Case 13 The Bleeding Heart Restaurant: Unique Positioning of a Restaurant

The Bleeding Heart Restaurant and Bistro has been a favorite with Londoners (UK) for 30 years. The perennially popular restaurant and Bistro was started in 1983 by Robert and Robyn Wilson, two former journalists, as a tiny basement wine bar in a deserted and derelict cellar that had once been the warehouse of a Victorian clock manufacturer. Despite warnings from fellow members of Londons wine trade that a bar so hidden could never succeed, the Bleeding Heart prospered from the start. Today, it serves over a thousand guests per day. History Bleeding Heart Yard The long-established and extremely popular Bleeding Heart restaurant offers superb French food in historical surroundings. The restaurant takes its name from the yard where it is located, which, according to the history books, was named after an eleventh-century beauty, Lady Elizabeth Hatton, who was found murdered there. The Legend Lady Elizabeth Hatton was the toast of eleventh-century London society. The widowed daughter-in-law of the famous merchant Sir Christopher Hatton (one-time consort of Queen Elizabeth I), Lady Elizabeth was young, beautiful, and very wealthy. Her suitors were many and varied, and they included a leading London bishop and a prominent European ambassador. Invitations to her soirees in Hatton Garden were much sought after.Her annual Winter Ball, on January 26, 1626, was one of the highlights of the London social season. Halfway through the evenings festivities, the doors to Lady Hattons grand ballroom were flung open. In strode a swarthy gentleman, slightly hunched of shoulder, with a clawed right hand. He took her by the hand, danced her once around the room and out through the double doors into the garden. A buzz of gossip arose. Would Lady Elizabeth and the European ambassador (for it was he) kiss and make up, or would she return alone? Neither was to be. The next morning her body was found in the cobblestone courtyardtorn limb from limb, with her heart still pumping blood onto the cobblestones. And from henceforth, the yard was to be known as the Bleeding Heart Yard.Charles Dickens and the Bleeding Heart *Reprinted by permission from Catherine Fredman. Charles Dickens knew Bleeding Heart well. In Little Dorrit he wrote of folks in the yard, saying, The more practical of the Yards inmates abided by the tradition of the murder. But he went on to document another Bleeding Heart story: The gentler and more imaginative inhabitants, including the whole of the tender sex, were loyal to the legend of a young lady imprisoned in her own chamber by a cruel father for remaining true to her own true loverbut it was objected to by the murderous party that this was the invention of a spinster and romantic, still lodging in the Yard. Today, the Bleeding Heart has grown well beyond that tiny basement wine bar but has preserved and enhanced the architectural, cultural, and historic value of its unique location while serving a multisegment market. The Tavern has guarded the entrance to the Bleeding Heart Yard since 1746 with a history of conviviality encapsulated in its then boast of drunk for a penny and dead drunk for two pence. Today, the Tavern offers a traditional neighborhood bar with real ale and a light lunchtime menu for those pressed for time. Downstairs the Tavern Dining Room with its jolly farmyard illustrations features an open rotisserie and grill and provides a warm and comforting setting in which to enjoy free-range organic British meat, game, and poultry along with an excellent-value wine list. The Tavern is also open for breakfast, with freshly squeezed orange juice, home-baked croissants, and The Full English with tasty Suffolk Bacon. In the early days, the Bleeding Hearts proximity to the headquarters of many of the national dailiesThe Times, The Mirror, and The Guardiancoupled with the media connections (and the medias partiality to a decent bottle of wine) meant that from its inception the wine bar attracted a number of leading journalists and, in their wake, the public relations industry. The Barristers Chambers of Grays Inn were also but a corkscrews throw away, and the Bleeding Heart became a popular lunch spot for this learned group to discuss their briefs over a decent bottle of claret and a platter of charcuterie or cheese. The increasingly upscale clientele began to demand a more sophisticated menu than the simple wine bar fare originally offered. In response, the bar expanded its horizons into an adjoining basement and its kitchens to include a white tablecloth restaurant with more sophisticated, although still classically French, cuisine. From that 40-seat bar, the Bleeding Heart expanded, above and around the ancient cobblestoned courtyard to encompass a formal fine-dining restaurant seating 160 with a 30-seat terrace, a 60-seat bistro with its own 40-seat terrace, a 70-seat tavern and bar, and two private dining rooms: the Parlor and the Wine Cellar. Adjoining Bleeding Heart Yard in Ely Place is the stunning medieval function room, the Crypt, and its intimate Crypt Caf. The twelfth-century crypt, which seats 120, was the venue for the celebration following the wedding of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. On opening day, the Wilsons deployed two French waitresses to hand out How to Find Us maps at the local underground station (subway). There was no advertising because there was no budget. As a launch tool, the leaflets were not an instant success; on that first day the restaurant earned only 39.37. However, within a week, word started to spread and turnover tripled. The week-long distribution of those leaflets was Bleeding Hearts only external promotion ever did. Word of mouth was relied on to reach the right sort of customer. It worked, building a loyal and homogeneous clientele who believe that they have, by finding the tucked-away little Yard and the bustling bistro beneath it, made a personal discovery. The restaurant was a best kept secret, a secret that, fortunately, lots of people were in on. The Unique Selling Proposition (USP) was their unique location. Shortly after opening, Bleeding Heart was described by a New York reviewer as bleeding hard to find but worth it. A London cab driver commented to a lost diner that the reason it was called Bleeding Heart was that it was Bleeding Hard to find. Robert and Robyn used the mantra that you had to discover Bleeding Heart rather than read an advertisement about it. They also worked hard building a database of regular customers, mainly by running monthly prize drawings to garner business cards, which, in those pre-e-mail days, had postal addresses and telephone numbers. It was a labor-intensive task, but they built a customer base of some 5,000 with a shorter list of 500 of those with a special interest in wine. To the short list they promoted their regular wine and food evenings and any wine-related events such as the New Beaujolais Breakfast. Magnum Night was launched offering a special half-price deal on Friday evenings (the quietest night) for magnums of champagne. The Seagram Company had discovered a large stock of magnums of Heidsieck champagne in Ireland, which they were keen to offload at a very attractive price. Despite the fact there was no promotion, Magnum Night became a rapid and astonishingly successful draw card. The hours it was available were cut from 5:30 until 7:00 P.M. only to discover that queues were forming in the yard. On one occasion, a journalist from the BBC phoned offering to pay in advance by credit card lest he should miss the 7:00 P.M. cutoff. However, there was a downside to this promotion. Regular evening diners (long-term bread-and-butter customers) couldnt get in the door past the queues of Johnny-come-lately champagne quaffers, and with much regret, especially from the champagne drinkers; the promotion was stopped after a year. In its place the Magnum Club was created based on the premise that wine tastes better in bigger bottles. Regular customers were invited to join. Initially members were offered a discount on champagne. Then the offer expanded to include invitations to wine tastings and wine making dinners. The Club is still going strong and membership is free but by invitation only, and it is much sought after. Today, the Wilsons still do no advertising for Bleeding Heart Restaurant, Bistro, or Tavern, but they have begun carefully targeted promotions for special functions in special publications aimed at the corporate event market and the wedding sector. These are always tied to associated editorial features. Talking to regular customers has become much easier with e-mail, but the Wilsons are hypercautious about invading their e-space. Mailings are used only for major events such as the summer opening of the outdoor terrace when regular customers are given a complimentary glass of ros wine to celebrate the sunshine. The Wilsons believe that keeping a low profile has worked in an increasingly crowded marketplace. In 2008, despite the economic slowdown in the financial sector, turnover was still increasing. During this difficult economic period, the London Evening Standard newspaper wrote a feature about restaurants feeling the pinch of the recession. Bleeding Heart was one of the few restaurants to be lauded as fully booked. The restaurant received a number of favorable comments from both local and international media. The media praised the food, service, and ambiance of the restaurant. This media was more effective than any advertising the restaurant could place, as potential guests viewed it as a credible source of information. Thus, the press coverage proved to be a major factor in driving business to the restaurant. During its first six months, the tiny wine bar/bistro was voted one of Londons Top Ten Wine Bars by Time Out magazine and has continued to win plaudits from national and international press ever since, including Londons most romantic restaurant from The Times, Best Venue in Europe from the Guardian, and Best Private Dining. The Zagat Guide put it in the top three restaurants in London for a business lunch. Hardens, the most authoritative London restaurant guide, and Square Meal, the city of Londons eating-out bible, both rate it number one for business. Since its inception, Bleeding Heart has always been known for its extensive and well-priced wine list. The Wilsons have been frequent winners of an annual Award of Excellence for One of the Best Wine Lists in the World from Wine Spectator magazine.

Questions:

Explain the elements of the promotional mix that the Bleeding Heart Restaurant used.

Why do you think the Bleeding Heart was so successful with such a small budget for promotion?

If you were hired as a public relations firm for the Bleeding Heart, how would you plan its public relations campaign?

There are a number of favorable mentions in popular media about the restaurant. How do you think it was able to get these mentions in the media?