Funded advertising campaigns or cooperation with a famous person?

Aug 17
5 min read

Updated: 4 days ago

In light of the intense competition in the world of restaurants, restaurant owners seek to use all possible tools to attract customers and increase footfall. The most common marketing methods in this era are:

Funded advertising campaigns (such as Google ads, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, etc.),
Or collaborate with celebrities or influencers on social media platforms.

But the question remains: Which one is better? Which one actually gives tangible results? In this article, we analyze each option separately, compare them, and suggest a smart way to combine them.

First: What is a sponsored advertising campaign?

A sponsored advertising campaign is when you pay money to a specific platform such as Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat to display your ad to a target audience according to their age, geographic location, interests, and behaviors.

Advantages of advertising campaigns:

Complete budget control: You can start a campaign with a small daily budget, for example only 20 or 50 riyals.
Precise targeting: You can specify exact location (eg only people who live within 5 km of your restaurant), age group, language and interests.
Measure results easily: You see how many people saw the ad, how many people clicked, how many orders were placed, and this gives you complete clarity on the return on investment.
Possibility of instant modification: If you notice that your ad isn't working, you can edit, change, or stop it immediately.
Very effective for short offers or promotions: Such as weekend sales, or the “meal for 9 riyals” offer, etc.

Disadvantages of advertising campaigns:

You need experience or a specialist: An effective ad design is not random, but rather requires ad writing, attractive design, and reading analysis data.
Constantly costs: Once the ad stops, the results stop. There is no long-term impact like fame or reputation.

Second: What is marketing through celebrities (influencers)?

It is when you agree with a famous person (Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok...) to visit your restaurant or publish a video or story in which he talks about his experience with you.

Advantages of cooperating with a famous person:

Fast and great access: If the right influencer chooses, your ad could reach tens or hundreds of thousands within hours.
Public trust: Followers trust the influencer they follow, so if they praise your restaurant, it is considered a “personal recommendation.”
Causes a temporary noise (Buzz): Some restaurants witnessed a line-up of customers after a famous person visited them.
Reusable content: Your restaurant can use videos or photos shot by the influencer in ads or their accounts.

Disadvantages of cooperating with an influencer:

You cannot control the results: An influencer might pay you a lot of money, and then you don't see tangible results.
Usually only one visit: The effect is instantaneous, not continuous.
The danger of choosing an inappropriate influencer: Some celebrities whose fans are not interested in food or do not live close to your restaurant.
There is no accurate data to measure the return: It is difficult to know how many clients came from this cooperation.

Direct comparison between advertising campaigns and celebrities

The worker

Advertising campaigns

Collaboration with famous

Budget control

Complete control, even on a small budget

Often requires a larger budget

Targeting

Very accurate depending on location and interests

It depends on the influencer's audience, and is often very broad

Speed of results

Gradual and steady

Fast and short-term

Duration of effect

Temporary during campaign only

Very temporary and usually only for a day or two

Measure results accurately

Yes, via the control panel

No, it is difficult to measure accurately

Building a relationship with the audience

Mostly weak

Stronger because of the audience’s trust in the influencer

Frequent use

The campaign can be run many times

It is difficult to repeat the same effect over and over again

When do you choose advertising campaigns?

Choose advertising campaigns if you are looking for:

Consistent and measurable daily visits.
Seasonal or daily offers that you want to market urgently.
Build an ongoing campaign at the lowest cost in the long term.
Accurately target residents close to your location.

Practical example: A shawarma restaurant in a residential neighborhood that wants to attract customers from the same neighborhood. The best option is a sponsored ad on Snapchat and Instagram that appears only to neighborhood residents, and with a professional design for a specific offer (such as “Shawarma plate + Pepsi for only 9 riyals today”).

When do you choose to cooperate with a famous person?

Choose to collaborate with an influencer if you are looking for:

A quick buzz to attract attention (such as opening or re-opening time).
Building a luxurious or upscale mental image of the restaurant.
Exploiting the influencer’s audience to build a presence on social media.

Practical example: A new restaurant was opened in Jeddah, targeting the youth segment. Agreeing with a famous person who is active on Snapchat and has an audience from Jeddah to tour the restaurant and present his experience with photography will have a very strong impact during the first days.

The smart trick: combine the two options

The best marketing plan is not to choose only one of them, but to use it The influencer acts as a “content creator” and then promotes that content using advertising campaigns.

How?

Arrange with a suitable influencer who will shoot a professional video in your restaurant.
Obtain the rights to use the video in advertising campaigns.
Create a sponsored campaign targeting your neighborhood or nearby geographic area, and use the influencer's video as an ad.
This combines the element of trust (from the influencer) + targeting (from the sponsored ad).

Result: You double the interaction rate, and you get more customers with higher confidence, and at a lower cost than if you repeated the celebrity campaign alone.

Conclusion: Who is best to attract customers to the restaurant?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but:

If your goal is regular daily visits + measurable sales → use advertising campaigns.
If your goal is temporary buzz or building a luxury image → try collaborating with an influencer.
If you want maximum effectiveness: film content with a celebrity and then use it in your sponsored ads.

Additional tips before choosing:

Experiment, measure, then decide: Don't judge from the first drive. Try with small numbers, then decide based on the results.
Monitor the influencer's audience carefully: Do his followers live in the same city as you? Do they care about restaurants? Do they really interact?
Work with a competent agency if possible: A professional marketing agency that helps you build a strategy that combines advertising, content and influencers.
Don't be fooled by the number of followers alone: Interaction is more important than numbers.
Monitor competitors: What's the restaurant next door doing? Have you tried an influencer? Is it based on advertisements? Take the lessons and get started.

Conclusion

Marketing is no longer an additional option in the world of restaurants, but rather an essential part of the success of any project. Understanding marketing tools and using them intelligently differentiates between a crowded restaurant and one devoid of customers.

Whether you choose sponsored campaigns, celebrities, or a combination of both, the most important thing is to be aware of what you are doing, measure the results, and always develop your plan.

Start small, understand your audience, and be smart with your budget. Amazing results come from experience and consistency.