FuelNet presents a case study on how one smart owner of a growing business caught the attention of her target demographic through one of the Web’s creative advertising techniques: video.

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PROBLEM: Alicia Petrakis, co-owner of Astaria Restaurant and Bar in San Mateo, Calif., was frustrated. The restaurant had inherited an older clientele from the previous owner, and Petrakis hoped to expand the customer base to a younger, late-evening crowd. But despite the restaurant’s new décor, concept, and updated seasonal menu, her target audience (ages 25 to 50) was not responding to Astaria’s newspaper ads.

SOLUTION: Petrakis worked with Jivox, a do-it-yourself online video ad service based in San Mateo, to serve up messaging targeted to a livelier, hipper crowd. The company created a pop-up ad with a video component and ran it only on Web sites in the San Mateo area. “We went where the people we wanted in here go for information,” Petrakis notes. “Jivox is like having your own media buyer. They created the online advertising campaign based on our target demographic.”

The ad’s visuals showed off Astaria’s sophisticated vibe and cozy space — complete with images of customers enjoying live music in the bar and, of course, the mouthwatering food. “With online video, people have the opportunity of being much more comfortable with their choice,” Petrakis points out. “It’s more effective than single-image ads on sites like Yelp. And it reaffirms the customer’s choices — you can’t do that in a print ad.”

Petrakis, who plans to update the video ad at least twice a year as part of her Internet advertising efforts, has seen significant business growth since the video launched. “Having a strong Web presence has changed our business dramatically,” she says. “We’ve had a 35 percent increase in sales at a time when other restaurants are struggling.”

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