Aug 23rd

Case Study: TasteCasting Applies Human Business Teams to the Restaurant Industry

Human Business Teams truly are not that complicated of a concept.

We live in a world where humans create and spread media on the web.  We share.  We build trust.  We interact with each other through technology.  That’s just the reality for life (and business), right?

At face value, it might appear that it’s every man and woman for themselves in content marketing.  But do we all really fly solo?  I think not.

Ever notice that I mention Cheryl’s stuff or Mike Brown’s content?  Incept (even though they’re my client) reads and spreads my content.  Likewise, I point to the good work that’s done by the Human Business Team we’re building there.  People who work together on projects often build deep enough relationships (and trust) that they become willing to help one another.

Do you do this?  Do you understand how synergy works in business?

Human Business Teams

What if we organized and executed the production of content as a team effort?  Let’s say the objective was to help a start-up restaurant spread the word about their menu items or wine list, in an honest and transparent way?  How could we get that done?

Well, here’s how I would do it:

  • Select a group of humans who understand how to make their way around the new web and social media channels.
  • Get some basic media publishing equipment like HD pocket cameras, iPhones, Android phones, Macbook Pros and any other affordable media production tools.
  • Get everyone together, make some assignments on coverage and set up a time to experience the food and environment.
  • Create a conversation by empowering humans to use new media.
  • Put the media on the web in the places where it’s going to be seen by the right people.  Show those people how to become customers (but only if they want to – no pushing, please).
  • Debrief, pack up, find the holes and discuss.  Make it better for the next “event.”
  • Repeat.

Guess what?

These teams can can be applied in other ways too.  You can bring Human Business Teams to live events.  They can work in your office and help to humanize your business.  Human Business Teams can even act as your online call center and have conversations with your customers in the space where they are most comfortable.

The medium is the message, or at least a big part of making it easy for your customers to talk with your business.  Are you listening for them?  Are they on your business radar?  More importantly, do you have enough of the right people manning those channels who know how to have those conversations?

Want to see what the framework might look like?  Check out my last post over at CMI for that.  Take it and use it.  It’s out there for you.  There will be more free ideas coming soon.

TasteCasting

Here’s a real-life example.  I didn’t realize this until my friend, Jason, brought me in on a TasteCasting event.  But what he and Dan Harris are working on is a model that uses a Human Business Team.  It’s very similar to what Mike and I worked on for BMA Engage: a team of people all working together in a dynamic environment to reach a target and achieve an objective.

Here’s some of what the Human Business Team at TasteCasting created for Giorgio’s, a small (and tasty) Italian spot in Clintonville:

[Meet Molly Brochers.  Here's her video review.  I'm behind the camera.]

Example of a Yelp Review from Tyler Durbin:

Here is one of my videos reviewing the food at Giorgio’s:

There were also live tweets and tons of great photos (hosted on Flickr) from Chris Adams.  That’s Matt Russo and Tyler Durbin enjoying the sample dishes.

giorgio's Columbus

Notice the theme here?  A lot of humans, all working together to create a media event online.  A Human Business Team is born…

What’s your take?

nateriggs

I advise mid-sized & large organizations on how to adopt and use social media to market through organizational culture and better serve their clients. I'm also a blended family dad who enjoys music, photography and distance racing. When I'm not writing here, you can find me writing over at the Content Marketing Institute. Like what you've read so far? Then why not subscribe HERE?

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Comments (27)
  • http://twitter.com/CherylHarrison Cheryl Harrison

    I used to go to every TasteCasting over a year ago when we first started. I quit. Disclosure issues with TasteCasting created a horrible image for the brand in the community, and I didn’t want to be a part of it. Now TasteCasting is kicking up again, but without really using the brand of TasteCasting – for that reason. Meh. Bad taste in my mouth.

    Columbus Yelpers were bitching about it a few days ago: http://www.yelp.com/topic/columbus-pasta-perfection-needed#Q4LDuOWGJ2nZDWfgnpLQDw

    Here’s the thing: In Tyler’s review (and a few other reviews from people who were there on Yelp, and Twitter, and Facebook – not to specifically call him out) no one discloses that the food/wine was FREE. THAT’S a problem when you’re raving about a place online. It’s dishonest. Everything tastes awesome when you didn’t pay for it.

    I love the idea of using a human business team to promote local restaurants, I just think the disclosure HAS to be there. And objectivity needs to be attempted – every bite isn’t amazing. Be real.
    :)

  • http://nateriggs.com nateriggs

    I get that. But then again, as someone who blogs and shoots video and has a presence online, how often do you get free stuff from using social media? Do you always disclose when someone hooks you up?

    The Yelp link is interesting. Yes, there are some people bitching, but there are also people who see no issue with an organized (free) tasting:

    “Jessica “Let’s Explore!” H. says:

    Nope, not shady at all. Everyone’s is open about what they are doing, just like a food critic, but they are normal people like you and I. Well, if you call me normal. Quite a few of the elites on here have participated in them.

    The only bias is that the chef knows they are coming. And, let me assure you – the foods aren’t always good even with the forewarning. No one gets paid. I try to leave a tip, though not everyone does.

    Just free food, new people to mingle with. Organized hash tag. Very little difference between a free hosted tweet up at a bar or restaurant that provides food for the group.

    Anyhow, let’s keep this back to good pasta and Italian restaurant rec’s :) ”

    What’s even more interesting is that Yelp itself organizes
    “free” events for the Yelp Elite? Free drinks. Free food. Free branded Yelp products. How is that much different from this?

    Like I said, this was the first TasteCasting I was involved in. The point of this post is simple – it takes a team of humans to produce online content for businesses, and those teams can be applied in a variety of ways.

    I do know that with TasteCasting, no one gets a bag of money fro writing a review. Th restaurant provides the food to get people to come, and the TasteCasters sample, tweet, write, etc. Good or bad. The restaurant is willing to rolling the dice and has pressure to make sure it’s good stuff.

  • http://twitter.com/CherylHarrison Cheryl Harrison

    Well, Jessica H was at this particular TasteCasting, so there’s that.

    I like the way Yelp spells it out:

    “You should never accept freebies or discounts in exchange for reviews. For example, if a bar owner offers you a free drink in exchange for a 5-star review, you should not accept his or her offer.

    Of course it’s ok if you were given something for free or at a discount independent of your review, but you should always disclose any special treatment, gifts, or discounts in your review. For example, if the restaurant manager gave you free appetizers on opening night, you should include that information in your review. Yelping is about real, honest reviews, so while we’re happy you had an extra special experience, we ask you to tell us (your readers) the whole story.”

    With the Yelp elite events you are referring to they spell it out, too:
    “DON’T review on the individual Yelp page of the event venue. Please visit them again and enjoy a typical customer experience… then review it on their Yelp page. Review the event as a whole on the designated Yelp Elite Party page.”

    Anyway, maybe the group has changed, but before, the “good or bad” was not applicable. There was an agreement with the business that ONLY the good would be posted. Which is what started all of this fallout: http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/tastecasting-a-donatos

    In other news, human business teams are cool. :)

  • http://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonvelliquette Jason Velliquette

    I have to agree with the core of Cheryl’s argument. Not disclosing the exchange of a free meal for promotion taints the message, the review, and at the end of the day, TasteCasting as an organization. As an official organizer of TasteCasting, we hear your concerns and are working to improve our process.

    Just like Kelsey on the WNCI who talks about her love of Wendy’s salads, we market the restaurants that host us. Unfortunately not every radio spot or tweet has room for a few disclosure statement. That is why we make it clear on the home page of our website:

    “TasteCasting is a growing team of socially networked, and social media savvy people that establishments invite to attend a complimentary tasting. In exchange the TasteCasting team broadcasts to their collective network of friends, followers, and linked connections…”

    To further clarify, we’ve changed the “reviews” on our site to be “profiles.” And in the about section, we plainly state, “The TasteCasting Team Members are establishment and menu promoters.”

    So what went wrong?

    I failed. I was the one who organized the event. I was the one responsible for communicating to the team that this type of disclosure should be made in their reviews. I had an emergency arise which kept me from this event, and I did not properly communicate with my proxy.

    As Nate said, TasteCasting is about human business teams. And humans make mistakes. We however are fortunate enough to hear your feedback and that of others, and learn from it.

    So here is what I’ve learned:

    Never forget to fully explain the “rules” of how a TasteCasting works.
    TasteCasters need to be made aware of the cultural norms of the channels they are using.
    Encourage sincerity & transparency.

    What other lessons can myself and other TasteCasters learn from our audience?

  • http://twitter.com/CherylHarrison Cheryl Harrison

    Hey Jason,

    Appreciate you jumping in the dialogue. You didn’t fail. This is a problem that pre-dates your involvement with TasteCasting and is certainly not specific to this TasteCast. Even IF you disclose the disclosure, if you will inevitably get a) some people who don’t mention it online anyway and b) some people who feel obligated to say OMFGEVERYTHINGISSOAWESOME even if it’s not.

    The CU thread from a year ago got at all of the main issues with the org. And since “TasteCastings” are now “secret” – that is, no one is supposed to call them TasteCastings online anymore because the brand is tainted… well, I don’t think much has changed. I wish it had, because anything that can promote local biz is a good thing.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Tiffany-Eckhardt/1118870860 Tiffany Eckhardt

    Am I missing something? Tastecasting closed their website a few weeks ago. Are they back up and running? I am one of the original members. I would have liked to be included in any new Tastecasts.

    I loved the concept… I think of it as guerilla marketing. And that is exactly what it is. Marketing. Disclosure is important. However, I never fully got what the fuss is all about. I never shared anything that I sincerely didn’t believe. Isn’t there is always an element of compensation in marketing?

    To divert a little: I would even go as far as to say that businesses should “reward” those who market them using social media more. For example, I had checked into a local coffee bar 84 times with Foursquare. That check in resulted in 84 posts to my facebook and twitter. (probably annoyed some of my friends) Yet, I love the coffeehouse and went there everyday. It is my opinion that business should reward their loyal “evangelist” with an occasional free latte. It just makes good business sense to me.

    That’s just my 2 cents!

  • http://nateriggs.com nateriggs

    I tend to sit on your side of the fence. Disclosure is important, but when does it get to the point when it’s overdone? Does context not indicate certain things?

    At any rate, people are all up in arms about this idea. Hmmm.

  • http://www.christianadams.com Christian Adams

    While I think it is important to note that character of the people involved honesty comes in to question when the word “free” is seen as the principal motivator to a review rather than seeing a person’s work as a whole. I find it funny that some have decided to do a 180 degree point of view regarding this. While TasteCasting might have been a tainted brand I don’t think it is a brand that is totally un-salvageable if promoted the right way and isn’t segmented to the same people doing the reviews over and over again (original members or otherwise) where there is a need for a “free” disclosure is warranted for every mention of the event. New faces and inclusiveness breed a more desirable outcome in an industry such as restaurant “foodie” review in the social media space versus the authoritative writings of a paid critic/journalist in any industry including restaurant reviews. Many in the group at this event made sure not to tweet or refer to it as a TasteCasting event in the various distribution channels for this same reason.

    To get back on topic however I saw the event, and as Nate points out, as a great example and implementation of the crowdsourcing model on a local level. Creating different types of multimedia for the viewers to consume on their terms makes the marketing message much more powerful and viral in that it creates interlocking connections of true transparent engagement in order to displace the group think mentality. Making the content easier to digest means retention of the message which in turn means the increased likelihood of conversion. In doing so the respect with regards to authority on any given subject is earned, not declared. It is important to have a strong community leader, but the supporting roles can be interchangeable.

  • 8101Harris

    Hey guys – Dan here. TasteCasting is being phased out. It will no longer next month. The concept needed to evolve and it needed someone who could commit 100% of their time to it and evolve and grow the idea, compliment the other review/coupon sites like Yelp and Urban Spoon and others. I had a terrific time meeting everyone on the team in Columbus, and around the world. I learned a great deal through this all that I will apply to any new ventures I may get involved in. This concept was never meant to be a critc’s review of restaurants. It was supposed to be an crowd sourced advertorial to help restaurants in promote their establishment and menus. I did make mistakes and that is human. I tried to listen to the community and evolve, but working a full-time job, raising a family, and networking consumed a great deal of time.

    Thank you to the supporters, critics, friends, fans and foes….. It’s been a great ride. Now everyone can focus on more important issues. For me that is losing all the weight I gained while tasting. ;-)

    Dan

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  • http://twitter.com/MollyBorchers Molly Borchers

    I agree with Cheryl’s point that we should have disclosed that our tastecasting experience was free. In fact, I might go back and edit my Yelp review, just to be fully honest.

    That being said, I can only speak for myself, but I went into the tastecasting determined to be honest about the experience. Cheryl said: “Everything tastes awesome when you didn’t pay for it.” I didn’t give the restaurant an A+ review. I was honest in that there were some things about the it that I didn’t like.

    On paper, I think the TasteCasting model is neat. Maybe the execution of it could have been better thought out.

  • http://nateriggs.com nateriggs

    Dan – totally understandable. Time is scarce. I still think their is a model here, it’s just on for critics and reviews, but more about outsourcing content production that restaurants can use on their own presence – like facebook pages, websites, YouTube, etc.

  • http://nateriggs.com nateriggs

    I added a not to my review that the food was free, and that the only money exchanged was in the tips we all left the serving staff. Figured I should disclose that as well….

  • http://nateriggs.com nateriggs

    See, I get that. I have no issues with transparency and disclosure and the point about siting that it was a free tasting is absolutely right – at least for review sites like yelp. Promotional video content however that a restaurant can use on their own outposts lends itself to context as well.

    Again, if I’m pointing a video camera at 6 dishes on the table, talking about ingredients and saying which one I liked best, how is that a review? More of a product description in my mind.

    Seems like the model is more apt towards product information versus giving a thumbs up.

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  • http://www.genyjourney.com Tyler Durbin

    I didn’t disclose that I attended the event for free. I am choosing not to edit my review.

    I reviewed the restaurant as a 24 year old young professional who frequents Grandview, Short North and Clintonville restauarants (typically with my girlfriend or a group of 5-10 people). With that said, I provided an honest, candid and accurate review of my experience. In fact, I spoke of texture and ingredients – two things that no matter how much you pay for it remain the same. (I’m getting to a point)

    Check out this re-tweet. It’s based solely on a picture of the dish, list of ingredients and where I was at. A real photo, taken with a cell phone. The picture doesn’t show the amount on the bill (or lack there of).

    @BenRosier: @TylerDurbin http://tweetphoto.com/38331653 That looks so nice, just made me hungry! lol does it taste as good as it looks?

    Do you think it’s random when you see celebrities vacationing at certain locations, photographed in certain retail stores, dining in certain restaurants? Do we bitch about it then? No, we buy the magazine that exploits it. If you want to bitch about authenticity and honesty…hit up the ad agency created TV and magazine ads that use fake ingredients and photo/video editing. Hit up old spice… Human business teams are real. Human business teams are valuable.

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  • http://nateriggs.com nateriggs

    Mr. Durbin – you are a scholar and a gentleman. :)

    Being serious, I tend to sit on your side with this. Google “Roger Smith Hotel”. As far as I know, Brogan is the only one who has ever talked about the “blogger special”. And even in presentations and on his blog, he never states that he got anything for free or at a discount.

    That’s the art of it all, I think. By Chris teklling the story the way he does, he doesn’t have too. It’s implied and more about the facts and less about opinion. Review sites are based in opinion, and frankly, opinions are like assholes…

    I think the facts – like ingredients, photos, video of the environment, etc. Like Ben did above, provide the information and let the community share their own take on what they see…

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  • http://www.genyjourney.com Tyler Durbin

    Ironically, I had this article about Yelp pop up in an email yesterday (http://ow.ly/2uwCY). It’s from the Sacramento Biz Journal. What I learned from the article is that platforms like Yelp are more than just people reviewing products/services, they are real-life, valuable business tools for small businesses. Essentially, they are informal human business teams. Businesses can:

    • Monitor and respond to customer feedback
    • Post special deals and announcements, such as relocating, expanding or changed hours
    • Evaluate customer service and product satisfaction
    • Learn about their customer base.

    If you go through the reviews for Giorgio..you’ll see that the service has some negative remarks. TasteCasting can play a role in helping the business fix this!

    It needs to be about more than just reviews. Why couldn’t our group have sat down with the owners after our meal at some point and talked about our experience? …or maybe just the TasteCasting reps/organizers. Become consultants…then you are adding value.

    My point: The model is there…it just needs tweaked.

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