Challenge
Ruth’s Chris Steak House is an international restaurant chain, with over 90 locations worldwide. Founded in New Orleans, Ruth’s Chris prides itself on fine dining with a specialty in USDA prime grade steaks. After a long search for the right opportunity, Ruth’s Chris decided to enter the New England market when restaurant space became available in Boston’s historic “Old City Hall” building. With no prior presence in the region, Ruth’s Chris Steak House turned to O’Neill and Associates to help introduce the restaurant and the Ruth’s Chris brand to Boston’s media, political and business leaders.

Solution
O’Neill and Associates developed and executed a media relations campaign that targeted Boston’s opinion leaders. This effort included media outreach to both print and broadcast outlets regarding the grand opening festivities, the company’s renovation of the historic site as well as the quality and unique style of the Ruth’s Chris dining experience.

O’Neill and Associates coordinated several pre-opening events to introduce Ruth’s Chris Steak House to Boston’s most influential players. For each event, O’Neill and Associates drew upon its own network of contacts to develop the invitation list of leading business, political and media figures and then followed up with invitees to ensure attendance. At Ruth’s Chris’s request, O’Neill and Associates facilitated outreach to the last Boston mayor to hold office in Old City Hall, Kevin White, and coordinated the dedication and naming of a special room in the restaurant after him that drew Mayor White and a host of close friends and family members for a VIP dinner to mark the occasion. The ensuing media coverage from these events proved to be a winner for Ruth’s Chris entrance into the Boston market.

Results
O’Neill and Associates helped Ruth’s Chris to reach a broad audience through media placements in news media, entertainment and lifestyle media, business media, and news and lifestyle columnists. O’Neill and Associates secured wide-ranging coverage including multiple features in each of the following: Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Boston Metro, Boston Magazine, Improper Bostonian and Stuff@Night. O’Neill and Associates also secured broadcast coverage on NECN’s “TV Diner,” WBZ NewsRadio, Kiss 108 FM, UPN38’s “The Morning Show” and “Phantom Gourmet.” The pre-opening events and grand opening festivities were attended to capacity. Since opening the Boston location in October 2005, the average bill per person has been $97, the highest of any location in the country – $30 above the national average. Additionally, 33 percent of the revenue generated at the Boston location is from the bar area which marks a new profit focus for the company.

Lastly, Ruth’s Chris Steak House’s new location emerged quickly as a favorite among Boston’s powerbrokers, a fact underscored by a Boston Globe food critic when she painted the scene in her favorable review: “Massachusetts Senate President Robert Travaglini holds court at a corner table, and half the faces in the wood-paneled rooms are politicos recognizable from news photos.” After such a successful opening, Ruth’s Chris Steak House continues to engage O’Neill and Associates for public relations services.

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