The Bamboo Garden is thrilled to be a part of Kevin Perry’s journey outside of MasterChef Australia 2012. We have since helped him launch kevinperry.com.au and stadiumgrub.com.au. Stay tuned for more details!

Of course, the backlash has been severe. Moran is furiously defending his right not to comment, food media are discussing the dangers of free-for-all opinion sharing and the twitterverse is re-examining seemingly genuine celebrity endorsements, now tainted by suspicions of commercial gain.

Selling out on social media: what’s the problem?

The most interesting element to emerge from this high-drama tale is the broader shadow cast over social media. Once hailed as the new frontier for unmediated, honest sharing of information, the development of social media platforms into complex commercial spaces has brought with it a new set of difficulties that both marketers and consumers must navigate.
The use of a chef’s celebrity to promote all manner of products is a well-accepted practice. Consumers have adjusted to recognisable faces smiling out at them from pans, knives and pre-packaged meals; whether that chef really has a kitchen overflowing with his own branded goods is of secondary importance. Product placement has been equally well accepted as the explosion in popularity enjoyed by cooking shows has brought with it a seemingly endless stream of lucrative branding opportunities. What then, is different about twitter? Why do we expect honesty from one medium when commercialism is integrated so entirely into others?

Transparency in tweets: why does it matter?

Daily Life’s Stephanie Wood asked this very question. She suggests that it is the apparent spontaneity of a tweet that makes being paid for it so shocking. While television chefs are unlikely to improvise a promotional spot for their preferred products, some, even most, of their tweets are expressions of genuine opinion. It is the personal nature of this now mammoth platform that has made it so successful, and that makes paid endorsements so attractive to marketers. In fact the damning email, apparently from a publicist to his/her celebrity client, drew attention to this very point  “…they don’t want the tweet to appear endorsed rather an organic mention injecting your own personality into the tweet.” This personable approach has attracted the most criticism. The Australian’s John Lethlean commented on the debacle via Mumbrella, “It’s simple. The next time Matt Moran tweets his enthusiasm for something I’ll just assume it was neither spontaneous nor genuine, but rather a service for a fee.”

Social media are no longer simply platforms for irreverent, organic personal opinion. They are powerful networks through which hundreds of thousands of consumers are reached (both directly and indirectly) by influential individuals and the brands they represent. It is therefore necessary to operate within a framework of conventions that allow consumers to recognise the distinction between advertisement and personal acknowledgement. Television programmes no longer need to state that their choice of paper towel was the result of a commercial arrangement (beyond a mention in the depths of the credits) because viewers understand the long-established practice of product placement. Social Media, however, requires a greater level of transparency in order to maintain the balance between personal communication and professional promotion.

How to avoid a social media marketing scandal

There are some simple guidelines for social media influencers that could have saved Matt Moran, and Kangaroo Island, a lot of trouble:

• When targeting an influencer, marketers should not offer monetary compensation. Instead provide access to the product, service or issue so that the individual may develop a genuine opinion
• Influencers should be advised to disclose ‘material connections’ to brands. That is, any goods or services they have been provided with when endorsing them on blogs or social media.
• Disclosures should be clear, prominent and use unambiguous language.
• Marketers and Influencers can consult The Word of Mouth Marketing Association’s (WOMMA) Social Media Disclosure Handbook for helpful guidelines

If you need some guidance on navigating the complexities of social media marketing, or want to speak to us about your business’ online presence, send us an email at hello@thebamboogarden.com.au or give us a call on 1300 669 832.

What do you do when you’re tired of waiting for the food truck trend to hit Sydney? You bring it here yourself!

But the owners behind Little Piggy Van were smarter than to just replicate the concept here. Unlike the US food trucks which predominantly rely on  customers to buy food direct from the truck, Little Piggy Van tackles the problem of inconsistent and unpredictable cashflow, by encouraging customers to pre-order.

Where we started

Sometime last year, The Bamboo Garden begun working closely with Little Piggy Van to develop an e-commerce website which would be the back engine of this new business model.

We’ve had the pleasure of developing a clean, sleek and fun interface which facilitates many custom features such as:

• Individual menus for 5 days
• Custom reporting on sales and products
• Delivery assignment configurations
• One click ordering with ‘remember me’ and token payments

In addition to the very clever e-commerce website, we’ve also been involved with the food styling and photography of their dishes, we’ve developed many customer email templates, designed their Facebook landing pages, and generated them some fantastic press mentions in publications such as the Hospitality Magazine and Hills Shire Times.

Services

Services used include:

• Website audit
• Information architecture and user experience
• Search engine optimisation
• Copywriting
• Food styling and photography
• eCommerce website planning, design & development
• Social media marketing strategy & leads generation
• Social media community management
• Facebook page set-up
• Twitter page design and set-up
• E-newsletter template design and copywriting
• Other customer email template design and copywriting
• PR exposure
• Online consumer marketing promotions consulting

Little Piggy Van is a mobile lunch delivery service that provides delicious lunch boxes to workplaces around Sydney (currently services the Hills District and Macquarie Park areas). Their sumptuous meals are all prepared by restaurant chefs and are just a click away from your desk! For more information on Little Piggy Van or to view today’s menu, go to www.littlepiggyvan.com.au.

We’ve recently had the delight of developing a brand identity for nutritionist and naturopath, Charlotte Lim.

Charlotte’s brief was to develop a brand that was personable, inspirational, passionate and knowledgeable. She wanted to convey that eating well is simple and fun, even in our busy modern lifestyle.

Our initial design concepts started off fresh and fun and evolved into a greener, leafier design.

Below is the final creative. We’ve chosen to use a clean and simple sans-serif font as the main header typeface to add a subtle decorative touch. The subtext is a little more structured to convey a sense of professionalism and define what the brand exactly does. The clear lines also ensure the logo is completely legible even when small. Furthermore, we’ve selected a two-tone colour palette that is inspiring and fun to give it an overall lift.

About Charlotte

Charlotte Lim is a naturopath and nutritionist and lives by the mantra “prevention is better than cure” through nutritious food and a healthy lifestyle. She loves to cook (as well as create delicious raw food dishes) and is passionate about organic food.

Charlotte’s goal is to educate and inspire people to live and eat well. She loves to support her patients through their individual health goals so they achieve optimum health. Charlotte has a special interest in women’s health and detoxification and is available for consultations at:

Taste 4 Health Wellness Centre
20 Bettina Court
Greenacre NSW 2190
Phone: 0425 256 867
Email: charlotte@charlottelim.com.au

Our team was thrilled to have discovered this ‘Restaurant Website Drinking Game‘ by American chef Jonas Luster. To say it is an interesting way to analyse just how bad most restaurant websites are, is an understatement. Happy drinking!

Oh, and to answer the question posed in this post’s title… It is the opposite of everything in the game

If you want to speak to us about more tips on how you can improve your restaurant’s online presence, give us a call or shoot us an email!

We’re delighted to reveal that we were recently interviewed by Nett to provide some insights on the importance of timing in email marketing. Click on the below image to read the full article.

Stay tuned for more, or give us a call if you’re interested in seeing how we can help your business grow!

The Christmas pudding made with caviar, gold leaf and diamond by Marc Guibert, head chef at Lindeth Howe Country House Hotel.

Vietnamese coffee pack — Luke Nguyen by Baccarat

This drip-brew coffee filter sits atop your glass to make having Vietnamese coffee at home easier than ever. Best served with condensed milk of course. Stylish and simple, this gift has a RRP of $44.99 at the Baccarat store but is just $29.95 at Myer.

Scanpan Spectrum 6 piece Steak knife set

Never host another boring dinner party with these Scanpan coloured steak knives! RRP $49.95

Toast it coaster set

Is it edible? No it’s not so don’t butter it. RRP $17.47 at Typo

‘COOK’ metal book stand

Great for whether you’re propping up a cookbook or your iPad, this versatile gift is also available in red, white, black or pastel blue. RRP $7 at Typo

BLOSSANDE Coffee accessories

Never have another boring cappuccino with this coffee decorating kit RRP $16.99 at IKEA

Sushi Frill leg mini shorts

Now there’s an excuse to go to bed hungry in these cute sushi shorts! Also available in cupcake and milk patterns, these RRP $30.52 at Peter Alexander

Personalised Gingerbread House

Display it, gift it, eat it…what can’t you do with a gingerbread house? RRP $AUD 65 from Dylan’s Candy Bar

Chocogram

Nothing’s sweeter than chocolate but now you can customise your own message! RRP $14.50 – $47.50

Fresh Wasabi delivered to your home

For all those gourmet foodie lovers out there, this Japanese delicacy is a rare treat in our Aussie streets! Great for showcasing your skills or just plain experimenting with wasabi flavour, this rather unique gift has a RPP of $42

Kitchen Notes

Stay organised in the kitchen and document all your culinary knowledge. This hard cover notebook features 18 pre-labeled tabs and lots of handy tips! RRP $39.95 from kikki.K

Garlic crusher and ejector

The Ferrari of garlic crushers, this quirky new kitchen gadget not only presses multiple garlic cloves at once, but it also scrapes off any excess garlic and ejects the peel! RRP $39.95

OCD Chopping Board

For those a little more than obsessed with getting measurements right, this chopping board takes precision to a whole new level! RRP $25

Indian Made Easy spice boxes

This traditional Indian spice box set contains all the basic spices you need to confidently cook your own Indian dishes from scratch at home.  The spices included are: turmeric powder, urad dhal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cumin powder, coriander powder, chilli powder and Indian Made Easy’s unique blend of Sambar Powder and Garam Masala. RRP $65

Open coconuts safely with Cococut!

A very handy gadget for lovers of fresh coconut who haven’t mastered the art of opening a coconut with a machete or butcher knife! RRP $25

Gorgeous pantry labels by Love Mae

Keep your pantry organised (and looking pretty!) with these super sweet labels. RRP $59.95

Here’s a preview of some of the tasty shots we’ve created -

Colour Soup is a relatively new business that sprouted out of passion. Owner and colour consultant, Simmy Wong takes clients on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment and transforms their personal image, wardrobe collection or interior spaces to truly reflect their personality and style.

She approached The Bamboo Garden to help establish an online presence that could be leveraged to increase awareness, build credibility and generate leads.

Where we started

After sitting down with Simmy to discuss her business model, goals and budget, we formulated our objectives and strategy. We developed a blog so that Simmy could share inspiring finds and showcase some of the amazing transformations she’s already created for clients; with a combination of social media activities, Colour Soup has been able to develop its own unique voice – connecting and communicating with emotion, engagement, empathy and entertainment.

Next we developed a low budget website which involved adapting an existing WordPress theme. The WordPress engine is an inexpensive mechanism for clients wanting a CMS (content management system) on a limited budget. Our designers customised the CSS and various graphics to deliver a look and feel that was on-brand with Colour Soup’s logo and philosophy.

We also integrated a mailing list subscription form with custom fields to enable Colour Soup to segment new subscribers.

Services

Services used include:

• Information architecture and user experience
• Search engine optimisation
• Copywriting
• WordPress design (theme modification) and development
• Social media marketing strategy & leads generation
• Facebook page set-up

Interested in learning more about choosing the right colour and style? Check out Colour Soup.