Clever and well-connected Mr Tom Cullen’s I Choose Birmingham regularly arrives in my inbox bearing news from Britain’s most up and coming metropolis. Usually his newsletter is full of what my ex-colleague Keith Stone insisted on describing as ‘eateries’. Hate the phrase, love the sector*. Finding a way to do a burger, or wrap, or falafel that people will willingly pay an extra pound for is a classic example of added value, and thus wealth creation. Adam Smith would heartily approve of Digbeth Dining.
One tiny quibble. As a marketer, I note that almost all of the pop-ups, restaurant launches and even fast-food vans that Tom reviews seem to rely heavily for success on a cute name, word of mouth, via social media, and hopefully a good product. That old-fashioned advertising staple, the killer copy-line - something that hangs in the memory and builds association between the shiny-new brand and its offer - is inevitably missing.
So it was heartwarming to see the forthcoming launch, at brilliant, busy Grand Central, of local independent Pig & Apple. I’m told they will be turning out locally-sourced food, with a focus on the stuff fast-food normally doesn’t do - traditional roast meats, basically. Doorstep pulled pork sandwiches. Foot long Yorkshire-pudding wraps. Plus, I’m assuming, gravy. And, as proprietor Lucy told me today, pork crackling, including gluten-free.
Maybe it’s just me but, whilst I’m sure you can get some of those things elsewhere within a few hundred yards of New Street, having a simple appealing advertising line makes me far more likely to remember Lucy’s new shop.
"Slow Food Fast."
Just sounds good doesn’t it? No explanation required. Implied customer benefits, times two, in 3 words. My Google-fu tells me this line has been used in the States for a while. But full marks to Pig & Apple for using it as the cherry on top of their marketing cake. Other food places – take note.
In fact, other organisations take note. Earlier in the summer I received a series of emails from Adobe. The heading of each email was, as best I recall, Welcome to Adobe Stock. Just that. Clearly there would be no pulled pork involved, but I was otherwise none the wiser and I had 50 other emails to look at. My preview window didn’t show me anything else. Delete...
Perhaps I was supposed to be opening this on a mobile or something. But I struggle to think of a less inspiring or enticing line for anything anyone has ever tried to sell me, ever.
Anyway, who knows what Adobe Stock is, or indeed cares. But, sometime in late October in Birmingham, I’m going to go get me some Slow Food, Fast.
Happy marketing.
*This is the third in my ‘things I’m loving about this autumn despite the rain’ series….
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Slow cooked pork in a Yorkshire pudding wrap. Yum. Now you know what that line was all about.