I’ve
started to think that it might be a good idea to write a sequel of sorts to Conversational Capital, to be called Be the Steak, not the Sizzle. The book
would be about the experiences I’ve had as marketing consultant to Lenny Lighter
of famed Montreal steakhouse Moishes for the last four years or so. After 75
years, Moishes has become an institution, named one of the top steakhouses in
the world by Forbes magazine, and frequented regularly by the biggest names in
politics, entertainment, business and sports.
Lenny
came to us after the publication of Conversational
Capital because he wondered why we had not written about Moishes (we had
written extensively about Schwartz’s, which is just a few doors down on boul.
Saint-Laurent.) Moishes was and still is extremely well known, and yet Lenny
recognized that his business was not performing at the level of his brand’s
reputation.
Bertrand
Cesvet and Eric Alper were busy conquering the world with Sid Lee, so it fell
to me to work with Lenny, which I was eager to do. I loved Moishes and
everything it stood for in the history and culture of Montreal. As we later put
it, “Moishes is Montreal.”
Lenny is a great client:
open-minded, realistic and adventurous.
We assessed his business in terms very similar to those we discussed in
C.C. It turned out Lenny didn’t have a communication problem – his product, Moishes
itself, needed some updating and refreshing.
Exactly how we did that
updating and refreshing would be the content of this book I’m contemplating. I’m
convinced that other businesses and individuals could learn something from our
experience. Moishes has managed to do what that few businesses can: after four
years, his brand is stronger than ever. In the words of Eater.com, who named
Moishes one of Montreal’s essential restaurants in 2014, Moishes has managed to
“preserve an icon whilst making it new all over again.”
Yes, we have leveraged
social media. But Moishes’ success really has been about concentrating on product. Lenny works very hard at
ensuring that the Moishes experience is consistently excellent and,
importantly, relevant to both the
core customers who have kept the restaurant going for decades, and the younger demographic who have
grown up in the age of Momofuko and Joe Beef. That’s meant re-examining
everything from his décor and menu to introducing new packaged goods at retail.
It’s created a great
reputation, and this wonderful example of branded content. In the clip above,
members of the Montreal Canadians team spontaneously mention Moishes as their
favourite steakhouse. It’s a great clip. However, the important thing is that
it was completely spontaneous. This happened organically, without any
interference or suggestion from Moishes at all. Full disclosure: I ate at
Moishes a few days ago, and Josh Gorges had been there not long before. He’s a
regular.
This is a warning to all
of us in the Marketing Communications trade. With the mass media age coming to
an end, we’re scrambling around to fill the vacuum with “branded content”
opportunities however and wherever we can. As a creative person, I am not
always comfortable with this – if you try to force associations between brands
and “content” (a word that manages to both insult artists and diminish art,) you run a
huge risk of coming off as phony. And believe me, that’s not good, especially
in a world where authenticity is becoming the true coin of the realm (more on
this in a later blog.)
This perfect and unsolicited
moment of branded content came about because someone along the line took great
pains to create and maintain an incredible product. That takes commitment, serious
effort, and deep thinking – all in very short order in the shallow world of
advertising from which creatures like myself spring.
If our industry is to
survive, thrive and remain relevant à la Moishes, we have to start thinking and
acting differently. Brilliant brand strategists can also be hit and run artists
– we come up with great ideas and let someone else sort out the mess. We need
to educate ourselves to follow through — think and act like people who make
great ideas come to life, and keep them alive for decades.
