A restaurant that styles itself on Robin Hood – by giving money to the needy – has been given a new website by Edelman Montreal.
Robin des Bois, a Montreal not-for-profit restaurant now celebrating its tenth anniversary, is almost entirely volunteer-run, with the exception of its chefs, and all of its proceeds go to community organizations like Sun Youth and Santropol Roulant.
The Robin des Bois website, created on a pro-bono basis by Edelman, “is a lot cleaner (and it’s) a lot easier to understand what the mission of the restaurant is,” says Ève Laurier, general manager of Edelman Montreal.
Web developers at Edelman Montreal restructured the content architecture and redesigned the website’s integration around a WordPress content management system, in collaboration with a graphic designer chosen by the restaurant.
“The website didn’t match the image they wanted,” says Philippe Girard, senior vice-president, technology and digital operations at Edelman Montreal, noting that visits have increased now the restaurant has a more professional site.
Edelman’s office on Saint-Laurent Blvd. is located across the street from Robin des Bois. “We’ve all pretty much been there [and] washed all the dishes,” says Laurier. “The thing that keeps me going back there is the quality of the food; it’s not that it’s a charity place. It’s a really good restaurant.”
Justine Lord-Dufour, senior advisor at Edelman Montreal, is also on the Robin des Bois board and helped the restaurant develop a communication plan to increase its volunteers, donors and visibility.
The restaurant has also redecorated and changed its menu and logo.
Laurier says it’s rare for any Montreal restaurant to survive for 10 years, let alone a restaurant that gives money away. The tenth anniversary served as an ideal opportunity for Robin des Bois to reconnect with the media, she says.
“People will go to a restaurant if it’s a good restaurant and then be super happy if it’s for a good cause. The fact that it’s a non-profit won’t necessarily make you go,” she notes.
Edelman Montreal now has about 42 employees, about half of whom are digital developers.
The digital arm of the agency has grown in concert with the growth of gaming studios in Montreal and has been buoyed by Quebec research and development tax credits for tech firms, Laurier says.
Edelman Montreal is doing digital work for clients that include Sunkist, Xbox and Microsoft, Girard says.
According to Laurier, the agency is gaining business from Quebec firms that need help in the rest of Canada and abroad as well as from international firms seeking Quebec-specific strategies and not just translations.
“It’s no longer Toronto headquarters supported by Montreal. There are national accounts now being led out of Montreal,” she says, citing Telus Health as an example.
Earlier this year the office acquired Montreal-based boutique medical communications and health marketing firm SixDegrés, a move that has helped it increase its healthcare business.
The fact Edelman is family-owned and privately-held also helps in Quebec, where the majority of firms meet one or both of those criteria, she says.
