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Monday 4 April 2011

Final Blog Post: Agency Pitch Campaign Analysis Blog Post (Section E)



Task Ei:

Google Rankings: 


Traffic:


The images above show the traffic to the blog site was minimal but has increased dramatically over the last few months due to constant reviews resulting in a higher exposure from referring sites and organic search results. 

Referrals: 


Our top referrals came from Twitter and Facebook. Social media was more effective than Google, which met our original objective. 

Target Segment:






Our target segment was focused around the NW region of the UK. The map above shows this has been a success.

Task Eii:

Collaborating with the Deansgate community has witnessed an increase in ‘followers.' Facebook and Twitter accounts have promoted the blog, providing links to the blog site. The widgets for these accounts also provided relevant call to actions to encourage a better user experience. At the start, interaction with Facebook users was with the tagging of photos, however, a lack of comments and a friend page rather than a ‘Like’ page meant minimal interaction with users. 

We created a 'LinkedIn' account which was not managed and became dormant. It did not suit our target audience, however, it did send 6 referrals to the blog. 

We utilised a GumTree advert and could have done more of these, however referral traffic was minimal, therefore was not a useful tool. 

More recently, Digital Deansgate has collaborated with other blog sites similar to to us to help increase exposure, which can be seen in the image above. However, this was only incorporated recently so may have been greatly effective. Also, they are our competitors which would have resulted in higher competition for Google rankings. 






Task Eiii:

1.     We should have used Tumbler as a blog site. 

Pro: You are able to link Twitter feeds to the blog site more effectively.
Con: You need to follow the Tumblr blog for two weeks before you are able to leave a comment 

2.     Set goals up and analytics in order to measure our performance. 

Pro: Allows the blog to become measurable against objectives.
Con: Goals may be misleading, e.g. if the objective is to 'increase length of time on blog page' this will not account for tab's left open.

3.     Easier Navigation sections on the blog, by dividing it into restaurant review 
or specific locations.


Pro: Easy to monitor ‘clicks’ with Google Analytics, and increase usability of blog.
Con: People may not notice the call to action within the navigation sections. 


Students Names: 

Tim Grimes - 07203868 

Jack Finlay - 07221455

Alanna Ashton - 07347041

Michelle Lee - 07188604

Elena Williams - 07297523




Sunday 27 February 2011

What a Room!


Room Restaurant & Cocktail Bar, King Street, Manchester. 
 
As you walk up the stairs to the bar and restaurant you have an idea about what a spectacular building it is going to be. Housed in the old Liberal Party headquarters, the architecture is stunning and impressive. As you walk up the stairs and into the bar, you notice the restaurant situated behind it. The restaurant is divided into two by a long partition with tables with side. 

We arrived at 7.30pm and grabbed a few cocktails. We had a few long island iced tea, which were perfect. Along with these I ordered a ‘Room G&T’ which consisted of gin, red grapes, sage, lemon juice, splash of tonic. At first I was very sceptical about this as I am an avid gin and tonic drinker! However it was a refreshing twist on the normal G&T, and would highly recommend this to anyone. At £7.50 each, there are expensive but if you get there during ‘happy hour’ I believe you can get two for one. 

The room menu is based on classic retro dishes produced with a contemporary twist. When ordering the food they asked had we ordered this before due to there ‘own’ take on certain classic dishes. For starter, we had the fishcakes (£6.00), which came with cured salmon, and pickled golden beets. They were simply fantastic and perfect portion size. The kedgeree (£6.50) was also ordered which came with curried smoked haddock, and quail’s egg on top. I was told it was delightful, however the quail’s egg on top might not be to everyone’s taste! For main’s the Duck a l’orange (£17.00) was lovely, and presentation was outstanding. However I would recommend ordering a side to accompany this dish. My companion ordered the fish pie (£15.50), which definitely took the ‘retro dishes produced with a contemporary twist’ to a new level. It came with the components separately, with the Wester Ross Salmon, mash potato being divided into their own sections onto the plate. This may not be to everyone’s taste but we simply loved it. To supplement our meal we had a bottle of the ‘Hazy View Chenin Blanc (£18.00) which was South African, which was definitely witty & well groomed as the menu described. The wine list ranges from £13.75 a bottle to a more priced £120. 
 
Overall I would highly recommend Room to anyone. The stunning food and setting make it perfect for a date or even a large group of friends. Although it may be considered expensive, if you have a High Life Diners card (http://www.hi-life.co.uk) you can get 2 for 1 meal, which makes it much more affordable.

Hope you enjoy and have one for the dmcm team!

For more information on Room Manchester visit their website: http://www.roomrestaurants.com

Monday 21 February 2011

Pesto – An Italian with a Spanish twist

Pesto on Deansgate, Manchester
Pesto is a small Italian food chain with only three restaurants located in the North West of England, one of which is along Deansgate situated just next to Bridge Street. 
The first thing that I noticed walking into Pesto was how busy it was, we had a table booked for 8.30 and were shown to the crowded bar with no free seats, 30 minutes later we were shown to our seats.  After the fiasco of being shown to our seats we were politely told the process of ordering our food, which was very similar to that of La Tasca, around 3 to 4 dishes per person.  Due to our wait we were offered a complementary portion of breads and vinegars to enjoy while we waited for our food after we had ordered.    Our food arrived promptly and we tucked into a Asparagus con parmigiano (pan fried asparagus with parmesan), Insalata Caesar (Caesar salad), Pizzetta pepperoni, Salsiccia peperonata (a spicy Italian sausage with sautéed peppers and new potatoes), Ali di pollo al formo (Tuscan style chicken wings) and a Fettuccine alla carbonara (Fettuccini tossed on Pesto’s carbonna sauce with pancetta and parmesan).  I have to say that after the food arrived we had forgotten about how busy the restaurant was and the problems with waiting for our table at the over crowded bar, the food was amazing.
To top that there was a buzz within the restaurant as more tables received their food that wasn’t obvious before, but it created a great dining experience and somewhere that I will definitely going back too soon. 
Now as I am sure many of you are waiting for, the price.  This can be a touchy issue, especially for students, but I found it to be very reasonable.  All together the food with wine, for two people dining came to under £50, to me, not a bad price at all.  The only way Pesto let me down was the waiting at the bar for 30 minutes while we had to wait for a table that we had booked before the evening, other than that I could not fault the food or service and as a result I am giving Pesto a very respectable 4 out of 5.

Don't forget to let the dmcm team know your experience at Pesto!

115 Deansgate,
Manchester
M3 2NW

La Tasca – A little bit tapas

Just as the majority of other high streets in the UK there are many food chains, and Deansgate is no exception. 

La Tasca on Deasgate, Manchester

As soon as you walk in to La Tasca you a struck with a friendly atmosphere, walls covered with Spanish memorabilia such as paella dishes and Spanish bulls.  As soon as we walked in and made our way to the bar we were seated immediately by a polite waitress who offered to explain the process of ordering within La Tasca.  Unlike other restaurants you do not order just one dish, instead you are expected to order three to four dishes per person.  At first I found this strange, I had never ordered more than one dish, but as I witnessed other diner’s food being delivered to tables it became apparent.  Each little dish is a taster for a traditional meal.  While we were there my girlfriend and I decided to ordered a paella, chorizo sausage, potatas bravas, Pescado Blanco Frito (a battered white fish with garlic mayo and lemon), Allitas de Pollo (Chicken wings in a BBQ chilli glaze) and Albodigas A la Jardinera (beef & pork meatballs in a tomato sauce).  When the food came to our table it was quick and if I am being completely honest was very average.  I was expecting to be wowed by the food that came out, but instead was left thinking that I could make the majority of these dishes at home and still receive the same taste, if not more to my liking.  That being said it was a novel way to eat a meal and as a result became a much more sociable meal than was expected due to the sharing part.
 As all readers may know, Spain is famous for its Sangria.  La Tasca offer a variety of different Sangira’s from the standard to Sangria made with champagne.  As you may have guessed we opted for the standard Sangria which was served to us in a jug mixed with fruit and ice which gave for a very refreshing drink and was the first Sangria that I have actually enjoyed drinking.
To add to this refreshing drink was the refreshing price for the meal, not taking into account drinks, it was £12 for two using their lunch menu offer which is available Monday – Friday.  With a maximum rating of 5 on offer I would have to give La Tasca on Deansgate a 3 due to the average food, other than that it was a hugely enjoyable experience.  

Let the dmcm guys know your views on La Tasca!
76 Deansgate
ManchesterM3 2FW

Wednesday 16 February 2011

Rio Ferdinand’s Taste Sensation Rosso Restaurant….. ….. The Home of Footballers and Celebrities


Residents of Manchester (especially Manchester United fans) are all aware of the Footballer legend Rio Ferdinand’s restaurant, Rosso. The restaurant is housed in a 114 year old; Grade II listed building and certainly is remarkably decorated inside. Rosso was awarded “Manchester Restaurant of the Year”, so it was only natural for me to return to Rosso and bring my two “Rosso Virgins” with me to show them what the hype is all about! 

As soon as we walked into Rosso, the service was remarkable and we were made very welcome. Deciding on what eat was the tricky part, as all the food sounded delicious, so it was decided over a bottle of house white wine (which I have to admit was one of the nicest tasting wines I have had in while)! After contemplating for half hour on what to eat, me and a friend decided on the Tagliatelle Amalfi (pasta ribbons with fried onions, marinated king prawns, garlic, chilli, parsley and basil in tomato sauce), whilst my other friend had Penne Stagioni (Penne pasta with fresh broccoli, asparagus, basil, courgette, onions, tomato and a touch of cream). I can tell you now; we did not regret either of these choices and were quite sad whilst taking our last bite! All portions were reasonably sized to fulfil our taste buds and it went down an absolute treat! Before our main course, we were been a tad curious and saw a table with an immense starter, so asked one of the waiters what it was. Best decision we made! A very thin and light pizza base with half tomato and garlic, the other half cheese (we couldn’t decide so the waiter said he’ll do it half and half….not going to complain)!! I highly recommend both the starter and the main. The restaurant is reasonably priced to coincide with the high quality of food, and being a student, we all spent £20 each, which included the starter, main, wine and a tip! Not bad at all I say! Live entertainments from singers are on from Sunday to Thursday to keep the mood of the night flowing, which kept us relaxed and in spirit.

Rosso is always packed with familiar faces from the Coronation Street cast, to Hollywood stars such as Elle Macpherson, JLS and more recently……wait for it because you may get that sick feeling in your stomach….. the one and only David Beckham visited the restaurant on the 11th February! Unfortunately he wasn’t there when I went, but I’m sure there is still time!

Next time you visit Manchester, I highly recommend you take a trip to Rosso Restaurant for a high standard meal and see who else might be joining you! I certainly cannot wait for my next visit!

Enjoy, from the dmcm team! 

Rosso Restaurant,
43 Spring Gardens,
Manchester, M2 2BG

Phone: 0161 832 1400