MBI Direct Mail + Digital

Retail & Local / Restaurants, Grocery & Local Retail

Restaurant marketing for a grand opening, a new menu or a local event

Restaurant marketing from MBI is the neighborhood postcard with a coupon offer on it, the local Facebook and Instagram promotion, the consented text program, the cooking class or tasting promoted where the concept fits, and the printing behind all of it — menus, table tents, takeout menus and packaging.

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Direct mail

What does a restaurant put on a neighborhood postcard?

The short answer

A neighborhood postcard with a coupon offer is the piece restaurant direct mail can put in the mailbox, and the occasions it can be used for are a grand opening, a new menu launch, a seasonal special, a delivery zone and a local event. MBI produces the postcard and delivers it to the neighborhood.

What the guidance calls for. The guidance for restaurant direct mail is to use neighborhood postcards and coupon offers for grand openings, new menu launches, seasonal specials, delivery zones, and local events.

DMM 201.1.2.1, dimensional standards for cards claimed at commercial card prices: a postcard must be no more than 6 inches high, no more than 9 inches long and no thicker than 0.016 inch; each stamped card, or each half of a double-stamped card or double postcard, must be no more than 4-1/4 inches high, no more than 6 inches long and no thicker than 0.016 inch; a card more than 4-1/4 inches high or 6 inches long must be at least 0.009 inch thick; and the card-price standard sets an aspect ratio of 1.3 to 2.5 inclusive, with the exception that mailers may use an 11-inch by 8.5-inch sheet to create four identical-size postcards.

USPS Domestic Mail Manual 201.1.2.1

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Postcard · Direct Mail

Grand-opening postcard: a new menu for the neighborhood, under the restaurant’s own lockup, with a grand-opening-week complimentary dessert marked beneath it, dine in, takeout and local delivery across the foot, and the restaurant’s own web address below them.
Grand-opening postcard: a new menu for the neighborhood, under the restaurant’s own lockup, with a grand-opening-week complimentary dessert marked beneath it, dine in, takeout and local delivery across the foot, and the restaurant’s own web address below them.

Five occasions

The mail campaign

Which campaign carries restaurant grand opening marketing and a new menu launch?

The short answer

A grand opening and a new menu launch are one campaign, not two: a neighborhood direct-mail campaign with a coupon offer on the card. MBI plans it, produces the postcard and delivers it. A seasonal special, a delivery zone and a local event are the other occasions that postcard can be used for.

The occasions. The occasions restaurant direct mail is used for are a grand opening, a new menu launch, a seasonal special, a delivery zone and a local event.

One team. MBI is one company that plans, produces, and delivers direct mail, print, digital campaigns, and seminar marketing from a single team in DeLand, Florida; data, print, and delivery have been in-house since 1989.

The Move Update standard requires each address, except for mail bearing an alternative address format, in a mailing at commercial First-Class Mail presorted or automation prices or USPS Marketing Mail prices to be updated within 95 days before the mailing date; ACS and NCOALink are among the USPS-approved methods.

USPS Domestic Mail Manual 602.5

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Postcard · Direct Mail

New-table postcard, front and back: a new table in the neighborhood, good food and better company, with seasonal plates, local ingredients and warm welcomes on the front; discover what’s new on the back, with new menus, reservations and group events as three iconed marks, join us soon, and the restaurant’s own menu address on both.
New-table postcard, front and back: a new table in the neighborhood, good food and better company, with seasonal plates, local ingredients and warm welcomes on the front; discover what’s new on the back, with new menus, reservations and group events as three iconed marks, join us soon, and the restaurant’s own menu address on both.

Postcard · Direct Mail

Seasonal and local-event postcard: a seasonal reason to come back, new flavors, local moments and a table waiting for you, with new menu, local event and reserve or order as three marked panels above a season, date and time line left blank, and join us this season across the foot.
Seasonal and local-event postcard: a seasonal reason to come back, new flavors, local moments and a table waiting for you, with new menu, local event and reserve or order as three marked panels above a season, date and time line left blank, and join us this season across the foot.

Facebook and Instagram

What do local restaurant Facebook ads do?

The short answer

Local Facebook and Instagram campaigns do two jobs for a restaurant: awareness, and delivery or reservation promotions. That is a campaign of its own, separate from the neighborhood postcard and from the text program. MBI builds the creative and runs it from the single team that produces the printed work.

What the guidance calls for. The guidance for a restaurant on Meta is to use local Facebook/Instagram awareness and delivery/reservation promotions; Meta is explicitly included in restaurant marketing guidance.

Meta's Advertising Standards state that ads must not promote products, services, schemes or offers using identified deceptive or misleading practices, including those meant to scam people out of money or personal information, and that advertisers are responsible for understanding and complying with all applicable laws and regulations.

Meta, Advertising Standards

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Meta ad · Facebook

Local-awareness feed unit: good food, close to home, under the restaurant’s own lockup, with reserve a table or order local delivery and new seasonal favorites as two iconed marks, and order now across the foot.
Good food, close to home.
Local-awareness feed unit: good food, close to home, under the restaurant’s own lockup, with reserve a table or order local delivery and new seasonal favorites as two iconed marks, and order now across the foot.

Meta carousel · Facebook

Local-awareness carousel: come hungry, leave connected, under the restaurant’s own lockup, with a new-menus table card listing seasonal plates, wood-fired favorites and craft cocktails, a group-events welcome card beside it, and reserve a table across the foot.
Come hungry, leave connected
Local-awareness carousel: come hungry, leave connected, under the restaurant’s own lockup, with a new-menus table card listing seasonal plates, wood-fired favorites and craft cocktails, a group-events welcome card beside it, and reserve a table across the foot.

Reel · Instagram

Chef-profile Reel: meet the chef, seasonal food and welcoming tables, the chef in front of her pass with two plated dishes beneath her, a new-menus board marked local ingredients, reservations and group events, and the restaurant’s own name on a plate at the foot.
Chef-profile Reel: meet the chef, seasonal food and welcoming tables, the chef in front of her pass with two plated dishes beneath her, a new-menus board marked local ingredients, reservations and group events, and the restaurant’s own name on a plate at the foot.

SMS

How does opt-in restaurant text message marketing work?

The short answer

Consented text programs carry a restaurant's timely offers, updates, loyalty messages and foot-traffic stimulation, and the instruction for the channel is to keep messages short and timely. CTIA's messaging principles say messages should be sent only after the consumer has opted-in to receive them. MBI runs the program on that basis.

What the guidance calls for. The guidance is to use consented text programs for timely offers, updates, loyalty, and foot-traffic stimulation, and to keep messages short and timely.

CTIA's Messaging Principles and Best Practices §5.1.2 states that message senders should support opt-in mechanisms, and messages should be sent only after the consumer has opted-in to receive them; §5.1.2.2 states that a consumer opt-in should apply only to the campaign(s) and specific message sender for which it was intended or obtained.

CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices, May 2023, §§5.1.2, 5.1.2.2

CTIA §5.1.3 states that message senders should ensure consumers have the ability to opt-out of receiving messages at any time, should support multiple mechanisms of opt-out including phone call, email, or text, and should acknowledge and honor all opt-out requests by sending one final opt-out confirmation message per campaign.

CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices, May 2023, §5.1.3

CTIA §5.1.4 states that message senders should not use opt-in lists that have been rented, sold, or shared to send messages, and should create and vet their own opt-in lists.

CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices, May 2023, §5.1.4

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SMS

Offer thread: the restaurant here, reply YES for the neighborhood dinner offer, then the YES and the restaurant’s own reservation link.
Offer thread: the restaurant here, reply YES for the neighborhood dinner offer, then the YES and the restaurant’s own reservation link.

SMS

Menu-update thread: the restaurant here, want the next menu update or event invitation, reply YES and we’ll send the link, then the YES and the restaurant’s own events link.
Menu-update thread: the restaurant here, want the next menu update or event invitation, reply YES and we’ll send the link, then the YES and the restaurant’s own events link.

Where the opt-in applies

Seminars and events

Can restaurant event marketing promote a cooking class or a tasting?

The short answer

Yes, where the concept fits. Cooking classes and tastings are education-led restaurant events that can be promoted with event print collateral, and MBI produces that collateral. The qualifier travels with the answer: whether a class or a tasting suits the restaurant is the first question, and the printing follows it.

What the sources say, and the qualifier that travels with it. Cooking classes and tastings are education-led restaurant events that can be promoted with event print collateral, where the concept fits.

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Two events

Where the concept fits

Postcard · Direct Mail

Cooking-class postcard: pasta night, learn, make and taste, a hands-on cooking class and tasting under the restaurant’s own lockup, with a dated line beneath it and a reserve-your-seat block carrying the restaurant’s own class address.
Cooking-class postcard: pasta night, learn, make and taste, a hands-on cooking class and tasting under the restaurant’s own lockup, with a dated line beneath it and a reserve-your-seat block carrying the restaurant’s own class address.

Invitation · Seminars & Events

Tasting invitation: kitchen table tasting, learn, taste and stay awhile, under the restaurant’s own lockup, with new menus, cooking classes, group events and reservations as four marked rows and the restaurant’s own events address across the foot.
Tasting invitation: kitchen table tasting, learn, taste and stay awhile, under the restaurant’s own lockup, with new menus, cooking classes, group events and reservations as four marked rows and the restaurant’s own events address across the foot.

Printing

What else does a restaurant have printed besides the postcard?

The short answer

Ten formats sit behind a restaurant campaign: menus and inserts, table tents, signs, posters and banners, flyers, direct-mail postcards, door hangers, loyalty cards, labels and stickers, takeout menus and packaging, and catering brochures and rack cards. Commercial and variable-data printing is in-house, so one team produces all ten.

The print formats. §4 names ten print formats for a restaurant: menus and inserts, table tents, signs/posters/banners, flyers, direct-mail postcards, door hangers, loyalty cards, labels/stickers, takeout menus and packaging, and catering brochures/rack cards.

In house. MBI's printing capability is commercial and variable-data printing, in-house.

printing services direct mail marketing services local business marketing

One-sheet · Printing

Catering one-sheet: gathering options, great food and better company, under the restaurant’s own lockup, with private tables, catering and celebrations as three marked rows, a new-menus board beside them, and plan your next group event across the foot.
Catering one-sheet: gathering options, great food and better company, under the restaurant’s own lockup, with private tables, catering and celebrations as three marked rows, a new-menus board beside them, and plan your next group event across the foot.

Guide · Printing

Dining-event guide: plan your next table, under the restaurant’s own lockup, with local dining, reservations, new menus and group events listed beside it, gather, taste, share and return as four marked panels, and make it a night to remember above the restaurant’s own web address.
Dining-event guide: plan your next table, under the restaurant’s own lockup, with local dining, reservations, new menus and group events listed beside it, gather, taste, share and return as four marked panels, and make it a night to remember above the restaurant’s own web address.

Questions

Questions a restaurant asks before it mails

Searched for restaurant marketing agency, marketing for restaurants or restaurant advertising? Same work, same answers.

  1. What does a restaurant campaign from MBI cover?

    Three campaigns: a grand-opening or new-menu neighborhood direct-mail campaign, a local Meta awareness, reservation or delivery promotion, and a time-sensitive opt-in SMS offer, event or loyalty campaign. Cooking classes and tastings are promoted where the concept fits, and ten printed formats — from menus to catering rack cards — sit behind all of it.

  2. Which decisions move the cost of a restaurant postcard mailing?

    Producing a restaurant postcard and mailing it are the two costs every quote resolves to, and seven decisions move those two numbers — among them Quantity, Format and finished size, Paper and weight, and Postage, mail class, and sortation. A restaurant sees all seven at /capabilities/direct-mail/direct-mail-cost.

  3. Does a restaurant postcard still reach a diner who has moved?

    Only if the address is current. The Move Update standard requires each address in a mailing at commercial First-Class Mail presorted or automation prices, or USPS Marketing Mail prices, to be updated within 95 days before the mailing date; mail bearing an alternative address format is excepted. ACS and NCOALink are among the USPS-approved methods for a restaurant's neighborhood file.

  4. How big can a restaurant postcard be and still mail at card prices?

    A postcard claimed at commercial card prices must be no more than 6 inches high, no more than 9 inches long and no thicker than 0.016 inch. A restaurant's coupon postcard sits inside that. A card more than 4-1/4 inches high or 6 inches long must be at least 0.009 inch thick.

  5. What has to happen before a restaurant sends its first text?

    Message Senders should support opt-in mechanisms, CTIA's messaging principles say, and messages should be sent only after the consumer has opted-in to receive them; an opt-in should apply only to the campaign and message sender for which it was intended or obtained. A restaurant's offer, event and loyalty texts run on that basis.

  6. Which rules does Meta apply to a restaurant's offer ad?

    Meta's advertising standards say ads must not promote products, services, schemes or offers using identified deceptive or misleading practices, including those meant to scam people out of money or personal information, and that advertisers are responsible for understanding and complying with all applicable laws and regulations. A restaurant's delivery or reservation promotion is written to that.

  7. Who prints a restaurant's postcard, and who mails it?

    One company. MBI plans, produces, and delivers direct mail, print, digital campaigns, and seminar marketing from a single team in DeLand, Florida; data, print, and delivery have been in-house since 1989. Commercial and variable-data printing is in-house too, so the menus and the neighborhood postcard come from the same team.

  8. What does a restaurant print for a cooking class or tasting night?

    Event print collateral. Cooking classes and tastings are education-led restaurant events that can be promoted with it, and the pieces a restaurant campaign can use include table tents, signs, posters and banners, flyers, and catering brochures and rack cards. MBI produces them.

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Start a restaurant campaign.

Say which of the three campaigns it is, and the offer the card should carry. It goes to a real member of the MBI team, not a queue.

Who we reply toRestaurant and phone are optional

What you needOptional, in your own words

The grand-opening or new-menu neighborhood mail campaign, the local Facebook and Instagram awareness or delivery and reservation promotion, or the consented offer, event and loyalty texts — and whether a cooking class or a tasting fits the restaurant.

Your answers will be reviewed by a real member of our team, not dropped into an automated pricing tool.

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