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Brandtailers Roars Back as Restaurants Boost Ad Spend

Cheril Hendry, founder and chief executive of ad agency Brandtailers, has seen her now 32-year-old company hit an all-time high after two years of shifting strategies.

The full-service marketing firm reported record revenue of $6.4 million for 2021, almost three times more than the year prior. It ranked No. 19 on the Business Journal’s list of advertising agencies last month.

Newport Beach-based Brandtailers’ main clienteles come from the restaurant and hospitality industries, after spending earlier years specializing in the automotive market.

This strategy allows her staff of 20 to focus more time and energy on a portfolio of 12 accounts. She considered it a “brilliant” strategy until the pandemic hit. With desperate clients closing operations, the agency had to shift strategies accordingly.

“If we do this right, hopefully when we come out the other side, we’ll still have all the clients, their budgets will be bigger, and they’ll say, ‘how did we get through this without them?” Hendry told the Business Journal. And that’s exactly what happened.

Smart Ideas

Navigating the restaurant industry through the pandemic involved the team taking on unique ideas and campaigns catered to consumers’ quarantine environment and taking advantage of new industry trends.

Xperience Restaurant Group in Cypress was waiting for certain delivery regulations to clear concerning alcohol products for restaurants such as El Torito and Sol Mexican Cocina. One of Brandtailers’ digital strategists had searched key words regarding “margaritas-to-go” and Hendry saw an opportunity.

“Regulations passed and boom, we were out there, and it was insane.”

Xperience’s kitchens stayed open, and the take-home margaritas drove sales even more. Hendry attended the opening of Sol’s new Irvine location near John Wayne Airport last month.

“It’s not about how big the budget is but about how smart the idea is,” Hendry said.

“As we came out of [the lockdown], our clients’ budgets have come back, and so they’re spending more and expanding more,” Hendry said.

Online TV

The company also saw a boom in connected TV (CTV) advertising, or online television commercials. With increased budgets and the already available format, the agency brought many of its clients to television through streaming commercials, including regional brands that were not able to do so before.

Hendry noted that this avenue of advertising escalated during the pandemic, even faster than most expected. The company’s broadcast and social media services make up most of its business.

New projects continue to keep the firm busy, with five new accounts added during the pandemic.

This includes even newer concepts to advertise, such as the rise of ghost kitchens which hadn’t been marketed much before, according to Hendry. Irvine-based California Fish Grill introduced S’urge Sandwiches at various locations in 2021.

Getting closer to retirement, Hendry acknowledged that the agency could grow more after she left but would forge on with its smaller portfolio for now.

“Despite the struggles of the restaurant industry and the back-and-forth business, it really allowed us to show our talent and our commitment,” Hendry said. 

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