marketing + growth
once your brand, space, and systems are in place, we stay past opening night to help you grow.
what we do · after open
nine retainer services to keep you growing and on target.
Too many restaurant marketing agencies hand over a file or send a final report, and the operator is left running a room that quietly stops matching its own plan somewhere around month four. We don't just offer standard creative design services and walk away. We offer ongoing, scheduled growth retainers focused on your community presence, market intelligence, and operational health.
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01content marketing
monthly
Everything that happens between shifts.
- a monthly content calendar
- four to six posts a week
- one email to the list
- a quarterly photo refresh
- DMs answered in 24 hours
- copy in the house voice
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02web + search
monthly
Being findable by the people already looking.
- site management
- SEO for real search terms
- GEO and AEO for AI answers
- Google Business Profile
- schema + structured data
- review responses, weekly
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03customer programs
monthly
The vehicles that turn a customer into a regular.
- an annual programs calendar
- one LTO or event a quarter
- merch drops, produced
- loyalty and clubs
- email and SMS flows
- press on real milestones
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04analytics
monthly
The numbers you already have, translated.
- a KPI dashboard every month
- POS and sales-mix reporting
- guest behaviour analysis
- quarterly strategy review
- custom reporting
- trade-area benchmarks
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05brand monitoring
monthly
What is being said about you, the block, and the category.
- a weekly monitoring digest
- reviews and mentions, live
- quarterly competitor scans
- share-of-voice tracking
- AI-answer visibility checks
- market signals, early
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06automations
monthly
If a task repeats, it should not need a person.
- a quarterly roadmap
- two to four per quarter
- ordering and scheduling
- reporting and guest comms
- on-premise workflows
- the Oak Box, in pilot
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07operational audits
quarterly
Where the operation has drifted from what you designed.
- a quarterly on-site audit
- service and kitchen flow
- SOP drift review
- a same-day recap
- a written report in a week
- a prioritised fix list
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08f&b audits
quarterly
Which dishes carry the menu, and which quietly lose money.
- a menu engineering report
- COGS trend analysis
- labour variance review
- repricing recommendations
- vendor and spec review
- waste and yield checks
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09culture audits
quarterly
The hardest thing to measure and the first thing guests feel.
- a team pulse review
- leadership coaching notes
- retention benchmarks
- attrition, read honestly
- onboarding review
- shift-lead development
brand + space + systems
take all nine as one retainer, a single lane, or one entry. Copper+Oak also draws the brand, the space, and the systems, before you ever open.
see the design serviceseverything before opening night
the studio
we have run the thing we are auditing.
Eight years and 13,000 square feet of taproom and kitchen, built and run by our founder before the studio existed. Every audit in the list above is a report we once needed somebody to hand us. We point the same presence instruments at our own site first, and we will show you that dashboard on the call.
meet the studioyou need the capability, not the headcount.
- $260k the combined salary floor for a full-time COO and a creative director in Dallas–Fort Worth, before benefits
- 90 days the ramp either of those hires needs before the first decision worth having. ours start in week one
- nine services covered by one retainer, for a fraction of what a single one of those seats costs
the questions we get
before you ask.
Is this a marketing agency or a consulting firm?
Both, and neither. We are a studio. Operators and designers under one roof, retained to do the work a full-time COO and a full-time creative director would do. We do not hand over a deck and invoice against it.
Do you only work with restaurants?
Yes. It is the only category we take. Bars, coffee shops, breweries and food-forward concepts sit close enough that we can usually help. Tell us what you are running and we will be honest about fit.
What size restaurant is this for?
Single-unit independents, small groups of two to six, and independent multi-concept operators. Not chains, not franchises. If you are still close enough to the floor to feel every shift, you are in range.
How is this different from hiring a restaurant marketing agency?
An agency sells deliverables and reports on them. We sit in the seats a full-time hire would occupy, which means we show up to the operations meeting and own the number, not just the campaign. The health and intelligence lanes are the part no marketing agency offers, because writing a menu engineering report requires having run a kitchen.
What is the minimum commitment?
Post-launch work compounds, so we ask for a multi-month minimum to give the math time to play out. If it is not working inside that window we will say so and unwind it honestly. We would rather lose the engagement than keep billing against work that is not moving.
Can I engage one lane, or one entry?
Yes, and it is explicit rather than grudging. Just content marketing, just f&b audits, just automations. We will scope it, price it, and leave the rest on the shelf until you want it.
Do I have to have opened with Copper+Oak?
No. Most partners on retainer did not open with us. We audit what you have, find the gaps, and build the retainer around your actual starting point rather than an idealised one.
What is the Oak Box, really?
A compute device we install in your restaurant that runs automations, local models and integrations on-premise. It stays ours, you do not buy it, and it is bundled into the intelligence lane for 2026 pilot partners. The point is data sovereignty and a steady pipeline of new automations shipped to the device.
Are you using AI in your own work?
Loudly, yes. We use it for research, drafting, analysis and automation, we tell clients when it touched their work, and we are clear about what it cannot do. The output gets judged on the output. The tools are a studio decision, not a client one.
How do I start?
Tell us what is open, what is drifting, and where the pressure is. We will walk the floor or walk the numbers and tell you honestly whether we are the right shop. Most partnerships start with a conversation, not a proposal.