OpenTable - Creating Engaging Content
Fall 2015
Project Manager, Content Strategist
Problem
OpenTable's prominence as the leading reservation platform has brought the company much success, yet most users visit OpenTable only after they have decided where they would like to eat. Rather than being the final part of this process, OpenTable wanted to become the destination for discovering local restaurants.
Strategy
Photography has a tremendous impact on the way we, as diners, perceive food. Incredible food photography has the power to connect our sense of sight to our stomachs. We salivate at a photo of a luscious chocolate cupcake and we begin to desire a treat without even being in the same physical proximity. Through the photographic style that I implemented while at menuMe, I negotiated with OpenTable to build a content partnership.
Because OpenTable wanted to provide users with the experience of discovery, I realized that these photos would have to include more than simply "food porn". We had to introduce potential guests to the restaurant's story. A restaurant is much more than its menu – it's the chef's personality, the layout of the dining room and the tiniest details that make it special. Through working closely with restaurant partners, I directed 50 photo shoots in San Francisco, CA at some of the city's best restaurants. A few restaurants that were included in the pilot are One Market, Oro and Trestle.
These images have been incorporated into OpenTable's app and are visible on every landing screen. For further exploration of the restaurants that we photographed, please adjust your location to San Francisco.
