Big Mamma: the recipe for successful communication on the Internet social media

"Buongiorno!", "Buena sera!" it's with a chorus that every trattoria opens its service, always in front of a long queue of patient customers. Big Mamma has fulfilled and replicated every restaurateur's dream: to fill their dining room at every service. Well, its establishments, since the group now has 14 of them, and has just announced the launch of Napoli Gang, its new delivery service, on July 10.

East Mamma, Ober Mamma, Mamma Primi, Biglove Caffè, Pizzeria Popolare, Pink Mamma, La Felicità, Libertino, No Entry, Popolare, La Bellezza in Lille, Carmelo in Lyon, and Gloria and Circolo Popolare in London ... every Big Mamma establishment is fully booked almost every night. The secret to their success? Excellent products, tasty cuisine, friendly staff, pleasant restaurants with real cachet and an effective strategy on social media.

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Ingredient no. 1: Effective storytelling with visuals that show what goes on behind the scenes in Italy.

The promise of a meal in one of Big Mamma's restaurants is to travel to Italy. As soon as you enter the restaurant, the lilting accents of the waiters, the smell of the kitchens and the menu announce this journey. But to convince customers to wait and then walk through the restaurant door, the founders start the Italian experience before on visit social mediaBig Mamma's primary strength is toserve products imported exclusively from small Italian producers, all cooked in-house by Italian chefs. And you know this even before you taste their dishes: on the website website, you'll be greeted by a behind-the-scenes video of how the mozzarella is sourced directly from the small Italian producer. social media, the video of one of the company's chefs making homemade gnocchi during confinement reinforces the authenticity of the Big Mamma experience. The video has been viewed over 100,000 times on Instagram!

The trip to Italy continues with the friendly squadra :

Ingredient n°2: Offbeat communication around the squadra - the Italian team, atypical and sympathetic

Wide smiles, lilting accents and Italian hospitality - that's how every customer is greeted by the Big Mamma staff. Of the 300 employees, 280 are Italian. The members of the squadra (average age: 25) are charming assets, not only for enhancing the Big Mamma experience, but also for communicating effectively. They are the subject of numerous engaging portraits and funny videos broadcast on social media. For the opening of La Bellezza in Lille, for example, the Italian team was invited to rehearse Ch'ti expressions in their own accents, and to taste Maroilles, the famous cheese of the Nord region... The result: the video has been viewed more than 30,000 times on Instagram, making people smile and reinforcing their sympathy for the squadra.

The Italian side of the staff is regularly highlighted on social media. On Facebook, a French " lesson " was filmed and shared to make people smile and see the members of the squadra as the friendly buddies they'd like to have.

They are funny, light-hearted, and speak out at opportune moments: for Mother's Day, they celebrated their mamma with humor on the group's social media :

The squadra is also in the spotlight - as a merry band of friends - to announce the opening of Carmelo's in Lyon!

Ingredient no. 3: Express yourself on the brand's accounts in a funny, light-hearted tone "con molto amore".

The group's communication is handled with great finesse and humor, both in the restaurant and on social media. An easy way to strengthen the bond with their customers!

On the Bellezza menu, we smile at the "Broco Sifredi" or the "Tell me truffe":

Ingredient no. 4: Create a link with your audience, share news and engage them with every publication.

The tone on social media is funny and warm, as if every customer or subscriber were a member of the Big Mamma team. The squadra addresses its "beach boys", "friends", or "Bee Gees" to announce a new menu, an opening or to launch a contest:

On Facebook, Big Mamma has an audience of 33,000. On Instagram, the brand has 242,000 followers! To attract such a large following, the group applies a fairly classic strategy: subscribers are often invited to tag a "good buddy" with whom they'd like to share a Big Mamma feast. Mind you, there's no contest, just an invitation to comment on the publication:

News from the now-famous Big Mamma Group is also shared on social media. For example, while reassuring people about hygiene and safety, Big Mamma informs its community about the click-and-collect launch of some of its establishments... And, of course, it does so by promoting the team and using a quirky tone.

Ingredient no. 5: Quality content generated by customers and distributed on networks

The decor of the restaurant, the table, the crockery, the famous pasta pans, all have their own Big Mamma cachet. A photo taken in one of the trattorias is instantly recognizable.

The difficulty of obtaining a table - which is partly explained by the fact that most establishments don't take reservations - reinforces this fashion effect and encourages customers to photograph themselves or their plates in one of the trattorias and share on their social media. On Instagram, there are over 50,000 mentions of Big Mamma Group establishments, double the number of #BigFernand mentions, for example.

Ingredient no. 6: High-profile openings and sustained buzz thanks to influencers

Food and lifestyle influencers continue to flock to Big Mamma's establishments and share their particularly Instagrammable photos (thanks to the visual identity, the beautiful crockery, and the always gourmet tables). The "most influential" influencers are invited to share their experiences on social media. Smaller "influencers" can simply get a table by reservation (establishments refuse reservations), but must pay their own bill. The power of the Big Mamma brand is such that it is able to attract influencers almost naturally.A month before the London opening (February 22, 2019) the French Instagram account announced the news with a short video (16,000 views) and launched a competition to win a weekend in London. This game, one of the conditions of which was to follow the bigmamma.uk account, helped build an initial community base for the account, which in 3 months surpassed 20,000 subscribers. Today, 64,700 people follow the account!

Ingredient no. 7: Consistent global communications but local adaptation

For all its French establishments, Big Mamma expresses itself on Instagram with a single account. For the first opening in London, a new account was created: still the same 6 ingredients, but now oscillating between English and Italian on content. Local adaptation goes even further: if in Paris the group is known (and sometimes hated) for not taking reservations, it had to adapt to Lille practices and London competition to ensure success. So you can book at the service of your choice at La Bellezza (Lille). In London, where the group is certainly less well known, you can book from Sunday to Thursday for dinner, for breakfast during the week and for brunch at the weekend.

Ingredient #8: Diversification, the key to success

The chain had to adapt to the constraints of the Covid-19 crisis. At the end of April, Big Mamma began testing click and collect, followed by delivery in its various restaurants. Victor Lugger and Tigrane Seydoux, having successfully launched their services during the period of confinement, have decided to make them permanent. What's more, the two entrepreneurs have created a separate entity to handle their delivery business!

From July 10, 2020, Napoli Gang will be at the service of gourmets! New recipes designed specifically for delivery will be prepared in three kitchens located in the north, center and south of Paris (intra muros). A relief for the various trattorias that have returned to service.

Our goal? To become the Italian reference at home and at affordable prices! Mindful of their environmental impact, the founders have opted for 100% recycled and recyclable packaging for their products.

Conclusion

Tigrane Seydoux and Victor Lugger, founders of Big Mamma, have succeeded in replicating an effective model, retaining the specificity of each establishment and sharing it with the right tone, the right image, the right video, at the right time and on the right channel. As a result, each restaurant generates close to 4 million in sales, and continues to generate excitement in the dining room and on social media. Brava la squadra! After 10 trattorias, Europe's largest Food Court, two hidden bars in three cities, and a virtual restaurant, how far will the entrepreneurial duo go...?