Breaking Through Nashville’s Holiday Pop-Up Noise: Nashville’s Nutcracker at Common Ground
REED partnered with Common Ground’s Sylvan Park location to elevate awareness and drive traffic for the restaurant’s first immersive holiday experience: Nashville’s Nutcracker Pop-Up, created in partnership with the Nashville Ballet. By leading with a media and influencer preview night and sustaining outreach through the season, REED exceeded earned coverage goals and helped generate the highest sales week the restaurant had seen since opening two and a half years before.
INSIGHT:
In Nashville, holiday pop-ups are a major seasonal draw. That popularity creates a core challenge: even great concepts can get lost in the crowd. With so many venues competing for attention, Common Ground needed a launch approach that would create urgency before opening, drive coverage that highlighted more than decor, including quality food, festive cocktails, the benefit to Nashville Ballet and lastly, convert awareness into meaningful foot traffic and sales.
STRATEGY:
REED built a campaign designed to generate early momentum and sustained visibility, anchored by a “first look” moment that would give media and tastemakers a reason to prioritize coverage. We implemented the following strategies to do this:
- Lead with exclusivity: REED used a preview night to position the pop-up as a must-see experience before the public launch
- Prioritize the right voices: REED targeted local food, beverage and lifestyle influencers and reporters whose audiences align with Common Ground’s ideal guests
- Package a story with purpose: REED ensured every pitch clearly connected the pop-up’s fun, festive experience with its community impact, with proceeds benefiting the Nashville Ballet
ACTIVATION:
REED executed a full media and influencer relations campaign throughout the holiday season, with an intensive push around the preview night and opening. Key activations included:
- Media + influencer relations plan
- Curated target lists
- Pitched angles and messaging development
- Outreach timeline tied to key pop-up moments
- Media + influencer preview night (pre-opening)
- Invited select local reporters and tastemakers for first look
- Coordinated an on-site experience optimized for content capture (cocktails, food, immersive visuals)
- Reinforced key messaging: festive experience + quality menu + Nashville Ballet benefit
- Ongoing pitching + partnership management
- Continued outreach to secure additional placements as the season progressed
- Coordinated influencer visits to keep the pop-up visible beyond opening week
RESULTS:
Through our efforts, REED exceeded both earned media and influencer partnership goals, securing 46 pieces of coverage that reached over 4 million people. This campaign delivered standout visibility and contributed to record sales performance for the restaurant
REED secured 16 online and e-newsletter media placements, including StyleBlueprint, Nashville Lifestyles, NASHtoday, NCVC and a drink-making segment on Local on 2. REED coordinated 12 influencer partnerships, generating 30 total pieces of influencer coverage for the pop-up.