Case study for Al-Azhar (Singapore) by food and beverage branding agency

Good food is the fuel for the body and soul; a tempering of a delectable food and beverage branding agency is what adds flavour to the social media channels of a food chain in its territory.

Al Azhar Group – Relishing Taste Buds Since 1999

Al Azhar Group – a name synonymous to serving a taste of home in every bite. And what better way than to add flavours to their social media presence as a food and beverage branding agency, way to go – Cheers! Established in 1999, Al Azhar is a Singapore based popular food chain and has a prominent presence in Bukit Timah, Tampines, and Geylang.

Al-Azhar since 20+ years, strives everyday to reinvent the dining experience by maintaining the authenticity of the ingredients and taste. The food chain survived all the seasons over two decades with its focus on quality and method of preparation. With clarity on WHY and finding a way through HOW, Al-Azhar is setting an example for food chains in the world and building a legacy for the brand.

All the outlets are open 24X7 and serve a variety of Thai Muslim food, local dishes, indian cuisine, seafood, western grill varieties, Mediterranean, and Malay nasi dishes. The constant innovation in beverages and desserts woos the locals and foodies from around the globe.

Gathering the Ingredients – The Primary Task as a Food and Beverage Branding Agency

Al-Azhar Group approached Cheers Creatives initially as a social media management agency. Although they recognized the need for active social media presence, the team had to be sound about changing algorithms and experimenting with trends constantly. Having catered 25+ F&B brands pan India and other Asian countries, that is exactly where Cheers Creatives introduced itself as one of the eminent food and beverage agency.

As a preliminary step, the team at Cheers Creatives outlined a strategy to beef up reach of every post on Facebook and Instagram. One major prerequisite by the Al-Alzar group was to highlight the process of food preparation using authentic ingredients and process. Thus, enticing viewers to visit their outlet and relish on the dish as shown in the visuals.

Preparing the Broth

Simply ticking all the ingredients isn’t enough. We need to give sufficient for each element to bring out its essence and let it blend with the dish.

The professionals at Cheers Creatives researched social media reports and analytics to gather data on –

1. Time spent on social media – the time of the day when the target audience of Al-Azhar is online and how many minutes they scroll through their feed
2. Identified peak hours – an hour before breakfast, lunch, snack time, and dinner
3. Identifying the format of content – static (food photos, dish of the day / week, menu, posters and illustrations) and dynamic (reels and videos – method of food preparation, highlighting peak hour crowd, etc.)
4. Factors which lead to social media engagement – Schedule posts as per analytics, keep a tab on changing algorithms, and stay up-to-date with the trends
5. Festive special offers – Ramadan, New Year, Christmas, etc.

The Garnishing

Updates in algorithms are like elaichi in biryani – you may not like them but you can’t avoid them. They are the jerry to the tom. One update drastically spoiled the savoury reach of posts. But, as a responsible  food and beverage branding agency, Cheers Creatives found a way to fix the sour dish. But, as the motto of the Al-Alzar says, “reinventing dining experience” we did reinvent social media experience for them. Fixing a sour dish demands more technical expertise and creative experience than which meets the eye.

As a responsible  food and beverage branding agency, Cheers Creatives found a way to fix the sour dish. Phew! Research, reiteration, and resistance to go with the flow saved the day. And guess what, no sooner the brand enticed its followers and increased its reach exponentially than ever before. Cheers has represented their dishes, especially the food preparation in such a way, where a viewer gets mouth-watering experience and looks for the location through search engine or profile description.

Each post, an image or a reel unveils all that Al-Azhar stands for – familiarity and authenticity. Reels are especially designed with an intention to not only captivate viewer attention but also make them stay on the feed. Once you check a post on Al-Azhar’s Instagram or Facebook profile, viewers revisit for more.

Savouring the Flavours

A few tweaks here and there, a teaspoon of spice, a handful of ingredients, and most important of all, a pinch of salt is what it took for a social media management agency to transform into a holistic food and beverage branding agency Cheers Creatives for Al-Azhar. Trust me, we are all relishing the flavours of social media engagement.