Comodo’s “Instagram” Menu

#Comodomenu

The above is the Instagram hashtag for one of New York City’s newest restaurant, Comodo. This three-week old Latin-American restaurant, located in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, has integrated their customers to be a part of their visual menu. After the restaurant noticed numerous guests pulling out their phones and taking pictures of their dishes, they decided to capitalize on this trend of Instagram. I, myself, am guilty as charged when it comes to taking photos of mouth-watering and beautifully presented food. Or even huge platters of food that gets the most bang for your buck. Overall, I can relate to the trend of sharing what you’re eating to your friends to make them envious. Anyways, check out Comodo’s video here:

Taking advantage of this trend and jumping on the wagon, the restaurant has embraced the hashtag #ComodoMenu and added it to the bottom of its real-life menu. They always encourage their guests to add, share, and check out photos of food offered. It comes in handy as well, when you are indecisive of what to eat and need a couple of convincing photos to steer you one way or the other (or indirectly, make you more indecisive than you were after looking at all the delicious choices).

Comments on the idea of integrating Instagram into a restaurant’s menu? I have both positive and negative thoughts. Here are some of the advantages:

1. Producing Word of Mouth and Media Share: With customers posting their latest photos onto their Instagram, their followers and any linked social media networks they’ve connected Instagram with (ex. Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Foursquare, etc.) will be able to see them as well. This is a great way to produce media coverage at nearly no cost at all. You have genuine opinions and photos from ordinary, typical users that display the photo just as it is.
2. Customer Interaction: Allowing customers to be a part of the Comodo visual menu makes it a great way for customers to connect with one another and feel a greater connection between the restaurant and themselves. They’ve become more than just “guests” at the restaurant. They’re the framework of the company’s menu and are involved in the value-adding process of the unique experience.

Now, here are some disadvantages:

1. Does it really make a difference in your restaurant experience?: It’s arguable to say that just because you can view multiple images of the dishes offered, doesn’t mean that it will give you a “better” experience. Many restaurants already have pictures of their dishes placed into the menu already, giving you a glimpse of what to look forward to and expect. Posting a photo may feel like a unique and memorable way to record your dining experience, but for a typical food photographer, like myself, the picture would have been taken anyways, with or without the visual menu.
2. Will sales and customer volume increase?: In my opinion, it probably won’t. Regardless of whether there’s a hashtag or not, people that like to photograph their food will still post up and share it on social media networks. Even before the Instagram visual menu was created, customers were already taking photos and posting them. In addition, you also have sites, such as Urbanspoon.com, that already has a well-established site composed of restaurants with customer reviews, ratings, and real-life food photographs. Moreover, when it comes to choosing where to go out to eat, most people will often base their decision on feedback from friends or from their information search, which generally includes being drawn to the restaurant from the food photos.

Overall, I think it’s a unique way to take a trend and integrate it into leveraging one’s business. Whether the outcomes are favourable is still unknown, but it’s an inexpensive way to use social media to develop brand awareness. My suggestion? Possibly suggesting customers to write a review with their uploaded picture and be entered into a monthly contest for a free meal. That would make my mouth water : P