New Delhi: Take a walk around the bustling roads of Hauz Khas village or the cultural mosaic of Church Street or the eventfully ambivalent Park Street or the picturesque Colaba: uniting them all is a bright orange sign of a cafe with an area-specific pincode that has evolved between 2014 and 2024.
SOCIAL, a casual dining restaurant under the Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality chain, completed 10 years this August in the most modest way with its classic aluminium plates, Devanagari script lettering #paani, #veg, #chath and so on.
“You know what worked really well for us,” chuckles Divya Aggarwal, Chief Growth Officer at Impresario, “we didn't envision a simple cafe.”
In a conversation with BestMediaInfo, Aggarwal highlighted that the lighting, the subtle music, the pop culture references, the quirky menu and their signature ‘Banarasi Patiyala’ drink, all symbolise the brand’s tonality of being a coalition between fun, work and play.
#LookingBack
In 2014, when the cafe was first conceptualised, ‘going out’ was a concept only affordable on the weekends. But presenting itself as a patron of the ‘weekday culture,’ Aggarwal believes that maintaining this consistent brand tonality while evolving its elements has helped SOCIAL stand the test of time, with 50+ outlets in 10 cities.
“While we have kept evolving, we have not lost the brand ethos that really stands for working, connecting, playing, relaxing and making spaces that make connections possible,” Aggarwal added.
#Hyperlocalisation
As a brand, SOCIAL is heavily focused on the hyper-localisation strategy, with plans to grow deeper and wider in various cities in India.
Starting with area-specific pin codes for each of its branches, Aggarwal believes that it is a nod towards bringing the nuances of the locality into their outlets.
Taking hyperlocalisation a notch further, Aggarwal shed light on the devanagari scripture that SOCIAL engraves on its cutlery and its surroundings, for example, glasses that say #पानी, #छत, etc. She talked about how such letterings are unique to the cafe and are a hat tip to one of the oldest dialects of the nation.
“Devanagari has been an important part of what we should stand for from day one. So the quirky way of doing things—the edgy way—is part of the brand philosophy,” she added.
She believes that the addition of the Devanagari script helps match the tone of being an Indian brand from day one.
As the focus of the audience shifted from being ‘Facebook worthy’ in 2014 to ‘Instagrammable’ in 2024, Aggarwal believes SOCIAL’s quirky designs, the hyperlocal ambience, the inclusion of Devanagari, and the innovative cutlery helped them navigate that journey.
#Helming pop culture and inclusivity
With time, SOCIAL grew into an ecosystem, according to Aggarwal, who revealed that the cafe also became the helm of pop culture, given their evolving target from millennials to Gen Z and now Gen Alpha.
The recent Swiftie Night held at Rajouri SOCIAL, the Short N Sweet party celebrating Sabrina Carpenter’s latest album at Khar SOCIAL, and cricket showcases at various SOCIAL outlets all emphasise how SOCIAL is knee-deep in the ‘pop culture’ phenomenon.
She added, “A lot of inclusivity became more important—something that started getting spoken about more and we really made it a part of who we are.
She cited the example of SOCIAL’s IP of ‘Satrangi Mela,’ a neighbourhood flea market set up by the LGBTQIA+ community that aimed to foster inclusivity.
#Opportunities: then and now
According to Aggarwal, technology entered their marketing scenario when COVID-19 hit. The global pandemic affected the ‘going out’ phenomenon for all the brands involved in it and that’s when SOCIAL doubled down on delivery and Cloud Kitchen branding.
Aggarwal enshrined her glass-half-full approach and added, “That was also a time when that challenge became an opportunity by bringing tech and data-enabled marketing into our way of working.”
The use of tech in their communications quickly evolved to delivering personalised communications including repeating previous orders and gauging what other tables around are having to make the customer choice easier.
Reflecting on the opportunities emerging right now, Aggarwal urged that brands need to bank on trends, both mini and mega to target Gen Z and the emerging Gen Alpha.
She said, “Brands need to capitalise on showing trends that resonate with them while not alienating them.”
For SOCIAL, she believes that the increase in the frequency of people going out opens avenues for communication and innovation in experience.
#ServingTheExperience
Delving deep into experiential marketing, Aggarwal cited the instances of SOCIAL’s recent Kore-Yeah trend, wherein the original menu was married with classic Korean dishes like ramen, workshops for making kimchi and kimbap were organised to tap into the wider network of Korean food fanatics.
Another instance was the Anuv Jain concert that happened in antiSOCIAL in Mumbai that was live streamed to every other SOCIAL outlet for fans to vibe with food and drinks.
#BrandCollaborations
Take your Spotify Wrapped personality to your nearby SOCIAL and you will receive a customised cocktail; visit your nearby SOCIAL to unveil your Monday makeup with Maybelline; or attend a Strangers Thing party with Netflix at SOCIAL: these are some of the experiences the cafe curated as it goes big on brand collaborations.
Aggarwal muses over the collaborations as the opportunity they are banking on and said, “We really believe in talking to the customers or the guests who are looking for newer experiences. We are a platform for emerging artists, emerging art, and emerging culture. And that's the biggest opportunity that we have of doing something new and different.”
She believes that customers don’t come just for the food and beverages but for experiences that give them the joy of stepping out.
Splurging big and right on brand and artist collaborations, right from open mic to poetry sessions to mini music concerts, Aggarwal highlighted that the synergy between brand, artist and the target audience takes centre stage while deciding such collaborations.
She added, “When we select artists, we look at what they stand for, what is the philosophy, and will they get along with the kind of audience who will be coming in, and that's the only thing that we look at.”
Aggarwal added that such a synergy check will help both brands leverage each other's reach and engagement and do something that works well for both audiences.
Talking more on the same, Aggarwal revealed that for the past 10 years, branded content has been at the heart of SOCIAL. Reflecting on their recent ‘SOCIAL turns 10’ campaign, she elucidated the interview film made with comedian Shreeja Chaturvedi and founder Riyaaz Amlani that blends humour to describe the journey of the brand.
#LookingForward
Aggarwal laid out the future focal points of SOCIAL as she talked about better leveraging data-driven marketing and looking towards more creative content partnerships.
She added, “We also look towards leveraging different content features, on different campaigns, on different focal points, or topical points during the year.”
She also added that SOCIAL is open to working with more upcoming artists from different niches, from graphic design to music, poetry, coding and so on.
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