If your knowledge of Hamra street in Beirut derives from watching Homeland, you would probably be surprised to know that the number of pubs and party people in this street is quite high, even to New York standards. To stand out and to develop a competitive edge, many of those pubs have resorted to social media, where most local customers are found. In fact, there are 2,152,950 internet users in Lebanon, Almost half of the population. Of those online, 73% are found on Facebook. This explains why Bedivere Eatery & Tavern have been heavily present on this social media platform where their page has managed more than 5800 likes in less than a year since its creation in August 2012. With a new social media manager and more focus on quality content that reflects the ambiance of the pub and speaks to its customers, 20-40 year olds, the pub witnessed a lucky break in September 2013 when a picture of its placemat made it to the front page of Reddit. The placemat contained a promotion–henceforth Bedivere Policy–that offers customers a 10% discount if they leave their phones in Bedivere’s custody and socialize. The picture soon made it to Imgur where it was registered almost one million views. This led to coverage of the Bedivere Policy by three of the more established online magazines, BuzzFeed, Huffington Post, and Gawker. Consequently, more mainstream media, such as CNN, FoxNews, BBC, and Time, covered the story, which was given a comedic twist at The Ellen Show.
Bedivere Eatery & Pub soon afterwards disseminated the #BediverePolicy hashtag and launched an online campaign called Socially Forward! which featured witty slogans that encourage people to let go of their phones and ‘get extra’ social. This campaign led to a local event for Lebanese media, which duly covered the story. Ironically, the buzz created by Bedivere Policy that asks for less phone usage during outings has a positive effect on Bedivere’s Facebook Page whose reach more than quadrupled. The talk of town and Facebook, Bedivere’s management chose to extend their Socially Forward campaign to include more social policy.
Bedivere Eatery & Pub soon afterwards disseminated the #BediverePolicy hashtag and launched an online campaign called Socially Forward! which featured witty slogans that encourage people to let go of their phones and ‘get extra’ social. This campaign led to a local event for Lebanese media, which duly covered the story. Ironically, the buzz created by Bedivere Policy that asks for less phone usage during outings has a positive effect on Bedivere’s Facebook Page whose reach more than quadrupled. The talk of town and Facebook, Bedivere’s management chose to extend their Socially Forward campaign to include more social policy.
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