The restaurant reservation platform announced a new advertising arm called OpenTable Media. The offering lets advertisers buy ad space on OpenTable’s website or within its email newsletters, as well as target its audiences offsite using aggregated, deidentified data about diners. The group also formalizes OpenTable’s experiential partnerships, where brands host promotional events at restaurants within OpenTable’s network.
Brands including Diageo, Ghirardelli, and Cobra Beer have piloted OpenTable Media’s ad placements and experiential offerings.
OpenTable is owned by Booking Holdings, a travel technology company that also owns Booking.com, priceline.com, agoda.com, Kayak, and Rentalcars.com. More than 60,000 restaurants use OpenTable globally, and users book more than 1.9 billion seats each year using the platform, according to the company. It has offices in the U.S., India, the U.K., Australia, and Mexico.
Meeting advertiser demand
OpenTable’s ad business is launching primarily in response to advertiser demand, according to Robin Chiang, chief growth officer.
When Chiang joined OpenTable from Kayak five years ago, there was a trickle of brands inquiring about ad or promotional opportunities with the company, he said. But in the post-Covid era of rebuilding restaurants after lockdowns hit the industry with major challenges, it wasn’t something that OpenTable was ready to put resources into.
Over the last two years, however, that trickle became more of a steady stream, Chiang said.
“Restaurants tell the story of cities,” he said. “Brands want to tap into that.”
Initially, the platform worked with a few brands to build custom sponsored experiences in partnership with restaurants. When those were successful, a platform was built around the concept, Chiang said.
Partnerships give OpenTable more business and traffic on its platform, and brands get one-to-one access to customers. Restaurants get a slew of bookings they can count on, he explained.
“It’s great for everybody,” Chiang said. “It brings more ideas and money to the restaurant ecosystem.”
OpenTable’s entry into the world of commerce media comes at a moment when many retailers are struggling to meet the lofty revenue goals set at the outset of their media networks. While Amazon and Walmart continue to post double-digit growth numbers for their ad businesses, smaller retail media networks have had a harder time cashing in on the category’s promise of a lucrative revenue stream with higher margins than are customary in retail or restaurants.
