Grand Central Hotel – the Poppy Project

Grand Central Hotel was opened in 1901, and is one of Brisbane’s oldest pubs.  The hotel underwent a $1 million refurbishment and in the lead up was concerned with the potential drop off in patronage.  With the disruption building works would bring, the business contracted KDPR to assist in bolstering its positioning and brand recognition and thereby stabilise its patronage and income stream. KDPR was retained to develop and implement a creative marketing communications strategy with the aim of increasing its community engagement and getting Brisbane’s residents to ‘love their local’.

Grand Central Hotel – the Poppy Project

KDPR Solution

KDPR developed a strategy with a cornerstone community engagement event to coincide with Anzac Day 2017; a series of media, stakeholder and influencer famils to introduce key people to the venue; and commissioned a local artist to activate the space and tie in the historical elements while acknowledging the modern twist of the newly-renovated hotel.

The cornerstone project was the Anzac Day Poppy Project – an attractive community engagement activation stunt created as the ‘hook’ to increase brand awareness while paying homage to the Anzacs and the strong ties the venue has with the Australian Defence Forces.  The campaign leveraged the location of the hotel to decide the nature of the stunt and involved a strong stakeholder engagement, media and social media campaign.

The Results

  • 30 percent increase in patronage
  • On time and within budget
  • 3 million + media reach
  • Secured Channel 7 and ABC TV news; The Sunday Mail; ABC online and radio nationally; MSN
  • Australia; The Weekend Edition
  • An increase of 11,333 % in organic social media reach for the month of April 2017 compared to April 2016.
  • 5 schools involved
  • More than 1,000 poppies made
  • Support by the Anzac Day Committee and RS&L
  • Poppies sent to France for services
  • Commitment to grow the event
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