Working with the Coolest Steak house in the World

DiningSix, the largest Danish restaurant group, contacted me recently regarding helping their stylish steakhouse brand in London, KöD. I was introduced by fellow Dane Lars Hemming Jorgensen, Co-Founder of Culture3, whom I worked with at YO! Sushi when revolutionising their brand - fresh out of selling my digital agency to Havas Advertising. The plan at YO! Sushi was to raise the brand from a small independent group of ten restaurants launched by Simon Woodroffe into a global brand of 55 sites backed by Primary Capital. Throughout our journey Lars and his digital agency created some amazing consumer campaigns, and I thank Lars to this day for his outstanding contribution. We worked for three years to ensure YO! Sushi became a global renowned brand, punching well above its weight via digital marketing prowess. Core CRM campaigns like the love club remain.

Back to DiningSix and I had the pleasure of working with KöD’s Morten P. Ortwed, Partner, CCO & Head of UK Expansion, DiningSix, who is such an amazing brand owner and social marketer himself. Morten reminded me of Simon Woodroffe, the founder of YO!, in that he immediately comes across as unique, maverick, creative, with wonderful family values, 100% driven, casual, calm and lots of fun. Dynamic and direct, with a great sense of humour and a superb style in storytelling he is very much a great brand ambassador to have on board. We discussed the brand, the key challenges, what help I could bring to the table and my key performance indicators.

I set to work by talking with, and most importantly - listening to, all the team players, head chef, managers, customer services, and the fantastic marketing team in Denmark who oversee several dining concepts. We went through the guidelines, shareholder marketing presentations and brand IP collateral as well as all the consumer facing marketing channels.

We agreed my brief was to create the UK marketing plan, hire a fantastic PR agency, create some quick win local campaigns, look at UK tone of voice in relation to the brand and menu development and work in close coordination with the Danish marketing team.

Because DiningSix and KöD employ people they know and trust, mainly from their Scandinavian group, or their team members referred from internal sources, HR requirements are low and staff retention is high - as is morale. I was amazed at their collaborative and respectful “can do” attitude, plus their stoic style in serving 600 covers a day at the weekend. In discovering their cultural aspects, I found they truly are people-focused, imbibing values of warmth, respect, generosity, kindness and professionalism in all their interactions. They genuinely are such a pleasure to work with, and dare I say a humbling contrast to some other institutions I have worked in. From the host at the entrance to the server in the basement, the bar person to the human who answered the telephone in real life, the vibes were fun, respectful, warm and professional - consistently. The company culture also invited transparency, everyone’s feedback was taken into consideration, discussed and a decision taken from inside intel. I found the culture to be traditionally refreshing, slower paced, comfortable and a safe family-based environment for their personnel to thrive in. A marketers’ dream team, providing great stories, ideas, quotes and assets for the brand.

Whenever I work with a brand, I always check their PR heritage too as it’s so important to have the traditional and digital media, as well as online influencers, talking about your brand. Finding the right PR agency is always crucial for a company, especially for the first time as it needs to be on budget and to a plan. PR provides a great opportunity to launch a brand with a bang, create communications that deliver on clarity and set the tone for years. Great PR can deliver a bank of positive quotes which can be used as brand assets for a decade. In this case it was a case of finding an external boutique agency of experts who could be available with a 24/7 office, communicate clearly, respond within a day, knew London like the back of their hand, had access to journalists, were great brand advocates and believed in results. I knew just the agency. The brief was confirmed, and I look forward to seeing the positive extension of brand into third party publications which can only enhance the KöD brand essence.

Fun, wellbeing and laughter runs high on their agenda, and the word Hygge was always apparent. “Hygge” is the Danish concept that encompasses a feeling of cosiness, comfort, and contentment. Associated with creating a warm atmosphere, enjoying the good things in life with good people, and finding joy in simple pleasures. This was represented in simple examples throughout KöD. Outside in a beautiful courtyard they generously offer warm blankets and soft cushions. The wine is always poured expertly and generously, never out of a measuring instrument. Their special weekend promotions of offering unlimited steak feasts - yes you heard it - is amazingly generous whilst maintaining premium brand positioning (no easy feat). The private dining room is made for boardroom presentations or family get togethers and children are always welcome in this business. We shared cultural brand stories and laughed at the concept of Danish babies being left outside in their prams, an unbelievable concept for some of us in the U.K. but a meme which terrifically sums up the value of trust within the Danish culture.

My key finding was their brand name, KöD, which may mean meat in Denmark but sounds like a metaphor for fish in the UK. It also isn’t pronounced as it looks. It is pronounced somewhat like “cool” but in a Geordie accent, think COOEL quickly. I think this could be a major TikTok campaign and a brand USP that can keep on giving. It’s a game, a play on words, an education, a conversation, a word which provides real stand out in a crowded marketplace. It’s also short, edgy and daringly different.

Identifying key areas for expansion and adding value to a brand is my USP. Working with young teams to empower and grow, adding value at every brand touch point, telling stories and producing world class market plans is something I love to do.

To find out more about this brand or my other steakhouse experiences (Hawksmoor, Temper etc), or to discuss how I could help your business, please contact me on georgia@ghbrand.co.uk.