optimization (SEO). In recent years the importance of SEO has significantly grown.
Without proper management, negative comments could appear in a search from a
prospective customer (Biederman, 2015). The number of online customer comments
play an important role in electronic word-of-mouth and have a significant effect on
millennials and Generation Y, who prefer online media to more traditional forms (Kima,
Lib, & Brymerb, 2015). Restaurant marketing and customer service on social media
allow for increased brand control, response campaigns to keep help customer care and
ongoing interaction beyond the physical restaurant (Social Hospitality, 2016). It is more
likely that a customer’s first impression of a brand or business in today’s technology
driven world is online, and this further proves the importance of establishing a strong
online presence that is helpful, attentive and appealing for customers.
Social Media in Branding:
The technology and social media age today has forced many brands to evolve their
social media and use it as an extension of branding. About 53 percent of Americans that
follow brands on social platforms are more loyal to those brands (Baer, 2016). This
varies generation to generation, but brands that target younger customers may see a
greater revenue or profit impact from social interaction over time, because 66 percent
of Americans age 18-24 that followed a company are more loyal to the brand (Baer,
2016). Loyalty in social media declines with age, but 60 percent of adults from age 25-34
and 53 percent of adults 35-44 stay loyal to brands they follow on social media (Baer,
2016). To acquire new customers, many marketing professionals believe Facebook is the
best platform, but it is actually a better platform for nurturing exiting and loyal
relationships with current customers. In this sense, Facebook is about retention not
acquisition because it allows companies to show customers why they should come back
for more and increases the likelihood that customers share the brand with friends (Baer,
2016).
In the branding landscape over the last few decades, companies believed they could use
social media to leapfrog over traditional media and communicate directly with
customers (Holt, 2016). While some brands were successful, others continue to miss the
mark because they are unable to personalize the information posted on social media.
Few brands have generated meaningful customer interest online and those that do
succeed are successful because they managed to generate cultural relevance (Holt,
2016). Branded and sponsored content is slowly becoming less successful now that
consumers on some platforms can pay to remove ads (Holt, 2016). Digital technologies
have changed the way culture is created and consumed. Historically, cultural innovation
flowed from margins of society, from fringe groups, social movements and artistic
circles that challenged cultural norms (Holt, 2016). In the past, the mass media acted as
a middleman sharing these ideas into the mass market, but now digital crowds serve as
more effective and prolific innovators of culture (Holt, 2016). The online social media
world seems to be divided into densely networked communities that focus on
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subculture and new ideologies, and with a few clicks anyone can be at the heart of any
subculture (Holt, 2016). Consumers have little interest in most of the content brands
churn out and most view it as spam (Holt, 2016). This concept plays into the idea that
social media should remain a two-way communication platform and that brands should
work to make content that people would like to see. Today, companies can stand out by
targeting novel ideologies from different subcultures and catering content that is both
relevant and representative of the brand.
A successful brand engages employees, customers and other stakeholders in a dialogue
instead of a one-sided conversation because good businesses require endorsement by
all stakeholders (LaForet, 1994). Employees need to understand the brand, embrace the
brand and start living the brand (LaForet, 1994, p. 159). Customers need to know about
the brand, consider buying the brand, make purchases and finally turn into loyal brand
enthusiasts (LaForet, 1994, p. 159). Finally, retailers, suppliers and other partners need
to value the brand enough to adapt their own business practice such that they can enact
the brand promise and help deliver the desired brand experience (LaForet, 1994, p.
159). Successful businesses are built on solid business models and driven by a clear
business strategy driven by brand equity and its alignment of brand promise and actual
brand experience (LaForet, 1994). The alignment of these business aspects create a
sense of brand promise and build trust and credibility (LaForet, 1994). This process of
delivering a positive brand experience starts with inspiring and engaging employees to
embrace the brand. Without this the business cannot fully thrive.
Branding a business is important in every industry, but it is especially important in the
restaurant industry. Branding helps owners establish a restaurant culture and set
customer expectations and it allows consumers to identify all the things the business
stands for (Dabeva, 2012). Branding strengthens the position of the brand in consumers’
minds. In the competitive restaurant industry, a strong brand is important because it
increases recognizably and it creates an image of the restaurant product and the firm
itself (Dabeva, 2012). Consumers are more likely to be attracted to a unique brand and
will recognize all that the brand has to offer, but consumers also favor a safe choice
where they feel most comfortable (Dabeva, 2012). Effective branding allows for
businesses to enter into new markets and attract new groups of consumers (Dabeva,
2012). A majority of brand promotion is being catered to the customer’s experience,
especially for catering and entertainment promotion (Dabeva, 2012). Branding in the
restaurant industry is carried out over multiple channels, and if these channels are not
working in sync, they begin to work against the brand by portraying it as inconsistent
(Dabeva, 2012). This idea proves the importance of unity over all communication
channels both in person and online. Virtual communication has become increasingly
important in branding because it can strengthen the direct online connection between
producers and consumers (Dabeva, 2012). Today, the most successful brands and
companies are the ones that continue to change and innovate service execution in
person and on digital platforms. Every component of a brand must work together to
present the best perception to the consumer.
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Centralization Versus Decentralization:
The three main concerns of using the internet as a marketing channel are that it
threatens current relationships, leads to coordination problems and destroys traditional
adverting segmentation (Anderson, Simester, & Zettelmeyer, 2010, p. 64). If a company
encounters these issues they must reanalyze the business and come up with solutions
that make the business more efficient, while still serving customer needs. If internet
marketing threatens current relationships a company can either abandon old channels,
creating opportunities for current stakeholders or protect old channels (Anderson,
Simester, & Zettelmeyer, 2010, p. 65). If the business experiences coordination
problems between platforms it should standardize communication, centralize decision
making, align its incentives and focus on employee retention (Anderson, Simester, &
Zettelmeyer, 2010).
Some solutions for businesses that experience issues with advertising segmentation
include uniform pricing, limiting information and new segmentation (Anderson,
Simester, & Zettelmeyer, 2010). Coordination is the biggest problem for most
businesses that use multiple channels of communication. Synchronization can be
achieved by providing decision-makers with better information, when it comes to
branding and marketing (Anderson, Simester, & Zettelmeyer, 2010).
Determining who these decision-makers are depends on whether the company has a
more centralized or decentralized managing system. Centralized businesses are typically
controlled by a headquarters and all decisions remain with one CEO or a higher
management group. Decentralized businesses delegate most of the decision-making
powers to smaller departments or divisional units of the business. Decentralizing
management ensures that decision-makers are closer to the customers, inventory, and
product or manufacturing information required to make the correct decisions
(Anderson, Simester, & Zettelmeyer, 2010, p. 82). If current decision-makers are unsure
about the choices made by of other decision-makers, then a more centralized structure
is required (Anderson, Simester, & Zettelmeyer, 2010, p. 82).
A less centralized structure would be more beneficial to a company if decision-makers
lack more functional information such as customer, product, inventory and
manufacturing details (Anderson, Simester, & Zettelmeyer, 2010). Companies that favor
a centralized approach focus on achieving synergy and economics of scale (Roberts,
2001). Companies favoring decentralization base their argument on four factors:
proximity to the market in order to reach even the narrowest segments, flexibility,
cultural sensitivity and faster response time (Roberts, 2001, p. 164).
There are positives and negatives to each management structure, but few marketers
and companies use only one model (Roberts, 2001). Most companies rely on a hybrid
strategy that combines centralization with decentralization. The hybrid strategy
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epresents a strong central strategic direction and coordination coupled with local
execution and input (Roberts, 2001). Management with this method includes strategy,
brand and value decisions being centralized with local units having higher degrees of
authority or influence on execution and the efficiency in local execution and adaptation
is becoming more important (Roberts, 2001, p. 156).
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SWOT Analysis
Strengths:
-Friendly staff
-Multiple locations
-Longstanding reputation
-Significant social media presence
-Family friendly
-Lots of food and drink options
-Community outreach and support
-Gambling offered in Las Vegas location
Opportunities:
-Raiders move to Las Vegas
-Reach new demographics
-Create a Hennessey’s culture online
-Promote the brand in more engaging
ways
-Bring the Hennessey’s brand into the
modern age of social media
-Expand and establish new locations
-Potential to sponsor more community
events
Weaknesses:
-Social media inconsistencies
-Outdated website with no mobile
version
-Lack of engaging and repetitive content
-Too much decentralization to have a
unified brand
Threats:
-Its most loyal customers are aging
-Lack of two-way communication with
customers
-Competitors, including new and more
modern restaurant concepts
Strengths:
Hennessey’s Tavern’s strengths include a rich company history of 41 years with multiple
locations, and strong ties to the communities that surround them. Hennessey’s Tavern
prides itself on providing customers with the best service, and Irish Hospitality. Each
location has friendly, well trained staff that aims to create the best environment
possible for its customers. When customers visit one of the Hennessey’s Tavern location
they immediately feel welcome. These taverns have become the neighborhood meeting
place in many of the California beach cities, and the bars are constantly occupied by
locals.
The “Neighborhood Meeting Place” is for everyone, including families. Hennessey’s
Tavern caters to all ages and even has a kid’s menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
During the day the taverns are very family friendly and at night, after about 9 p.m.,
some of the locations are strictly 21+.
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The restaurant has a large selection of American-style food, and a few authentic Irish
dishes and drinks. Each location has a full bar and even an extensive collection of Irish
whiskey. The Las Vegas location also has a few gambling options for its guests.
Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. is very involved in many of smaller beach communities in
Southern California. Hennessey’s supports local schools by donating discount coupons
to be given away with awards for good citizenship and academic performance.
Hennessey’s Tavern is also the main sponsor for the International Paddle Boarding
Association, which was started by beach locals. The restaurants also sponsors other
events throughout the year, but they vary by location.
Despite the content on its social media channels, each Hennessey’s Tavern location has
a significant number of followers, as seen in the chart on page 36.
Weaknesses:
The client’s primary weakness is an outdated online presence. For the most part, each
location has a very strong social media following, but the content posted on these
platforms is not engaging for customers. Some of the content is repeated on a weekly
basis and some accounts remain unused, or are offline. Although all of the locations fall
under Hennessey’s Tavern brand, they lack cohesion across social media channels, and
because of this the brand seems unaligned.
The Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. website was designed several years ago and is very difficult
to navigate and has some outdated content and information. The website has a very
dark color pallet that is not as aesthetically pleasing as most restaurant websites.
Without this strong component of its online brand it is very difficult for Hennessey’s
Tavern to build a strong, centralized online image.
Opportunities:
The foundation of Hennessey's Tavern Inc.'s opportunities come from the improvement
and refresh of its online brand, and the implementation of a social media plan that
would allow for a more centralized online content management system.
Once these aspects of the brand are strengthened, Hennessey's Tavern Inc. will be able
to build even more of an online following that will help increase brand loyalty and
overall location success. With new content, Hennessey’s will be able to share company
news, and market their specials and events to an audience that wants to engage with
the brand.
This online presence will help the business reach new demographics for each
Hennessey's Tavern location. An increase in customers creates financial success, and
that nurtures future restaurant expansions and new locations for the company.
22

Financial growth would allow Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. to give back to the community in
more ways than It already does. By sponsoring more events, the company can
strengthen brand awareness and give back to the beach cities, and its locals that have
supported the business for 41 years.
Hennessey's Tavern Las Vegas also has the opportunity to attract lots of new business
due to the recently announced move of the Oakland Raiders national football team. The
Raiders will now call Las Vegas, Nevada home. A strong online presence will allow the
company to better market to these potential customers and persuade them to visit its
location.
Threats:
Hennessey's Taverns’ most loyal customers are aging, and in order to create new
relationships with younger demographics the business must build a more cohesive
online presence to appeal to younger potential customers.
If the business is unable to market in today's world of social media and modern
technology it will see limited growth. The biggest component in making social media
more appealing to these younger customers is instilling trust, by nurturing more twoway
communication online. Customers should feel comfortable interacting with the
brand and the business should create content that encourages interaction, rather than
spamming users with specials.
According to Sharon Rich, Hennessey’s head of marketing, the biggest competitors that
threaten the taverns' business are other American style food restaurants like burger
joints and new restaurants with more modern environments.
In order to compete with new restaurant concepts that are more equipped to operate
online social platforms it is imperative that the Hennessey’s company stays unified and
constantly engaged online. Customers visit Hennessey’s Tavern because they enjoy the
environment and its relaxed feel.
Each Hennessey's Tavern location operates as a separate entity under the management
of Hennessey’s Tavern Inc.; each general manager is in charge of the day-to-day
operations the location. This decentralized management approach allows the locations
to run smoothly in-person, but it has also created inconsistencies for the online brand.
While the locations can continue to run in this decentralized fashion, in order to
strengthen online presence there needs to be a more centralized management style in
regards to the website and each of the social media accounts.
23

SPEC Analysis
Social:
Americans prefer dinning out, in fact 90 percent enjoy going to restaurants, compared
to 66 percent who enjoy going to grocery stores (Tetreault, 2016). Restaurants provide
customers with a social experience and 56 percent of adults say they would rather
spend money on that, compared to purchasing an item from a store (Tetreault, 2016).
Selecting the perfect restaurant has gone almost completely digital. When looking for
places to eat, 83 percent of adults use smartphones or tablets to look up restaurant
locations, directions, and hours. Seventy-five percent look up menus, 55 percent read
reviews, 51 percent order takeout or delivery directly from the restaurant website, and
50 percent use rewards or special deals (National Restaurant Association, 2017). This
highlights the need for an informative and user friendly website.
Most restaurant consumers today are also more likely to choose a particular
establishment if it was recommended by their friend, 78 percent of guests find
restaurants to try based on recommendations from their friends. However, the second
most popular way guests find new restaurants was through social media (Tetreault,
2016). This demonstrates the need for engaging and consistent social media usage.
Restaurants provide customers with food, drinks and a social environment to enjoy
themselves while socializing with others.
Political:
Today, the U.S. Restaurant Industry is concerned with a number of state and national
laws that affect how businesses operate. These topics include, wage laws, smoking laws,
the legalization of recreational marijuana and gambling, for business in Nevada.
According to a 2016 National Restaurant Association Study, government and labor costs,
and minimum wage, are the top challenges facing restaurant operators in 2016
(National Restaurant Association, 2017). The survey concluded 22 percent of
respondents ranked government as a top challenge, 19 percent ranked food costs, 18%
ranked economy, 16 percent ranked recruiting employees, and 10 percent ranked sales
volume (National Restaurant Association, 2017).
Wage Laws in California:
Although there are some exceptions, almost all employees in California must be paid the
minimum wage as required by state law. Effective January 1, 2017, the minimum wage
for all industries will be increased yearly. From January 1, 2017, to January 1, 2022, the
24

minimum wage will increase for employers employing 26 or more employees (CA.gov,
2017). This increase will be delayed one year for employers employing 25 or fewer
employees, from January 1, 2018, to January 1, 2023. The scheduled increases may be
temporarily suspended by the Governor, based on certain determinations (CA.gov,
2017). This increase is detailed in Figure A, below.
Figure A: Outline of California minimum wage increase from 2017 to 2023 (CA.gov, 2017).
In California any minor employee, 16 or 17 years of age, who is not required by law to
attend school, cannot work more than eight hours in any workday or more than 40
hours in any workweek (CA.gov, 2017). If so, he or she must receive one and one-half
times his or her regular rate of pay for all hours worked over eight hours in any workday
and over 40 hours in the workweek (CA.gov, 2017).
Labor Code Section 351 prohibits employers and their agents from sharing in or keeping
any portion of a gratuity left for or given to one or more employees by a patron (CA.gov,
2017). It is illegal for employers to make wage deductions from gratuities, or from using
gratuities as direct or indirect credits against an employee's wages (CA.gov, 2017).
Wage Laws in Nevada:
The minimum wage for employees who are offered qualified health benefits from their
employers is $7.25 per hour and the minimum wage for employees who are not offered
health benefits is $8.25 per hour (NV.gov, 2017).
Nevada is one of a few states with a daily overtime requirement in addition to the
requirement to pay overtime for more than 40 hours in a workweek (NV.gov, 2017).
Employees who are offered qualified health benefits from their employers and earn less
than $10.875 per hour, and employees earning less than $12.375 per hour who are not
offered qualified health benefits must be paid overtime whenever they work more than
25

8 hours in a 24-hour period (NV.gov, 2017). Employees that are exempt from overtime
under Nevada state law are not subject to these requirements (NV.gov, 2017).
The basic rule of tips, under federal law and Nevada state law, is that tips and gratuity
belong to the employee, not the employer (Guerin, 2017). Employers may not require
employees to hand over their tips unless, the employer counts all or part of an
employee’s tips towards its minimum wage obligations, or the employees are required
to pay part of their tips into a tip pool to be shared with other employees (Guerin,
2017).
Smoking Laws in California and Nevada:
There has been a lot of changes in smoking laws in both California and Nevada due to
the recent approval of some recreational and medical Marijuana bills. It is important to
include the various smoking laws and their specifics, to understand the effect they have
of restaurant businesses.
Both California and Nevada have passed smoke-free laws pertaining to restaurants and
bars, and Hennessey’s Tavern follows these laws very strictly. Customers cannot smoke
at any of the locations, it is even prohibited in outside patio areas.
California’s smoke-free law, AB 13, has protected thousands from secondhand smoke
exposure since 1995 (NoSmoke.org, 2014). Although this law was passed in 1995 it
wasn’t until 1998 that bars and restaurants became 100 percent smoke free. Since then
the loopholes in this piece of legislation have been diminished by several local smokefree
laws that now include many other public meeting places beyond bars and
restaurants.
Most of Nevada’s workplaces and indoor public places are 100 percent smoke-free by
the Nevada Clean Air Indoor Act, however some stand-alone bars and casinos are
exempt. This November 2006 state smoke-free law took effect on December 8, 2006
(NoSmoke.org, 2014). The law also allows for local governments to strengthen smokefree
policy further, but so far no local laws have been passed.
The Legalization of Recreational and Medical Marijuana:
It is necessary to note the potential affect new Marijuana laws could have on restaurant
businesses, because it may become an issue if patrons attempt to consume this
substance at a Hennessey’s establishment. It is could cause a decline in business if
customers spend less time in bars, once recreational goes into effect. People under the
influence could also significantly affect the dining environment.
California voters legalized the recreational use of marijuana for adults 21 years old and
over this year with the passage of Proposition 64, also known as the Adult Use of
26

Marijuana Act (California Restaurant Association, 2017).
Proposition 64 contains a number of limitations, including where an adult may smoke or
ingest marijuana. The prohibited locations for marijuana use include public places,
where smoking or vaping is prohibited, as well as workplaces that maintain a drug-and
alcohol-free environment (California Restaurant Association, 2017).
The proposition also allows employers to prohibit marijuana in the workplace, and does
not require employers to accommodate to an employee’s use of marijuana (California
Restaurant Association, 2017).
A Nevada law passed on Nov. 8, 2016 legalized marijuana consumption for private use
only. It is illegal to smoke in public, on federal land or in a vehicle without risking a fine
in Nevada (NV.gov, 2017).
There are some hotels that allow tobacco smoke, but most will not permit marijuana
use, because of concerns regarding conflicting federal law. Those caught violating public
consumption laws in Nevada will be charged with a misdemeanor which is punishable by
up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000 or both (PotGuide.com, 2016).
Gambling Laws in Las Vegas, Nevada:
Nationwide, casino gambling is a $50 billion business and 20 percent of that amount
comes from Nevada (Smith, 2017). Las Vegas gambling was legalized in 1931. The
Nevada Gaming Commission and Control Board develops and administers all gaming
regulations.
The Las Vegas Hennessey’s Tavern has a gambling license that permits 15 machines
inside its restaurant. These machines are provided by a separate company that rents the
space inside the restaurant. Casinos and businesses with more than 15 slot machines
pay an annual tax of $250 per machine (Smith, 2017).
Economic:
Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. has no outside investors, and reported that its annual revenues
were over $30 million in 2011 (Cody, 2011). Paul Hennessey stated in an interview that
the business has seen about an 8 percent financial growth each year, over the past 10
years. An 8 percent increase is about $2.4 million a year, based on this information the
company’s current estimated revenue is about $46.8 million.
Paul Hennessey credits the company's success to the fact that it has found a market
niche and not deviated from it, even as Hennessey's Tavern Inc. has continued to
expand (Hennessey's Tavern Inc., 2017). He said he believes his dining and drinking
establishments emphasize good food and ambience, but shun the flash-in-the-pan
27

trends and gimmicks that are common among his competitors, which results in the
traditional cozy or clubby feel indigenous to Irish or English pubs (Hennessey's Tavern
Inc., 2017).
Over the next 10 years, Paul Hennessey’s sees the business doubling its number of
establishments. He sees the most growth potential in his new Rebel Republic bar
concept, but thinks Hennessey’s Tavern could also expand if the right location is found.
As shown in Figures B and C, the U.S. Restaurant industry is projected to generate $799
Billion is sales in 2017, and total monthly food and drink sales were $56.2 Billion in
February 2017 (National Restaurant Assosiation, 2017). The average restaurant
consumer is also more likely to choose the restaurant that provides them with a good
deal; 3 out of 4 consumers say they would go to a restaurant during off-peak times if
they received a discount (Tetreault, 2016).
Figure B: Projected U.S. restaurant industry sales for 2017 (National Restaurant Assosiation, 2017).
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Figure C: U.S. restaurant industry food and drink sales from March 2016 to February 2017 (National
Restaurant Assosiation, 2017).
Cultural:
Some of the most successful eating establishments in the U.S. thrive because of the
environment they have created for customers. Hennessey’s Tavern has become part of
the beach city culture in Southern California, because of its longstanding reputation and
41 years of serving Irish hospitality.
Each of the restaurants was established with the idea that all of them would be inviting
neighborhood meeting places with a similar casual and lively feel, like the pubs in
Ireland.
Paul Hennessey strategically placed each tavern location in cities that he knew would
welcome a neighborhood pub. This unique niche market is the reason for all of
Hennessey’s Tavern Inc.’s success. The culture in each location varies due to the locals
that inhabit the bar on a regular basis. Nearly 60 percent of Hennessey’s Tavern
business is generated by local regulars that visit each location on a weekly or monthly
basis.
29

Situation Analysis
Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. currently has nine Irish-themed taverns located throughout
Southern California and one located in Las Vegas, Nevada. While each location falls
under the same Hennessey’s Tavern brand, they are independently managed and
operated.
The Hennessey’s Tavern brand is very well known throughout California because of the
company’s rich history and strong community ties. For 41 years, Paul Hennessey has
built a business on the idea of a neighborhood hangout place and “Irish hospitality.”
Hennessey has honed in on a unique niche in Southern California and has been able to
run his company with a small business feel. He has also managed to expand and open
new locations and different restaurant concepts every few years.
Service quality at each location is relatively strong and most of the Hennessey’s Tavern
locations have positive feedback on Yelp. Today, Hennessey’s Tavern Inc.’s lacks a strong
online brand and social media presence.
Looking toward the future of his business, Paul Hennessey sees the business expanding
significantly over the next 10 years and doubling the number of current establishments.
Hennessey believes his new concept restaurant, Rebel Republic, will expand more than
the Hennessey’s Taverns, but he continues to look for cities that poses the right feel for
a neighborhood bar.
In order to expand the customer base, build stronger service relationships with
consumers and unify the overall Hennessey’s brand, it is imperative that the business’
online presence is refreshed.
The tavern locations are managed by different general managers that directly oversee
operations, as well as coordinate each location’s social media accounts. This
decentralized management approach is beneficial for day-to-day service at each
location, but has created a lot of confusion about the overall Hennessey’s Tavern brand.
In order to refresh these channels, a detailed online marketing and communication plan
needs to be implemented. Many of the tavern locations already have a significant
following on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, but they lack
consistency, and the content is repetitive or limiting to building new relationships. The
current Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. needs a more modern design, updated content and
easier navigation.
The thesis researcher’s goal for this campaign is to create a plan of best practices for
social media and online branding, build a more user friendly and modern website and
30

provide Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. with ideas for more engaging content across all online
platforms.
Website:
Hennessey’s Tavern Inc.’s current website was built several years ago. The website is
difficult to navigate and some of the information is inconsistent. Overall, the website
has an outdated design and does not fully represent the Hennessy’s brand or the
experience a customer can expect in person.
Figure D: Current Hennessey’s Tavern website homepage (Hennessey's Tavern Inc., 2017).
Figure D shows the current Hennessey’s Tavern website homepage. The website has a
very dark color pallet and the pages are difficult to navigate. There are also pages that
serve no purpose for the business anymore still on the website. The photos are
outdated, and show the restaurant locations during the slowest hours, making them
appear less crowded. The current website is also not mobile friendly.
A website is often a customer’s first impression of a brand or business, so it is very
important that the Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. website is updated and refreshed. Below in
Figures B to G, are analytics on the current website recharging SEO, overall website
traffic and traffic sources.
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Figure E: Hennessey’s Tavern’s current SEO analytics as of April 2, 2017 (Raven, 2017).
Figure E shows the current SEO analytics collected with Raven SEO software. The report
shows that the website has approximately 271 SEO problems. These issues include
meta, content, link, image and semantic issues. The more SEO problems a website has,
the less likely the site will rank high in organic search results on Google. These results
show a great need for SEO improvements.
Figure F: Current reading of Hennessey’s Tavern’s Website traffic over the last 6 months as of February
2017 (SimilarWeb, 2017).
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Figure F shows Hennessey’s Tavern’s website traffic over the last six months, September
2016 through February 2017. The graph shows that website traffic has significantly
declined over the last five months. The website received about 2,100 visits over the last
six months and users spent about 2.29 minutes on the website, exploring about 3.20 of
its pages.
Figure G: Daily estimations of Hennessey’s Tavern’s Website Traffic as of April 2, 2017. (SiteWorthTraffic,
2017).
Figure H: Monthly estimations of Hennessey’s Tavern’s Website Traffic as of April 2, 2017.
(SiteWorthTraffic, 2017).
Figure I: Yearly estimations of Hennessey’s Tavern’s Website Traffic as of April 2, 2017. (SiteWorthTraffic,
2017).
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Figures G, H and I show current estimations of website traffic. The Hennessey’s Tavern
website receives about 107 unique visitors a day, 3,210 visitors a month and 39,055
visitors a year. These estimations are separate from the six-month report in Figure F,
which proves that current website traffic is much less than projected.
Figure J: Traffic sources for Hennessey’s Tavern’s Website as of April 2, 2017 (SimilarWeb, 2017).
The graph in Figure J shows the current sources for Hennessey’s Tavern’s website traffic.
The website gets traffic four ways, directly, from links, from organic search and from
social media. Over 75 percent of website traffic comes from users searching Google for
the restaurant name or website. About 20 percent of the website traffic comes from
links on Hennessey’s Tavern Inc.’s other restaurant websites. Three percent of traffic is
from users who type the web address in directly and a little over one percent comes
from all of the Hennessey’s Tavern social media accounts.
Social Media:
Hennessey’s Tavern has Facebook and Twitter accounts for the corporate office as well
as accounts for each tavern location, as seen below in Figures K and L. All of the
locations also have their own Instagram accounts except for Hennessey’s Tavern’s
headquarters. The main problem with having this many pages is a lack of consistency
across platforms and content on each account.
34

Figure K: Facebook social tab on Hennessey’s Tavern’s Website (Hennessey's Tavern Inc., 2017).
Figure L: Twitter social tab on Hennessey’s Tavern’s Website (Hennessey's Tavern Inc., 2017).
35

The current social media tab on the website links to the two pages shown above in
Figures K and L, which lists the links for all of the Hennessey’s Tavern Twitter and
Facebook accounts for every location. The website does not link to the 10 locations’
Instagram accounts. While this allows customers to connect to their favorite location it
is not very aesthetically pleasing and appears cluttered.
Currently, location general managers are responsible for overseeing each social media
account, but this organizational system makes it difficult to manage the content being
posted. It also makes it harder to establish a unified brand if all social media appears to
have a different style and voice.
Having 11 pages on both Facebook and Twitter and 10 Instagram accounts is beneficial
for connecting to local customers and allows the brand to reach more individuals, but it
also makes it difficult to grow a following if the content is inconsistent, and likes and
follows are spit between accounts.
These platforms would benefit from more engaging content, consistency and unity
across all platforms to strengthen the company’s overall brand. Without this, it is
difficult to build new relationships and keep customers informed.
The current social media numbers are divided by location and platform in the chart
below in Figure M.
Figure M: Current Social Media Following
Location: Facebook Likes: Twitter
Instagram
Followers: Followers:
Hennessey’s Tavern HQ 435 663 n/a
Hennessey’s Carlsbad 1,098 402 1,917
Hennessey’s Dana Point 2,781 505 513
Hennessey’s Hermosa Beach 2,725 722 426
Hennessey’s Laguna Beach 2,496 n/a 365
Hennessey’s La Jolla 857 390 82
Hennessey’s Las Vegas 4,875 198 132
Hennessey’s Manhattan Beach 574 278 565
Hennessey’s Redondo Beach 1,550/2,831 418 460
Hennessey’s San Juan Capistrano 752 3 199
Hennessey’s Seal Beach 999 11 340
36

It should be noted that the Redondo Beach Hennessey’s has two Facebook pages, which
divided its likes significantly, but each has too many followers to deactivate one
account. The accounts listed as “n/a” in Figure J are either offline or nonexistent.
The accounts with the more than 2,000 followers on Facebook are Las Vegas, Redondo
Beach, Dana Point, Hermosa Beach and Laguna Beach. The accounts with more than 400
followers on Twitter are Hermosa Beach, the Hennessey’s Tavern headquarters account,
Dana Point, Redondo Beach and Carlsbad.
While all the locations have a significant number of followers, many of them are not
updated regularly, and if they are, sometimes the content is only a link or a flyer with no
other explanation. The chart below, Figure N, shows the current social media activity of
each location across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Location:
Figure N: Current Social Media Activity
Last Post On
Facebook:
Last Post on
Twitter:
Last Post on
Instagram:
*Twitter
Engagem
ent:
*Twitter engagement and impressions are based off the last 28 days. Twitter engagement rate is
calculated by adding favorites, retweets and replies, and then divided by the number of total followers.
*No. of
Twitter
Impressions:
Hennessey’s Tavern Nov. 17, 2015 Jan. 8, 2014 n/a 0% 0
HQ
Hennessey’s March 23, 2017 March 23, 2017 Dec. 8, 2016 0.2% 489
Carlsbad
Hennessey’s Dana March 22, 2017 March 28, 2017 March 28, 2017 1.5% 1,400
Point
Hennessey’s
April 1, 2017 Dec. 29, 2016 Feb. 14, 2017 0.3% 88
Hermosa Beach
Hennessey’s Laguna March 14, 2017 n/a July 8, 2016 n/a n/a
Beach
Hennessey’s La Jolla March 15, 2017 April 1, 2017 March 17, 2016 0.1% 438
Hennessey’s Las
Vegas
Hennessey’s
Manhattan Beach
Hennessey’s
Redondo Beach
Hennessey’s San
Juan Capistrano
Hennessey’s Seal
Beach
March 31, 2017 March 31, 2017 Feb. 18, 2017 n/a n/a
Oct. 13, 2014 March 27, 2017 April 2, 2017 n/a n/a
July 30, 2016 March 27, 2017 March 9, 2017 0.1% 568
March 16, 2017 Dec. 16, 2015 Oct.18, 2016 n/a n/a
Jan. 15, 2016 Nov. 13, 2009 March 4, 2017 0% 0
37

Most of the location accounts have been updated in the last three months, with the
acceptation of the headquarters’ accounts, Seal Beach’s Facebook and Twitter accounts,
Redondo Beach’s Facebook, Manhattan Beach’s Facebook, Hermosa Beach’s Twitter,
San Juan Capistrano’s Twitter and Instagram, La Jolla’s Instagram, Laguna Beach’s
Instagram and Carlsbad’s Instagram.
Although many of the accounts are relatively active on a regular basis, the content
posted is often a duplicate of a Facebook or Instagram post with just a link, or an
automatic post from Rockbot, the in-house music selection system that can be
controlled by customers on a smartphone app. Below are examples of these posts.
Figure O: Example of La Jolla’s tweets (Hennessey's Tavern Inc., 2017) .
Figure O is a screenshot of tweets from the La Jolla Twitter account. Although the
account has been posted on recently, the content is lacking and could seem like spam to
users because it is only a link.
Figure P: Rockbot automatic post from Redondo Beach’s Twitter (Hennessey's Tavern Inc., 2017).
38

Figure P provides an example of the automatic Rockbot posts that are shared on most of
the locations’ Twitter accounts every week. In many cases this is the only item posted
on the Twitter accounts. It is unclear why some of the locations choose to share these
Rockbot posts, but they aren’t engaging to customers on Twitter, and they promote
Rockbot more than Hennessey’s.
Most of the locations make an effort to post flyers, memes and some other photos on
their Instagram accounts, as seen in figure Q and R. However, there is no cohesion
connecting them to the overall Hennessey’s Tavern brand. These accounts should be
used daily to increase following, and separate promotional images should be created for
Instagram in order to fit within its sizing specs.
Figures Q and R: Examples of the Carlsbad and Manhattan Beach Instagram accounts (Hennessey's Tavern
Inc., 2017).
The locations with the most active social media and engaging content are all of Dana
Point’s social media accounts, Carlsbad’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, and Las
Vegas’s Facebook page. These locations effectively post about events with information,
photos and flyers. Dana Point has the most consistent presence across all platforms, but
Carlsbad actively responds to customers’ Facebook comments. The Las Vegas location
39

does not have a Twitter account, but it has the largest Facebook following with over
4,800 likes. Carlsbad’s Instagram is the most active out of the 10 Instagram accounts
and has the most followers, at 1,917.
Some examples of the content on these accounts is below in Figures S, T and U.
Figure S: Recent Facebook post from the Carlsbad location (Hennessey's Tavern Inc., 2017).
Figure S shows a Facebook post from the Carlsbad’s Facebook page on March 23 that is
promoting the live music guest that will be performing. It reached 78 people. It also
shows
40

Figure T: Recent Facebook post from the Dana Point location (Hennessey's Tavern Inc., 2017).
The Facebook post shown in Figure T from the Dana Point location uses a popular
internet meme to advertise the Tuesday burger special. This meme is a good use of
cultural content, but would have been more successful on Twitter, because it is a more
casual platform for gifs and memes. The post reached 425 people, but many of the
page’s other posts reach 1,000 people with the help of Facebook’s boost marketing.
Figure U: Recent Facebook post from the Las Vegas location (Hennessey's Tavern Inc., 2017).
41

The photo above in Figure U, was posted on the Las Vegas location’s Facebook page on
St. Patrick’s Day this year. This is a good example of photo usage for Facebook and this is
also the only post that promoted St. Patrick’s Day that showed customers. St. Patrick’s
Day is Hennessey’s Tavern’s busiest and most successful day of the year, but it is never
broadly promoted on social media.
Social Engagement:
Dana Point has the highest engagement rate on Twitter with an average 1.3 percent
engagement in the last 28 days. None of the location’s Twitter accounts post content
other than duplicate content from a Facebook or Instagram post. Dana Point’s Twitter
has a high engagement rate because it double posts from Instagram. Below are analytics
on Dana Point’s most successful tweets, in regards to reach and engagement.
Figure V: Twitter analytics on a few of the Dana Point location’s most recent tweets (Hennessey's Tavern
Inc., 2017).
All of these tweets shown in Figure V contain the same caption as Instagram, and link to
the corresponding photo. A typical business or company Twitter account should aim for
a 1.7 percent engagement rate on each tweet, according to Dasheroo (Hingley, 2015).
Dana Point is the only account close to this number, all other accounts range from 0
percent to 0.3 percent engagement.
The main customer interactions on Facebook include reviews, location check-ins and
photos of visitors enjoying themselves at each location. Below, in Figures W and X, are
Facebook interaction metrics for the Hermosa Beach and La Jolla locations for March
2017. The Hermosa Beach Location received more online interaction in March, but both
locations accumulated the most tags during St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
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Figure W: Facebook interaction metrics for the Hermosa Beach location over the month of March (Raven,
2017). The Orange represents page likes and the turquoise represents location check-ins.
Figure X: Facebook interaction metrics for the La Jolla location over the month of March (Raven, 2017).
The Orange represents page likes and the turquoise represents location check-ins.
Customers enjoy being able to share their experiences at each location on various social
media platforms as seen below in figures Y, Z and A1. There little interaction between
the company and customer posted content. Customer’s would enjoy more interaction
from the Hennessey’s brand, and the accounts should comment and like customer
posts.
43

Figure Y and Z: Instagram posts from customer’s accounts showing their experiences at the Redondo
Beach and Hermosa Beach locations.
Figure A1: Facebook post from a customer enjoying live music at the Dana Point location.
44

Marketing:
Marketing for Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. is about 90 percent in-person and only 10
percent online and on social media. The main focus of company’s marketing is posters
and flyers at each location and occasionally a social media post or website banner. The
people supporting social media and marketing do not collaborate on establishing
strategies and campaigns, other than when location managers are asked to share
content on social accounts.
The current website also contains a “fan signup” page, shown below in Figure B1, that
allows customers to input their email, birthday and favorite Hennessey’s Tavern
locations. According to Sharon Rich, Hennessey’s Tavern Inc.’s head of marketing, this
page was originally supposed to allow the business to market to customers in a more
specific fashion. The employee that used to control the database for these emails has
since left the company, leaving the emails unutilized.
Figure B1: The “Fan Sign Up” page on the current Hennessey’s Tavern Website (Hennessey's Tavern Inc.,
2017).
Hennessey’s Tavern would greatly benefit from sending a newsletter with company
updates, location news and new specials to its customers via email. Part of the social
media best practices plan on page 60 also outlines how these emails can be utilized to
improve marketing and brand identity.
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Yelp Rankings:
A majority of Hennessey’s Tavern’s current customers are locals, but one of the biggest
ways to attract new customers is through Yelp ratings and reviews. Below is a chart
showing the current rankings of each of the Hennessey’s Tavern locations.
Location:
Yelp Rating:
Hennessey’s Carlsbad 3.5 of 5
Hennessey’s Dana Point 3.5 of 5
Hennessey’s Hermosa Beach 3.5 of 5
Hennessey’s Laguna Beach 3.5 of 5
Hennessey’s La Jolla 3.5 of 5
Hennessey’s Las Vegas 3 of 5
Hennessey’s Manhattan Beach 3.5 of 5
Hennessey’s Redondo Beach 3.5 of 5
Hennessey’s San Juan Capistrano 3.5 of 5
Hennessey’s Seal Beach 3 of 5
Competitors:
According to Paul Hennessey and Sharon Rich, Hennessey’s Tavern Inc.’s CEO and
Hennessey’s Tavern Inc.’s head of marketing, the biggest competitor for the company’s
10 Irish taverns are new, more modern restaurant concepts and other American food
establishments, especially places with an extensive burger menu.
These competitors vary by location but some of the more competitive locations include
the Hennessey’s Taverns in Hermosa Beach and in Las Vegas. The Hermosa Beach
location is on Pier Avenue, right across form the entrance to the Hermosa Beach Pier.
This location is frequented by both locals and tourists because of its proximity to the
pier. The Las Vegas location is very similar to Hermosa Beach because of all the tourist
business it receives. These locations must compete with a plethora of surrounding
restaurants.
The Hennessey’s Tavern Locations in Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Dana Point and
Las Vegas also compete with other Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. restaurant concepts that are
located in the same area, and even on the same street.
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The Redondo Beach Hennessey’s Tavern is located directly next to Rebel Republic, the
new modern concept bar the company opened at the beginning of 2017. It is also just
down the street from H.T. Grill, a more expensive formal dining restaurant opened in
1987.
The Hermosa Beach Hennessey’s Tavern is located two doors down from The Light
House Café, which is not a Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. restaurant concept, but Paul
Hennessey acquired the historic Jazz club restaurant in 1989. The Light House Café was
used in the 2017 Academy Award winning movie, La La Land.
The Dana Point Hennessey’s Tavern is located next to The Wine Bistro, an eclectic
Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. concept, that opened in 2000.
The Las Vegas Hennessey’s Tavern located in the up-and-coming downtown area of Las
Vegas competes with three other Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. restaurants. The Las Vegas
tavern was opened in 2006, along with a Mickie Finnz Fish House & Bar location. Mickie
Finnz is a casual sea-themed restaurant that previously had locations in Redondo Beach
and Dana Point. The Las Vegas Hennessey’s also competes LV Country Saloon, a country
bar that Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. established in 2010.
Having so many different restaurant concepts that appeal to different demographics
and dinning preferences allows Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. to capitalize on a wide range of
customers. This also helps the company control the restaurant market in certain areas.
A Similar Restaurant Company Model:
Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. has a very unique company hierarchy, with Paul Hennessey
being the sole owner of all 16 restaurants even though they operate like separate
entities. A business that could be compared to this management and expansion style, is
Fox Restaurant Concepts LLC, based out of Phoenix, Arizona. The main difference
between these companies is, Sam Fox, the owner of Fox Restaurant concepts LLC, has
started to build restaurants and then sell them to investors and other buyers.
Fox Restaurant Concepts has 53 restaurants in eight states across 16 brands. They
include The Arrogant Butcher, Blanco Tacos + Tequila, Culinary Dropout, Juby True,
Wildflower American Cuisine and Zinburger Wine & Burger Bar. Fox and his concepts
have been recognized for excellence on both the business and culinary sides (Ruggless,
2017). In 2014, Fox was honored with the Richard Melman Award by Restaurant
Hospitality for his work as an innovator.
Fox has a keen eye for seeing where restaurant trends are going before they get there.
His concepts are innovative, modern and unique. The corporate model that Fox has built
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is one that has allowed him to rapidly expand and create a large variety of restaurants in
several different states.
Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. would benefit from a company management and online
branding system similar to that of Fox Restaurant Concepts LLC.
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Primary Research
In order to better understand how the Hennessey’s Tavern locations operate, in-person
and online, two forms of primary research were conducted. This research included
observations taken at the Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach locations, as well as
interviews with Hennessey’s Tavern CEO Paul Hennessey, Hennessey’s Tavern’s head of
marketing Sharon Rich and the General Manager of Hennessey’s Tavern Hermosa
Beach, Sean Carleton.
Location Visits and Observations:
Over four weeks in December to January 2016, the researcher visited the Redondo and
Hermosa Beach locations, observing and recording restaurant foot traffic and overall
environment in the restart during certain times of day. It should be noted that on the
busier nights, a rough estimate was made in the number of customers.
The Redondo Beach location has a capacity of 100, and the Hermosa Beach Location can
host 150 people indoors, about 30 people on its upstairs patio and 55 on its downstairs
outdoor patio.
Redondo Beach Location:
Visit 1: Wednesday, December 14, 2016 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Hour 1, 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.: 17 people
Hour 1 Comments: The researcher, 21, was the youngest
customer at the location. There were a few couples scattered
throughout the restaurant and seated at the bar. All other
customers were over the age of 45. Many of the people at the bar
appear to be regulars, based on their personal interaction with
staff and fellow customers.
Hour 2, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.: 27 people
Hour 2 Comments: No significant change in demographics. A
couple in their 30s is now seated at the bar. More people have
shown up for happy hour.
Hour 3, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.: 40 people
Hour 3 Comments: More people have come to eat dinner. There
are more customers age 25-35. There is also a family with 2 young
children.
Visit 2: Tuesday, December 27, 2016 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Hour 1, 2 – 3:00 p.m.: 12 people
Hour 1 Comments: There are 6 people sitting at the bar, most of
them locals and between the ages of 40-55. Some of these people
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are eating while they drink. There are also a few other people age
25-30 eating lunch and watching a sports game.
Hour 2, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.: 25 people
Hour 2 Comments: Slight change in demographics. There are a
few more customers enjoying happy hour that are age 21-30. The
locals hang out at the bar for several hours at a time and the
bartender and manager know them all by name.
Visit 3: Friday January 6, 2017 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Hour 1, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.: 30 people
Hour 1 Comments: The researcher visited the location with two
friends for dinner and drinks. There are 5 of the regulars sitting at
the end of the bar age 45+ and to men in their 30s watching a
sports game. The rest of the restaurant is scattered with couples,
families and friends eating dinner and enjoying happy hour.
Hour 2, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.: 40 people
Hour 2 Comments: More people age 25-35 have shown up to the
location. Many visitors are eating dinner and socializing. Some of
the regulars at the bar have left.
Visit 4: Sunday January 8, 2017 from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Hour 1, 6 p.m. – 7 p.m.: 50 people
Hour 1 Comments: Lots of people are enjoying dinner and dinks.
The bar is full and there are people watching Football. There are
several larger parties eating at tables. The main age groups are
25-35 and 45-55. There are a few families with children ages 5-15.
Hour 2, 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.: 65 people
Hour 2 Comments: The restaurant is beginning to set up for the
band set to perform at 8:30 p.m. There are lots of friends of the
band members in attendance, they are between the ages of 45-
55.
Hour 3, 8 – 9:00 p.m.: 85 people
Hour 3 Comments: There is now a bouncer at the door checking
IDs. The restaurant is very loud and full of people planning to
watch the band performance. The age range for all customers is
now 25-55.
Hour 4, 9 – 10:00 p.m.: 95 people
Hour 4 Comments: The band has started to perform and it is
difficult to move around the restaurant. The bartender is very
busy and the servers have to weave through people to get to their
tables. People are singing and dancing along to the music. The
demographics have not changed.
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Hermosa Beach Location:
Visit 1: Saturday, December 31, 2016 from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m.
Hour 1, 8:30 – 9:30 p.m.:
Inside: 70 people
Outside: 45 people
Upstairs: 30 people
Hour 1 Comments: There are two bouncers outside. The outside
patio is almost full; people are enjoying live music happening by
the pier. Most people are eating dinner and drinking. The age
range is 25-50 throughout the restaurant, but there are more
people 25-35 upstairs. Inside, both of the bars are crowded with
people ordering drinks. Many people are standing around as
opposed to sitting. Some large parties are eating but most people
are socializing and drinking. Upstairs, people are eating and
drinking.
Hour 2, 9:30 – 10:30 p.m.:
Inside: 95 people
Outside: 55 people
Upstairs: 30 people
Hour 2 Comments: There is a line of about 10 people waiting to
get into the restaurant. The outside patio and upstairs patio are
full with people drinking and socializing. If people are eating, it is
only appetizers. There is now a DJ playing inside and the bars are
still packed. There are more people 21-35 in the restaurant.
Hour 3, 10:30 – 11:30 p.m.:
Inside: 120 people
Outside: 55 people
Upstairs: 30 people
Hour 3 Comments: The line outside to get in is now about 20
people. The restaurant is very full and difficult to walk around in.
There are now bouncers stationed throughout the restaurant.
People are drinking, dancing and socializing. The demographics
are about the same.
Visit 2: Friday, January 6, 2017 from 7 to 9 p.m.
Hour 1, 7 – 8 p.m.:
Inside: 40 people
Outside: 40 people
Upstairs: 30 people
Hour 1 Comments: The bouncer is not outside yet. There are a
significant number of people on the outside patio and upstairs
that ate dinner and watched the sunset. There are a few families
seated throughout the restaurant with children age 5-12. There
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are a few regulars sitting at the bars. Most people are finishing
dinner and some are just drinking. The main age of people at the
bar is 21-35. The regulars at the bar are age 30-40.
Hour 2, 8 – 9 p.m.:
Inside: 62 people
Outside: 45 people
Upstairs: 30 people
Hour 2 Comments: There is now a bouncer outside and the bar is
no longer allowing underage people inside. The bars inside are
more full and some people are eating appetizers and socializing.
The upstairs deck is still full of people eating and drinking at the
small upstairs bar. Some people are watching a sports game. The
age demographics are about the same. More people 25-35 have
showed up for cocktails.
Conclusion:
The Hennessey’s Tavern in Hermosa Beach has a younger customer base when
compared to Redondo Beach. The location is much larger than the one in Redondo
Beach and it has a more active nightlife scene. The biggest appeal for customers is its
proximity to the beach and the pier. The upper deck is always full and people enjoy
eating while they watch the sunset.
The Hermosa Beach location gets more rowdy and very busy on holidays. There were
thousands of people on the pier for New Year’s Eve and all of the businesses seemed
busy, but it looked like Hennessey’s had the biggest range of age groups.
Both locations have a group of local regulars that know the bartenders and most of the
staff by name. They spend hours at the bar drinking and talking with friends. The locals
seem to prefer when the locations are less full.
The Redondo Beach Hennessey’s Tavern is relatively calm, except when they have a live
band. Very little to no promotion was done for the band by the restaurant and about
100 people showed up to listen.
These restaurants are popular because of their food, drinks and casual but welcoming
environment. The staff is very attentive and all the customers enjoy themselves whether
they are there to eat, drink, socialize or watch a game.
Employee Interviews:
Paul Hennessey, Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. CEO: Paul Hennessey has been
running Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. for 41 years and as build a restaurant empire
with his various restaurant concepts in Southern California and Las Vegas.
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Q: Where do you see the business in 10 years, and where would you like it to be
in 10 years?
A: In 10 years, I hope that we can double the number of units we currently have
and I think a lot of that expansion will come from establishing more Rebel
Republic locations. The taverns are strategically placed in cities that have a need
for a neighborhood spot and I could see us establishing more taverns if we find
the right locations. They are not limited to the west coast.
Q: What is your vision for Hennessey’s Tavern Inc.?
A: I want to pick popular locations for neighborhood pubs that allows locals and
tourists to enjoy themselves.
Q: What kind of experience do you want customers to have when they visit your
restaurants?
A: I want to them to experience a homey, welcoming atmosphere, with good
food, a clean environment and friendly service.
Q: Financially, what kind of growth have the Hennessey’s Tavern locations had
over the last 5-10 years?
A: We see about 8 percent growth every year. Our La Jolla Location is up 20
percent. We find that most of the new locations start with very high levels of
success and then even out to match some of the older locations. The top
grossing locations are Hermosa Beach, Las Vegas and Dana Point. In California,
about 60% of our business is regulars. Hermosa Beach and Las Vegas have more
tourists, but we aim to have them return every time they visit the area.
Q: Do you currently have a section in your Code of Conduct for Social Media
usage?
A: Not yet, but it is in the works. In the near future there will be concern over
whether our employees get paid for the social media work they do while at
home. Many of our managers post things when they aren’t onsite, so do they get
paid for that?
Sharon Rich, Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. head of marketing: Sharon Rich has been
working for Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. for more than 10 years. Her responsibilities
range from marketing to helping general managers coordinate events, and
everything in between.
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Q: What is currently being done in terms of the “Fan Sign Up” page on the
website?
A: Originally, the emails collected were going to be used for email marketing and
other promotion, but since the employee who ran the server has left they have
not been used.
Q: What kind of promotion was done for St. Patrick’s Day this year?
A: We had t-shirts, cups and buttons made to celebrate and sell. The locations
also had decorations and flyers promoting St. Patrick’s Day. We don’t really need
to promote it online, because the crowds will show up regardless.
Q: What restaurants do you see as the biggest competitors for the Hennessey’s
Tavern Locations?
A: I think our biggest competitors are other American food restaurants,
especially those that serve burgers. Those, and also new more modern concept
restaurants.
Q: How is the website currently managed and edited?
A: We have a woman that makes changes to it for us, upon our request. She bills
us based on the amount of time she works on it. She is sometimes difficult to get
a hold of and there are even things on the website now that we’ve asked her to
edit and she hasn’t gotten to them yet.
Sean Carleton, General Manager of Hennessey’s Tavern Hermosa Beach: Sean
Carleton has been a manager for Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. for 11 years. He
previously managed the Redondo Beach location for 8 years and has now been
with Hermosa Beach for 3 years.
Q: What is your favorite part about working for Hennessey’s Tavern Inc.?
A: The people. Paul hires great people. I have met some of my dearest friends
and even my wife working for this company.
Q: What is the best part about your job and what is the hardest part of your job?
A: The people and also the people. The best part is working with such great
people, but it can also be difficult at times to manage my younger employees
that sometimes bring their personal drama into the restaurant.
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Q: What is the biggest difference about managing the Hermosa Beach location as
opposed to the Redondo Beach Location.
A: The Hermosa Beach location is three times the size of the Redondo location.
My upstairs patio alone, generates the same amount of money every year as the
Redondo Beach location does. Each location has its own vibe, and at Hermosa
that vibe constantly changes. I never can be sure who will walk through the door,
but our daily business lives and dies with the sun. If it is nice outside, we will be
busy.
Q: What is the most difficult part about running the social media accounts, while
also managing the daily operations?
A: Every day I start with a walkthrough of the restaurant. I check the coolers,
make sure everything is stocked and in order. Then, I sit in my office and
calculate the books and other office tasks. Sometimes I will have time to hop on
Facebook in the morning or maybe sometime in the afternoon. I try to post once
a day but it really depends on how busy I am. I have never tweeted in my life so I
don’t manage the Twitter, and one of our associate managers posts on
Instagram.
Conclusion:
These interviews provided insight on the online and day-to-day operations of
Hennessey’s Tavern Inc., and the future of the business. Over the next 10 years Paul
Hennessey sees his company doubling in size. He says the business has a steady revenue
that increases about eight percent every year.
He thinks his new modern concept bar, Rebel Republic, will grow the most, but he is
open to the idea of opening new tavern locations in the right community. It is very
important to him that customers enjoy their experience in his restaurants. Mr.
Hennessey would like to maintain the taverns’ longstanding reputations as friendly
neighborhood pubs.
Sharon Rich, the head of marketing for Hennessey’s Tavern Inc., helped explain a lot of
the details surrounding the current website and some of the company’s marketing
strategies. Her answers show an opportunity to establish more targeted marketing
tactics through email and the locations’ social media accounts.
She said that the company possesses a list of customer emails, but they go unused for
marketing or promotion. She also seemed concerned with the current way things are
posted and updated on the website. This shows the need and usefulness of a more user
friendly Website editing software, like Wix.
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Sean Carleton, the current General Manager of Hennessey’s Tavern Hermosa Beach,
expressed the difficulties that come with managing a location and finding time to post
on social media every day. He stated that many days he just simply does not have time
to post content if his to-do list is too long or the location is having a busy day.
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Campaign Proposal
57

Goals and Objectives
In order to improve Hennessey’s Tavern Inc.’s online image and better align its social
media efforts to be more cohesive and engaging, the researcher established an overall
campaign goal.
The overall goal of this campaign is to provide Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. with the
necessary tools to refresh its online brand and improve its social media presence.
The Hennessey’s Tavern brand has 41 years of history, and is widely recognized in the
communities that surround each location. Over the years, the company’s online
presence has become outdated and inconsistent across many of its social media
platforms. The company now needs a unified online brand that aligns with the
experience customers have when they visit the restaurants in person.
In order to accomplish this goal, the researcher pursued three objectives:
- Create a more user-friendly and modern website by April 5, 2017.
- Create a Social Media Best Practices guide by April 5, 2017.
- Present an idea for new content in the form of a Hennessey’s Tavern blog by
April 5, 2017.
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Strategies and Tactics
Strategy 1:
Strategy 2:
Strategy 3:
- Build a new website that better represents the overall Hennessey’s Tavern
brand using Wix.
Tactic: Gather the most up-to-date information to build an informative
and user friendly new website.
Tactic: Consult the CEO and head of marketing regarding the website
design and changes that need to be made to make the website accurate.
Tactic: Revise the current navigation menu and social media links to
make the website more user friendly.
Tactic: Use a lighter color palate to give the website a more modern, crisp
feel.
Tactic: Use photos that display the true environment of each Hennessey’s
Tavern location.
Tactic: Create a mobile version of the website that is smartphone
friendly.
- Identify social media inconsistencies and create a plan that incorporates
social media strategy, with new, stronger content.
Tactic: Outline a best practices plan that can be directly implemented to
every social media account.
Tactic: Take metrics of current social media posts and identify how they
can be improved.
Tactic: Include a section in the plan that outlines communication
practices when responding to customers.
- Start a Hennessey’s Tavern Blog to improve brand awareness and provide
content for email marketing and social media accounts.
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Tactic: Outline new content ideas for the blog and identify the most
successful platforms for each that would create the most customer
engagement.
60

Creating the Hennessey’s Tavern Culture:
Social Media Best Practices
In order to capitalize on current social media reach and a loyal customer base, the
company should aim to create a unique social media theme across all platforms that
fully incorporates the Hennessey’s Tavern Brand. This theme should include a consistent
tone of voice in posts. The new content needs to have a more informative and reliable
presence on these social channels. Uniform content will result in a more loyal online
following, because the posts appear more trustworthy and brand centralized. The
content on all accounts can be customized by location, but the key to instilling loyalty in
new and current customers is consistency.
Hennessey’s Tavern locations thrive off the communities that surround them. In order
to market to new demographics, each location’s social media should be unique to that
city’s culture and vibe, yet still possess the values of the overall company brand of Irish
hospitality.
Social media is all about establishing and nurturing relationships. This needs to be the
focus of the new Hennessey’s Tavern online brand. The best way establish trust with
customers is to make them feel informed, valued and connected to the business.
The first step in improving the company’s online presence is recognizing that all online
branding needs to be managed in a centralized fashion. Currently, each location is
responsible for managing its social media, and in order to present a unified brand image
this should be managed more by headquarters. In the future the online brand would
benefit from a mix of centralized and decentralized management; it is currently
unrealistic to expect general managers to have time to collaborate on social media
strategy.
The brand improvements presented in this campaign plan provide a unique opportunity
for Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. to better align its online presence and also begin to secure
the legacy of the restaurant’s brand for years to come.
Social Media and Marketing Collaboration:
Currently, there is little collaboration between marketing and social media strategy. In
order to fully refresh and unify the Hennessey’s Tavern online brand, social media and
marketing need to work together to create and execute campaigns efficiently. There is a
large untapped audience of followers on over 32 social media accounts, and with more
targeted online promotion the company could see a significant increase in new and
returning business.
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Marketing should help create unique flyers that fit each social platform’s specs, help
outline a calendar of upcoming events that will help organize a posting schedule for
each location, and help create and implement a standard for brand-to-customer
communication, online.
Content Creation:
The company’s social media would greatly benefit form unique content that goes
beyond flyers for events and specials. The most successful online brands provide
followers with content that makes them appreciate and want to interact with the brand.
To fill all of the Hennessey’s Tavern accounts with more engaging content, the
researcher recommends that the company implement a blog. The blog would have its
own tab on the new website and would post a variety of themed content that promotes
customer, employees, locations and company news and accomplishments.
This blog would have several series of curated content that could be used to improve
brand promotion and also drive more traffic to the website and all of the social media
accounts.
Some ideas for this content include:
- Corporate Corner: A series that would share company news, newly sponsored
community events and other brand accomplishments.
- The Mix: A bi-weekly series that highlights a different drink, bartender and
location every other week. Each story is centered around a Q & A session with a
Hennessey’s Bartender, while they create their favorite drink.
- Paul’s Picks: A monthly roundup of Paul Hennessey’s favorite foods, drinks,
specials or merchandise.
- Heard at Hennessey’s: A funny quote overheard at a different location every day.
These quotes could be from customers or employees.
- Loyal Locals: A weekly post with photos and short captions that highlight some of
Hennessey’s most loyal regulars.
- Luck of the Irish: A monthly giveaway contest for coupons and or merchandise.
These various content ideas would promote a lot of social media growth and brand
promotion.
Hennessey’s Tavern HQ Accounts:
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The main corporate account should be built up and used to promote events, specials
and company news that extends across all locations. The local tavern accounts should
be used to promote events happening at that specific location and other community
events. These subaccounts should always repost and retweet the corporate account’s
news that they feel should be shared with its followers. With this system, Hennessey’s
social media will be easier to manage and the content will reach larger audiences.
If the headquarters account becomes the source for specials and companywide news,
customers will feel more informed and all platforms will be more cohesive.
Facebook:
Facebook is by far the most utilized platform by each of the Hennessey’s Tavern
locations. With improved content and a more attentive system for customer responses,
each account will thrive. Facebook is the perfect platform to share information on
upcoming events specific to a certain location. Posts that include photos and links are
also more engaging. Each location should also take advantage of the new Facebook
Stories feature, that allows users to post 24-hour photo and video stories. The company
may also want to explore using the Facebook Live feature for musical guests.
Twitter:
General Tips:
- Include all necessary information
- Post 2-4 times a day
- Include a photo with your post
- Repost HQ content with a short caption
- Respond to customer comments and messages promptly, in a polite and
formal manner
- Use Facebook Stories to highlight daily specials and exciting daily moments at
each location
- Go Facebook Live to highlight local in-house events
Currently, none of the locations use Twitter in a beneficial way. The content on these
accounts is always a duplicate of something posted elsewhere. While it is acceptable to
post similar content on multiple platforms, it should always be slightly changed. Twitter
is a platform perfect for more light hearted content that can be shared in a short but
effective way.
General Tips:
- Never only post a link, tell your followers what they are clicking on.
- Keep is short, but be creative since you only have 140 characters
- Use photos, gifs and memes when appropriate
- Use hashtags
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- Retweet other locations’ tweets
- Tweet 3-5 times a day
Instagram:
Establishing an Instagram following is all about posting quality photos that portray the
brand experience. For Hennessey’s Tavern, these posts should include food, drinks,
scenic location photos, staff and customers. Locations would also benefit from the use
of the new Instagram stories feature on the app, which allows users to post a 24-hour
photo story similar to Snapchat.
General Tips:
- Post every day
- Use hashtags and location tags
- Feature employees and customers (with their permission)
- Feature food and drink items in an aesthetically pleasing way
- Include landscapes that highlight the restaurants’ beach locations
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Timeline
The following implementation timeline outlines the dates that each aspect of the brand
refresh should be implemented. It should be noted that each date is subject to change
depending on the company’s schedule.
Task
Date
Implement the new social media plan April 2017
Begin posting new content on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram May 2017
Begin coordinating social media with marketing efforts May 2017
Launch the new Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. website June 2017
Establish the Hennessey’s Tavern Blog July 2017
Continued social media presence
Ongoing
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Evaluation
In order to measure the success of this campaign, the client should begin to implement
the campaign objectives, which include the new website, improved social media content
and new forms of content creation. If these objectives are implemented, as outlined in
the timeline on page 64, the company can expect the following corresponding
qualitative and quantitative results.
Objective 1: Implement a clear social media plan and begin collaborating with company
marketing efforts by May 2017.
Projected Qualitative Results: Consistent branding and tone across digital
platforms, increased online marketing reach and establishment of new customer
relationships.
Projected Quantitative Results: A 10 percent increase in followers on every
active Facebook, Twitter and Instagram account. The chart below outlines the
potential increase of followers on each account.
Location: Facebook Likes: Twitter
Followers:
Instagram
Followers:
Hennessey’s Tavern HQ +43 +66 n/a
Hennessey’s Carlsbad +109 +40 +191
Hennessey’s Dana Point +248 +50 +51
Hennessey’s Hermosa Beach +272 +72 +42
Hennessey’s Laguna Beach +249 n/a +36
Hennessey’s La Jolla +85 +39 +8
Hennessey’s Las Vegas +487 +19 +23
Hennessey’s Manhattan Beach +57 +27 +56
Hennessey’s Redondo Beach +155/283 +41 +46
Hennessey’s San Juan Capistrano +75 +1 +19
Hennessey’s Seal Beach +99 +1 +34
66

Objective 2: Launch a more user-friendly and modern website by June 2017.
Projected Qualitative Results: Improved online brand presence, better online
experience for new customers, less SEO issues and a more informative
information source about the company.
Projected Quantitative Results: A 10 percent increase, or 3,900 more unique
website visitors over the next year. A 5 percent increase, from 75.22 percent to
80.22 percent, unique visitors generated by organic search on Google.
Objective 3: Implement new forms of unique brand content through the Hennessey’s
Tavern Blog by July 2017.
Projected Qualitative Results: Improved, engaged brand presence, an increase
in customer interaction with online content and more opportunities to get
employees involved in social media and brand promotion.
Projected Quantitative Results: An initial blog following of 500, gained from the
emails collected on the current server. An increase in traffic to the blog section
of the website, which is currently zero and a 5 percent increase in engagement
on social platforms.
67

Future Recommendations
Moving past this campaign, the researcher has a few future recommendations for the
Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. management team in order to ensure future success in their
efforts to refresh their online brand and social media presence.
Implement the New Website:
The proposed new website is more user-friendly as well as more aesthetically pleasing
to online visitors. A website could be the first impression a potential customer has when
interacting with a brand or business. That is why it is so important that the company
upgrades its website to a more modern design in order reach customers in new
demographic segments.
Hire a Social Media Professional to Manage the Online Accounts for Hennessey’s
Tavern Inc.:
In order to bring unity to the Hennessey’s Tavern brand, all of its social media accounts
should be managed by one person, so that they are more consistent in voice and
personality.
If one person were coordinating of all location content, they would be able to be more
strategic and calculated with each post. This is the best way to guarantee cohesion on
all of the social media platforms.
Strategically Plan Marketing Campaigns to Include Social Media Advertising:
Allow the social media manager to collaborate with the marketing staff in order to
ensure that the customers are more informed about upcoming events and specials. This
collaboration could lead to more successful marketing campaigns and the higher chance
of financial growth at each of the locations. These 32 social media accounts are a great
untapped marketing tool.
Allow the Social Media Professional to Collaborate with General Managers:
Create a system in which general managers are able to keep the social media manager
updated on current happenings at their location including, upcoming events that he or
she may not be aware of.
Establishing this open form of communication between the social media manager and
the general managers will create a more cohesive relationship between the two and
allow them to create the best content possible for each social media account.
68

Measure Online Growth:
Utilize various SEO and analytics software in order to measure growth in online
following, and compare it to financial records to identify any growth correlations.
Evaluate which pieces of content or most successful on the social media platforms and
make adjustments accordingly to keep the most engaging elements on the social
profiles.
Survey and Interview Employees:
There is a wealth of information inside this company’s younger employees. Try to survey
employees biannually on different aspects of the business, including social media,
service changes and company policies.
69

Appendix
70

Deliverables
Figures C1 through P1 are desktop and mobile screenshots of the proposed new design
for the Hennessey’s Tavern website. The new design aims to keep the charm of the old
website, while using a more crisp color pallet and an easier navigation system.
Figure C1: The new homepage for the Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. website.
Figure D1: The new drink menu tab on the Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. website.
71

Figure E1: The new food menu tab on the Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. website.
Figure F1: The new location selection menu on the Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. website.
72

Figure G1: The new Carlsbad location page on the Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. website. All of the location
pages look the same.
Figure H1: The new specials chart on the Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. website. This chart appears on all of the
location pages.
73

Figure I1: The new merchandise store on the Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. website.
Figure I1: The new contact page on the Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. website.
74

Figure J1: The new Fan Sign Up section on the Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. website, located on the homepage.
Figure K1 and L1: Left, the mobile view of the current website. Right, the homepage of the new mobile
version of the website.
75

Figure M1 and N1: Left, the mobile menu of the new website. Right, the Carlsbad location page on the
new website’s mobile version.
Figure O1 and P1: Left, the mobile merchandise store for the new website. Right, the mobile contact page
on the new website.
76

Figures Q1 and R1 are examples of new Facebook, Twitter and Instagram profile photos
for Hennessey’s Tavern Inc. and each of the Hennessey’s Tavern locations.
Figure Q1 and R1: Left, the new profile photo for all headquarter social media accounts. Right, the new
profile photo for the Carlsbad location’s social media accounts. All of the locations have the same design
with their location name displayed, like it is at the left.
77

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