Restaurant & venue marketing
Restaurant Marketing To Fill Your Tables
Book more covers and sell out functions with hospitality marketing campaigns that drive direct reservations through SEO, social media and paid ads.
Trusted by 90+ hospitality brands across Australia and APAC.
Our campaigns
The three campaigns that fill a venue
Restaurants
Fill tables midweek
Reservation campaigns that fill the quiet nights from Monday to Thursday, so the weekend is not carrying the whole week.
What we run
- Meta & Google Ads
- Reservation platform funnels
- Local SEO
Functions & private dining
Sell private dining & functions
Lead campaigns for private rooms, corporate dining and group bookings that land enquiries straight in your events inbox.
What we run
- Enquiry landing pages
- Retargeting past guests
- Corporate audience targeting
Events & specials
Sell out events & specials
Ticketed nights, seasonal menus and weekly specials promoted to the guests most likely to book.
What we run
- Paid social for events
- Email & SMS to your database
- Ticketing & landing pages
What we run for venues
Every campaign tied to a venue metric
Covers
Meta & Google Ads
Paid campaigns built around reservations, with spend weighted to the nights you need to fill.
Direct bookings
Reservation platform funnels
Conversion tracking through SevenRooms, OpenTable and ResDiary, so every campaign reports on bookings, not clicks.
Discovery
Local SEO & AI visibility
Google Business Profile, local search and AI discovery optimisation so diners find you when they search for where to eat.
Repeat visits
Email & guest retention
Segmented guest database campaigns that bring regulars back and turn first visits into second ones.
Group revenue
Functions & group bookings
Enquiry campaigns for private dining, functions and events, with fast follow up built in.
Conversion rate
Website & booking flow
Venue websites and landing pages built to move guests from browsing to booking in as few steps as possible.
Functions & group bookings
Private dining & group bookings
We fill private rooms, long tables and function spaces with campaigns aimed at the people who book them: corporate EAs, event planners and celebration hosts.
Every enquiry is tracked from the ad to your events inbox, so you know which campaigns are producing group revenue.
What we run
Events & activations
Ticketed events & activations
Long lunches, live music, degustation nights and holiday activations each need a campaign built around your events calendar rather than a last minute post.
We plan the launch, build the landing page and push ticket sales through paid social, email and SMS right up to the night.
What we run
Case studies Campaign playbooks
Campaigns we run for venues
Regional winery restaurant Playbook
1,000+
Dining reservations
What we run
Opening campaign across Facebook, Instagram and Google Ads.
What we measure
More than 1,000 bookings and 200 event enquiries in three weeks, establishing the venue as a destination for dining and celebrations.
Neighbourhood restaurant Playbook
Midweek covers
Goal: fill Monday to Thursday
What we run
Meta and Google reservation campaigns weighted to the quiet nights, tracked through the booking platform.
What we measure
Covers booked by night, cost per booking and spend by channel, reported monthly.
Ticketed dining event Playbook
Tickets sold
Goal: sell out before the night
What we run
A four week launch across paid social, email and SMS to the venue database, with a dedicated event landing page.
What we measure
Ticket sales by channel and day, cost per ticket and new database sign ups.
Private dining room Playbook
Function enquiries
Goal: fill the private room
What we run
Enquiry campaigns aimed at corporate EAs and celebration hosts, with a private dining landing page and fast follow up.
What we measure
Qualified enquiries, confirmed bookings and function revenue by campaign.
Waterfront venue Playbook
Local discovery
Goal: be found first when locals search
What we run
Local SEO, Google Business Profile optimisation and AI discovery optimisation.
What we measure
Map views, direction requests, calls and bookings that come from search.
Multi venue group Playbook
Repeat visits
Goal: bring first time guests back
What we run
Email and SMS retention journeys across the group, triggered by booking and visit data.
What we measure
Return visit rate, database growth and bookings from each journey.
Clients we work with
Trusted by 90+ hospitality brands across Australia
Hotels, restaurants, pubs and function venues, backed by 20+ years of hospitality marketing experience.
How we work From our director
Every campaign we run for a venue is judged on covers, bookings and enquiries. If it is not putting guests in seats, we change it.
Sam McKnoulty
Co-Director, Merge Marketing
Platforms we work in
We work inside the
systems your venue runs on
SevenRooms
Reservation data, guest profiles and campaign attribution.
OpenTable
Booking widgets and conversion tracking on every campaign.
ResDiary
Reservation tracking and deposits for functions and events.
POS & loyalty Optional
Spend per head and repeat visit data to guide campaign decisions.
GA4 & conversion tracking
Every booking and enquiry tracked back to the campaign that drove it.
Meta & Google Ads
Campaigns built and managed in your own ad accounts, so you keep the data.
Why venues call us
The four problems costing you covers,
and what we do about them
Quiet midweek service
Tuesday and Wednesday nights carry the same fixed costs as Saturday with half the covers.
Our answer
Midweek reservation campaigns
Paid social and search weighted to the nights you need, with offers that protect your margin.
Walk in dependence
Relying on foot traffic makes revenue hard to forecast and staff hard to roster.
Our answer
Reservation platform funnels
Campaigns that push guests to book ahead through your reservation platform, tracked to the booking.
Third party commissions
Delivery and booking apps take a cut of every order and own the guest relationship.
Our answer
Direct booking campaigns
Campaigns that move guests to your own booking and ordering channels, so you keep the margin and the data.
One time diners
Guests visit once and never hear from you again.
Our answer
Database & email marketing
Email and SMS journeys that turn first visits into regular bookings.
Not sure which of these is costing you the most? We will show you in a free audit.
How it works 4 steps
From first call to campaigns live
01
Free audit
We review your website, booking flow, ads and search presence and show you where bookings are leaking.
02
Strategy & packages
You get a campaign plan and package pricing matched to your venue, goals and budget.
03
Build & launch
We build the campaigns, landing pages and tracking, then take everything live.
04
Optimise & report
Monthly reporting on covers, bookings and enquiries, with spend moved to what is working.
Questions Before you book a call
Before you enquire
It depends on your venue, location and budget. Paid campaigns usually start producing bookings within the first few weeks, and we refine spend each month based on what is converting.
Yes. We work with SevenRooms, OpenTable, ResDiary and most other major platforms, and set up tracking so campaigns report on actual bookings.
Not to get started. POS data helps us connect campaigns to spend per head and repeat visits, but we can launch with booking data alone.
We use conversion tracking through your reservation platform, GA4 and ad platform pixels, so each booking links back to the campaign and channel that drove it.
We recommend a spend based on your venue and goals, and you will see a clear figure in your proposal before anything starts.
Yes. We manage campaigns for single venues and multi venue groups, with reporting by venue and across the group.
Still have questions about your venue?