“You don’t sell yourself. You are yourself.” With that statement, Mark Canlis, of the renowned Canlis restaurant, summed up his establishment’s marketing strategy. The Canlis brothers, Mark and Brian, spoke at February’s Puget Sound chapter of the American Marketing Association (PSAMA) lunch, covering their experiences in marketing, public relations, and brand management strategy.
The restaurant has a lengthy history in Seattle. The family-operated business was started by the brothers’ great-grandfather, who swam from Greece to Turkey during an economic downturn, walked to Cairo, and then started his career in hospitality at a hotel. His son, Peter Canlis, eventually journeyed to Hawaii, where he is credited with popularizing the famed Officer’s Club.
With the coinciding passage of a new Washington state law allowing liquor in restaurants, and a direct Hawaii-to-Seattle flight, Peter left for the “Emerald City” and started Canlis. The restaurant, taking advantage of the new legislation, became the first to serve liquor in the entire city. Peter is described as a visionary, who was committed to being the industry best.
Peter’s son, Chris, and his wife Alice, ran the restaurant for 30 years, and focused on fine tuning the hospitality side of the business. Now Chris and Alice’s sons – Mark and Brian – find themselves running a 61-year-old brand as young men. The two are attempting to combine the legacies of both their grandfather and father, attempting to be the industry best while still placing a high value on hospitality.
Canlis does not have a marketing team, a public relations firm, or a social media strategist. Mark and Brian are in charge of all publicity, and they have a limited marketing expense budget. The two do not look to traditional marketing strategies, but instead are focused on the following:
- Changing Perceptions. The duo believes that perception is reality. At the lunch, they requested that each table come up with an adjective to describe Canlis. Some of the descriptions offered were: excellent, elite, and hoity-toity. The brothers emphasized the importance of perception and explained that their job is to alter perceptions of the Canlis brand to fit their vision. They’re doing do this by changing the dining experience and communication around it.
- Establishing Canlis Values. The Canlis brothers came up with three values that represent their ideal business image: trustworthiness, generosity, and other-centricity. Other-centricity is the antithesis of self-centeredness. The values serve as a framework for decision making and brand building.
- Knowing What They Sell. People are not drawn to Canlis just for the food, but visit the restaurant in part for the experience. Canlis works to ensure that people’s experience is special and memorable. They want to create an irreplaceable evening for their guests.
- Hiring the Right People. Mark and Brian are extremely committed to their hiring process. From the valets to waitresses, the service staff at Canlis give the restaurant’s first impression to a consumer, and play an important role in their dining experience. The Canlis interview process is designed to get past surface level information by asking questions about how the interviewee’s goals align with Canlis’ values.
- Committing to Social Media. Despite claiming not to believe in marketing, the brothers are committed to social media. They compared social media to a grade school crush: if you want the cute girl in class to notice you, you need to study her and have something to offer her. This is what social media allows you to do with your consumer base. The brothers recently experimented with a Facebook campaign to gain votes for their head chef. The campaign was creative, and offered a secret prize to customers paying close enough attention, which leads to the brothers’ next point…
- Offering Rewards During Social Media Campaigns. Marketing is relational, and relationships are built on trust. One of the brand values established by Canlis is trustworthiness, and they integrate this into their social media campaigns by ensuring that their campaigns are always rewarding to their consumers. This type of streamlined thinking around brand values is exactly what Mark and Brian’s main point was:
- Aligning every aspect of your business with your values. Every campaign the restaurant engages in is based on their three established values: trustworthiness, generosity, and other-centricity. For example, the restaurant hosted a scavenger hunt that recently garnered media attention. The final challenge of the scavenger hunt required the community to unite and search for clues that would lead to an unknown “special prize.” All that was known about the prize was that, once found, it would need to be given away. The idea of giving away the prize aligned with Canlis’ values of being generous and focused on others, while the community-driven activity contributed to Canlis’ trustworthiness. The project did not just help achieve publicity for the restaurant, but continued to build their brand.
The Canlis brothers offered insight into the common challenges experienced in the public relations and marketing fields. They are responsible for an older brand, and need to find ways to negotiate keeping their brand current while maintaining and staying consistent with its historical reputation. Mark and Brian Canlis have found ways to be creative, efficient, and consistent with their marketing strategy—or lack thereof, according to them. Their advice boils down to one main point: determine your brand’s values, and streamline your thinking around them. For Canlis, this means centering the dining experience, and all communication around trustworthiness, generosity, and other-centricity.