Thesis

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outdated and not consumer focused.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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