Dave & Buster’s
Dave & Buster’s, a national entertainment and restaurant chain, sought attention for its first Florida Panhandle location grand opening. Axia developed a PR strategy to generate local media coverage and attract attention for the grand opening. Through these efforts, the Panama City Beach restaurant grossed the second-highest opening-day sales in Dave & Buster’s 31-year history and led to thousands of RSVPs for the VIP grand opening events.
The business challenge
Dave & Buster’s, an iconic entertainment and sports restaurant chain, wanted to generate excitement for the opening of its first location in the Florida Panhandle. Located in Panama City Beach, the new 40,000-square-foot, full-service restaurant, bar, and video arcade at Pier Park marked Dave & Buster’s first entry into the highly competitive and mercurial tourist market.
- Alex Purdy, Dave & Buster’s
The solution
Axia, the public relations agency, developed a PR plan to generate local media coverage, activated an ambassador program and street team, engaged the community, and built awareness for Dave & Buster’s grand opening festivities.
The outreach efforts included creating a media kit, drafting and distributing news releases, and developing the invitation lists for two pre-opening parties: a media day and a VIP grand opening party. Prominent individuals from local community groups, the mayor’s office, state legislators, sports figures, and strategic influencers were invited to the VIP grand opening party.
The results
The campaign positioned Dave & Buster’s as the ultimate place to eat, drink, and play – all under one roof. This campaign was the family entertainment center's:
- Second-highest opening-day sales in its 31-year history
- Highest opening-day sales on a Monday
- Highest turnouts for an opening-day event attracting more than 1,000 media and VIP guests
Photos from the event...
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To learn how we can help your family entertainment center, restaurant and food & beverage company achieve similar results, contact us today at 888-PR-FIRM-8 (888-773-4768).
This restaurant grand opening PR campaign and media relations campaign earned PR award recognition, including a PRestige award from PRSA and three Image Awards from the Florida Public Relations Association.
See related case study: PR firm helps Dave and Buster’s reactivate its customer base
