Specialist marketing communications agency

Introduction

When Regent Inns acquired a portfolio of themed restaurants from Punch Taverns in 2006, one of their first undertakings was the revitalisation of a major constituent brand: Old Orleans. Known mainly as an 80s-style theme bar, the general atmosphere of Old Orleans as expressed through the decor, food and in particular - the music was felt to be somewhat outmoded and in need of a contemporary 'lift'.

Regent Inns therefore began work with Kaleidovision with a view to enhancing the restaurant experience, particularly through music, so that it better championed the authentic roots of the Southern United States.

Objectives

Musically, this presented an interesting challenge. While many people may be aware of certain musical genres native to New Orleans, such as Zydeco and New Orleans jazz, it was clear that "too much authenticity" would lessen the restaurant's appeal to its more mainstream customers, such as family groups, pre-cinema audiences and shoppers.

The two main objectives for Kaleidovision's music team were to successfully integrate aspects of the traditional and cultural heritage of New Orleans with appealing contemporary music elements, and to be able to mix the genres at any time of day into a seamless musical experience.

Solutions

Kaleidovision's overall music solution has been to keep the music upbeat and lively, bringing in modern jazz acts such as Wynton Marsalis and Harry Connick Jr to complement authentic Louisiana artistes like The Meters and Dr. John. At weekends, playlists change to feature Southern rock and blues, as well as current R&B/soul artists such as Rihanna, John Legend and Amy Winehouse. A range of specific playlists, which can be selected on-demand by the site have also been designed for special occasions.

Kaleidovision's music team has ensured that older source material has been subtly enhanced and re-EQ'd so that it segues correctly into newer material. All tracks have been given specific, set in- and out- points, and Kaleidovision software then handles BPM matching, cross-fading and source levelling automatically.

A Kaleidovision KL2/DJV player operates in each site, and all players are connected by a media network, so that new music updates can be rapidly distributed from Kaleidovision via a central music server, located at the Old Orleans' head office. Updates and performance-reporting from the sites is managed centrally from Kaleidovision's Operations centre.