Tonight I went to a shabu shabu place that had just opened up a month ago. They're in a good part of town but since they are brand new they still need to gain some customers. I had a talk with the owner and I mentioned I'm in marketing communications and he said he would like to brainstorm with me and see if we can come up with some ideas on how to gain new customers and spread the word without being tacky (this is a pretty hip place, very modern).

Since this is the appropriate group, I figured I'd ask, do any of you have any experience in marcomm in the restaurant industry and can you offer any tips or suggestions for a restaurant marketing n00b such as myself?

Thanks in advance!

I'm doing some brainstorming on how to integrate some of the newer social media, networking, and "Web 2.0" concepts into our small business, which focuses on B2B products that are not at all exciting, nor generate a lot of passion or interest for the consumer. (They're more of a necessity item).

Thus far, the only viable application I see for our business is topical blogging.
Our marketing manager wants to incorporate forums, social networking, etc, which I think is ridiculous and irrelevant for our product and place in the market (he sees it as "it's cool and we can do it, so we should do it" without any critical thinking about its objectives or what it can bring to the business).

I'm curious to know what types of "Web 2.0" activities any of you might have successfully integrated into similar businesses: Small business, b2b, low-interest "necessity" product, not a highly recognizable brand.

The only other thing I can think that would apply is a "closed" network of interested "power user" customers, who could be consistently engaged to provide feedback and feel invested in the development and improvement of the product. It isn't software, and it's a pretty basic product type, so a full-fledged support forum-type thing wouldn't apply.

At my job, I am moving away from straight design work and delving deeper into the marketing side of things. I will be working more with databases and campaign management.
The thing is, while I am enamored with the interconnectedness of the graphic design and marketing worlds, I find it difficult to easily flow between the two. A big part of that is the language used in marketing. Enormous chunks of information are, seemingly, encapsulated by short you-gotta-be-in-the-business-to-understand metaphors and acronyms. "CRM", "sandbox", "FY08", "Call to Action", "pipeline", etc. Though this concept may be true for many fields out there, I can't help but be surprised that, having worked in a field so closely attached, these terms are not already part of my ready vocabulary. Would it not make sense that two intricately dependent fields be subject to the same objectives and tasks thus instilling similar paradigms and cliches?
It's just...sometimes I get a good idea and have trouble communicating it.

Has everyone seen the new Microsoft ad featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates? It's getting pretty mixed reviews - what are your thoughts?

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