Client: Cameron Mitchell Restaurants
$100 million dollar restaurant group comprised of ten dining concepts with 28 locations in seven states.

Visit: Cameron Mitchell Restaurants

Goal: Redesign and redevelop the existing corporate website, generate eleven new, individual websites devoted to each of the ten concepts (some with multiple locations) and the catering company.

Challenges: Maintain the corporate brand identity across the concept sites while allowing each concept’s identity to be reflected in the design, reconfigure the navigation to reduce clutter while maintaining easy access to most-visited content, launch several new websites without losing excellent, established search results.

Result: The corporate site still serves as a gateway to each of the now individual concept sites. As you travel from concept site to concept site, you'll see how the information and navigation structure communicates your arrival at a 'Cameron Mitchell Restaurant' concept site, but, the visual style is distinctly concept-driven in each instance. While we do not advocate music in home page Flash presentations, taken in the whole context of the group, we deferred to the client's request and believe it seems to work well here. If the visitor sets music preference to ‘off’, the music does not automatically start again upon the next visit.

Some fun, functional and funky features of the new sites are:

• Embedded Google mapping in the 'Hours & Location' section that pre-selects the 'end' address of the restaurant and allows the visitor to enter the 'start' point to retrieve door-to-door directions
• Integration with Open Table's online reservations system (complete rollout to all locations in 2007)
• AJAX used to display menus, event listings, recipes, chef tips so that jumping from page to page is eliminated
• New, very user-friendly and interactive photo galleries with more photography
• An upgraded, more interesting online invitation feature that allows visitors to build their own e-card invitation

The deep company information that has served their business-to-business channel well remains on the corporate site and continues to communicate the essence of the company to interested investors and developers who would like to see a Cameron Mitchell Restaurant as part of their tenant mix.

From a marketing perspective, the brand loyalty of the email recipient list has been amazing from 35 – 45% unique ‘opens’ on campaigns to the ability to sell-out $85/person wine dinners with targeted email blasts.

Online gift card sales increase exponentially each year. Unrealized ROI to be pursued in 2007 is related to in-site sponsorships and co-branded advertising. In Columbus, the birthplace of founder Cameron Mitchell and the group, these restaurants are considered crown jewels in an extremely competitive dining marketplace. We're very proud to be associated with this best of class restaurateur.

Rather than provide a link to each of the concept sites here, we recommend starting at www.CameronMitchell.com and taking the trip through the portfolio by using the corporate gateway as your selection point.