NEW YORK —National ad campaigns are rarely done for collections of mall-based restaurants, but Time Warner Center is making an exception to build on what management says were strong sales in 2007 and to brand itself as a premier dining destination.
With midtown Manhattan remaining a magnet for hungry business travelers, tourists and well-heeled locals, the high-rise landmark at the southwest corner of Central Park is featuring its tony Restaurant & Bar Collection in higher-profile advertising. —National ad campaigns are rarely done for collections of mall-based restaurants, but Time Warner Center is making an exception to build on what management says were strong sales in 2007 and to brand itself as a premier dining destination.
Running through June in such magazines as Time, Travel + Leisure, Forbes, Town & Country, Fortune and InStyle, the full-page ads focus on Time Warner Center’s restaurants and the personalities of their high-profile chefs. Though best known for his French Laundry in California, Thomas Keller, proprietor of the center’s Per Se and Bouchon Bakery, was among the first to be featured. —National ad campaigns are rarely done for collections of mall-based restaurants, but Time Warner Center is making an exception to build on what management says were strong sales in 2007 and to brand itself as a premier dining destination.
Despite some setbacks in dining developments since the center’s 2004 opening, its restaurants have appeared previously in ads showcasing the venue’s diversity of shopping, entertainment and dining options. However, the time had come to single out the eateries, officials said. —National ad campaigns are rarely done for collections of mall-based restaurants, but Time Warner Center is making an exception to build on what management says were strong sales in 2007 and to brand itself as a premier dining destination.
After the restaurants Landmarc and Porter House New York opened during the last couple of years, “our collection became complete, and it was time to celebrate that,” said Stacey Feder, vice president of marketing for center developer Related Urban. —National ad campaigns are rarely done for collections of mall-based restaurants, but Time Warner Center is making an exception to build on what management says were strong sales in 2007 and to brand itself as a premier dining destination.
The collection, however, will be missing the upscale Café Gray, which plans to close June 30. Feder declined to explain its closing, saying only “the restaurant business is very challenging in New York.” —National ad campaigns are rarely done for collections of mall-based restaurants, but Time Warner Center is making an exception to build on what management says were strong sales in 2007 and to brand itself as a premier dining destination.
V Steakhouse, one of local chef-restaurateur Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s many concepts, closed at the center in 2005. Celebrity chef Charlie Trotter had planned to open a seafood restaurant in the center but high development costs forced him to scrap the idea. —National ad campaigns are rarely done for collections of mall-based restaurants, but Time Warner Center is making an exception to build on what management says were strong sales in 2007 and to brand itself as a premier dining destination.
The question from the start was whether any of the restaurants could succeed, since none of them was located on the ground floor. —National ad campaigns are rarely done for collections of mall-based restaurants, but Time Warner Center is making an exception to build on what management says were strong sales in 2007 and to brand itself as a premier dining destination.
In addition to Porter House, Landmarc, Per Se and Bouchon, the center houses Masa, Bar Masa and Stone Rose Lounge, each of which reported double-digit increases in revenue for 2007, according to Related Urban. Per Se was up nearly 32 percent, and Masa’s revenue rose about 13 percent. —National ad campaigns are rarely done for collections of mall-based restaurants, but Time Warner Center is making an exception to build on what management says were strong sales in 2007 and to brand itself as a premier dining destination.
When the center debuted, critics thought a vertical shopping-dining destination in Manhattan was bound to fail, “but we knew differently,” said Kenneth Himmel, president and chief executive of Related Urban. It was Himmel’s idea to anchor the center with the Restaurant & Bar Collection. —National ad campaigns are rarely done for collections of mall-based restaurants, but Time Warner Center is making an exception to build on what management says were strong sales in 2007 and to brand itself as a premier dining destination.
High-end restaurants long have believed that if they feature famous chefs in advertising they can convey a message of superior quality, and that’s the case with the Time Warner Center restaurants. The new campaign, developed by Related Urban and Marc USA Chicago, focuses on the recent success of the chef-driven restaurants, Feder said, because “we have this celebrity chef platform in our culture these days.” —National ad campaigns are rarely done for collections of mall-based restaurants, but Time Warner Center is making an exception to build on what management says were strong sales in 2007 and to brand itself as a premier dining destination.
Print ads show each chef in his restaurant and contains a brief profile. The ad for Porter House New York and chef Michael Lomonaco notes that he’s a cookbook author and TV personality and describes him as “one of the city’s most beloved chefs.” The ad for Per Se and Bouchon Bakery features Keller, who, as the copy says, is “ever the perfectionist.” —National ad campaigns are rarely done for collections of mall-based restaurants, but Time Warner Center is making an exception to build on what management says were strong sales in 2007 and to brand itself as a premier dining destination.
The campaign is designed to show that no other single location in the country has the center’s dining credentials, said Heather Wanless, account service director for Marc USA. —National ad campaigns are rarely done for collections of mall-based restaurants, but Time Warner Center is making an exception to build on what management says were strong sales in 2007 and to brand itself as a premier dining destination.
“They’re successful restaurants with great chefs,” she said. “That comes out in the experience at the restaurant and certainly with their food as well. Diners are looking for that range of experience.” —National ad campaigns are rarely done for collections of mall-based restaurants, but Time Warner Center is making an exception to build on what management says were strong sales in 2007 and to brand itself as a premier dining destination.
The campaign is the type that “has legs” and can be extended with new executions, Wanless added. —National ad campaigns are rarely done for collections of mall-based restaurants, but Time Warner Center is making an exception to build on what management says were strong sales in 2007 and to brand itself as a premier dining destination.
Although V Steakhouse closed and Café Gray soon will close, Feder said the Restaurant & Bar Collection has steadily evolved into a type of “community center” for local residents. —National ad campaigns are rarely done for collections of mall-based restaurants, but Time Warner Center is making an exception to build on what management says were strong sales in 2007 and to brand itself as a premier dining destination.
While promoting Time Warner Center, the ads also pitch similar Related Urban developments in Los Angeles and Phoenix. —National ad campaigns are rarely done for collections of mall-based restaurants, but Time Warner Center is making an exception to build on what management says were strong sales in 2007 and to brand itself as a premier dining destination.