CHICAGO — Earlier this year, Restaurant Events, LLC, inked a partnership with Walk-In Talk Media, a full-production media company that hosts the No. 1 food podcast on Apple’s charts. The Walk-In Talk Podcast is the official podcast of the independent show organizer’s New York Restaurant Show, Pizza Tomorrow Summit, Florida Restaurant Show and California Restaurant Show — bringing its industry expertise and engaging storytelling to the table to create authentic marketing for the shows and its participants.
An Organic Beginning
The partnership came about organically as Walk-In Talk Media Founder Carl Fiadini understood he and the team needed to be present at trade shows. On a visit to the Pizza Tomorrow Summit with another Walk-In Talk co-host, Sean “Pooch” Rivera, Fiadini met some of the Restaurant Events team members — a few months later an official partnership was created.
“In the food event space, there’s been a ton of consolidation over the course of the last decade, and that has led to many media brands and event entities having the same ownership. When that happens you lose a little bit of the unique differentiators that make each specific entity who they are,” Paul Pedrow, Vice President of Sales at Restaurant Events, said. “We also see events doing their own thing where their teams are running a podcast or media company in totality.
“From a competitive advantage standpoint, this partnership is able to deliver unique content and an element of audience growth separately [from the shows]. Carl and his team have nearly 4.5 million downloads and they’ve grown this platform. We’re starting with two audiences that we’ve both worked hard to build and doing things to collaborate and bring them together, and that’s different from other partnerships.”
Authenticity is Everything
A self-described “storyteller, not influencer,” Fiadini’s goal with Walk-In Talk is to highlight the work of those in the restaurant and food industries, where he spent the first three decades of his career, and bring people closer to the heart of it all through videos, documentaries, photography and strong storytelling.
“It’s anti-marketing too,” Fiadini said. “If you look at our content, there is always going to be sponsors and brand partners, but it’s not like a 1970s used car salesman; it’s quiet. The advertising component is very quiet, and it’s done so purposely.”
When it comes to the deliverables as the podcast partner for Restaurant Events, Walk-In Talk Media is shaking up how show coverage is tackled. The team has a studio set up on the show floor for interviews, but they also walk around booths to take product shots and talk to people.
While Restaurant Events is able to then take that professional-quality content from Walk-In Talk to push out as their post-show recaps and provide it to their exhibitors to share, Walk-In Talk turns those exhibitor interviews into commercials for its podcast episodes. This creates a cost-effective offering that helps to boost exhibitor ROI by getting their brands in front of a larger audience.
“Trust is a big part of it. There is a lot of untrustworthy digital content out there in every industry right now. Mark Cuban posted about how face-to-face events are going to boom because people can’t trust what they’re seeing on their screen half the time anymore,” Pedrow said. “You can tell the effort that Walk-In Talk puts in to ingrain themselves with the people that are truly in this industry and then translating that to their content builds a trust that nothing else can build. That trust is the ultimate differentiator. This kind of editorial content that you can believe in will really propel this and has made it successful so far.”
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Walk-In Talk Media Elevates Storytelling for Brands
Walk-In Talk’s content appeals to both B2B and consumer audiences, which creates a layered ecosystem that includes chefs, restaurateurs, suppliers and food lovers — and aligns with the audience of Restaurant Events’ shows.
“The documentaries, the podcasts, the food photography, Carl and the entire Walk-In Talk team are out there at the restaurants and farms. They’re throwing drones up over fisheries, and these are not things you’re going to get from the average media company in the business. They’re really the star of the show and it’s incredible what that team does,” Pedrow said.
Every piece of content is intentional, in-depth and meant to showcase the food and restaurant industries while providing entertainment at a professional level.
“The way that our shows are set up, if you come into the community because you follow the photography and you’re into food, you’re going to flip out over what’s been cooked in our studio,” Fiadini said. “Then you want to know more about it and guess what? There’s a corresponding video and a corresponding podcast. We are able to spoon feed the audience whatever it is that they’re looking for in the food industry.”
And while foodies can find their fix in Walk-In Talk content, it is also helping to connect those within the industry to do business together.
“What we’re providing is everything a salesperson could utilize to go and sell to a chef. If I were a salesman on the street today, I would watch my content and go call on that chef that came on the show, because you’re going to learn all about them and it’s interesting and useful,” Fiadini said.
Part of the power of Walk-In Talk is that it influences not just those within the restaurant business, but it also catches the attention of consumers, who drive a lot of trends in the industry itself.
The value is high for exhibitors who take advantage of the offerings through this partnership because they get professional-grade assets they can use for their own marketing from the Walk-In Talk team, while expanding their reach to other businesses and consumers through their promotion from the shows themselves and the media company.
Increased Energy Levels
Having Walk-In Talk Media at the show and going to booths to capture content creates a unique kind of buzz on the show floor.
“This partnership has gained traction, and that’s reflected in the energy at the show and post-show. The coverage being put out there after the show is creating more engagement; more photos and videos of the show itself have a tremendous positive impact,” Pedrow said.
The team also saw its rebooking rate increase by one-third at the California Restaurant Show where the partnership debuted. A hike in the NPS score from participants also demonstrates the power of renewed energy.
“Having been in the events world for decades, it’s pretty rare for somebody to approach me with a concept that I’ve never heard of before. This was exactly that, and I couldn’t be more excited for the early success,” said Glenn Celentano, CEO of Restaurant Events, LLC. “The product that Walk-In Talk delivers, and the fact that they work so well with our team, makes this entire venture an absolute no-brainer. I’m looking forward to the continued growth of this program and partnership.”
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