No matter how much the world changes, the desire to gather, connect, and dine goes on. It was that insight that drove the thinking behind our new campaign, Dine On.
When the pandemic began, last March, we put all of our efforts into supporting our partners, the industry and restaurants that we love, and our diners. We sat 135 million diners and waived restaurant fees, introduced products and services to better support the changing landscape and patiently waited for the road to recovery to come into focus.
Through it all, one thing was certain: we all missed dining out and would never again take for granted the simple joy of sharing a meal together.
So, we set out to develop a campaign that would capture that sentiment, a rallying cry about getting back to our favorite restaurants and the power of dining to unite us all.
As vaccines rolled out and the world began to rebound, we were and remain optimistic about the future—but we couldn’t have predicted that by the time our work would be out in the wild, on billboards throughout San Francisco and in front of diners online, COVID rates would be rising again.
And so, as with any tagline, it has taken on new meaning, when now, more than ever, we need a reminder to dine on. For ourselves (because nothing is more human than eating together) but also for our restaurant partners—who have weathered this unprecedented storm, the likes of which has never been seen by the industry and we hope will never be again.
Where will DINE ON appear?
San Francisco, CA is home to OpenTable HQ so we chose to kick off the campaign on home turf, in a city beloved for its local restaurants.
In high traffic areas that are dense with restaurants throughout the city, you’ll see Dine On on billboards and transit shelters.
The “out of home” campaign will run side-by-side digital advertising across Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube, with the goal of reaching diners who are in the consideration phase of dining out.
In addition to a digital and out of home buys, OpenTable is releasing its Dine On: 100 Neighborhood Favorites for Outdoor Dining list, as well as curated Special Occasion guides across multiple cities, focused on the best places to celebrate the spirit of Dine On (whether in person or with takeout.) The campaign will culminate with a one-night-only Food Truck Village headlined by one of SF’s best restaurants.
Heroing our restaurant partners
Throughout Dine On, restaurants take center stage in an effort to showcase their resilience, passion, and commitment to hospitality first and foremost.
“State Bird Provisions is really excited to be included among some of San Francisco’s top restaurants while being showcased by our long time partner OpenTable,” said owners Stuart and Nicole Brioza. “The Dine On campaign is as feel-good as it gets.”
No matter how much the world changes, the desire to gather, connect, and dine goes on.
As described by George Chen, founder and executive chef of China Live who is also featured in the SF out-of-home campaign: “It’s back to school, back to work and back to OpenTable restaurants like China Live.”
