Miku Restaurant
Building brands from the ground up is Living Blueprint’s favourite and most rewarding task. The Miku Restaurant branding project was especially exciting because it marked the North American debut of a wildly successful young Japanese
entrepreneur who has big plans for growth.
Seigo Nakamura is a fourth-generation restauranteur who inherited two restaurants from his father and now runs eight very successful establishments with noted reputations for their people-oriented business practices. Intending Miku to be the first in a series of precedent-setting upscale restaurants to open across North America, Seigo Nakamura’s expectations for this endeavour were very high.
Nakamura’s choice of Vancouver as the entry point for his North American invasion was no fluke. In characteristically bold fashion, Nakamura came to this decision after researching a host of other cities, including Los Angeles and New York, and concluding that Vancouver would be the hardest city to break into. It was a particularly risky move considering the stigma attached to failure in Japanese society. Daring endeavours require an exceptional support team, and Nakamura spared no expense. He hired architect Timothy Bullinger of Arca3 Design Studio, internationally renowned artist Markian Olynyk for glasswork, and Living Blueprint Creative for branding.
Seeing that Seigo Nakamura was very serious in his intent to create a new precedent for Vancouver restaurants, Living Blueprint made him an integral part of the branding process.
+ A team of his top people were relocated from Japan to Vancouver to ensure that Miku would be authentic down to the last detail.
+ The Miku logo, designed by Living Blueprint, is adorned with characters penned by Nakamura, who has a talent for Japanese calligraphy.
+ Living Blueprint’s David Childs even coached Nakamura in English to help him prepare a speech for Miku’s grand opening.
Living Blueprint’s marketing campaign for Miku utilized several major components:
+ A beautiful website featuring a seven-minute professionally crafted documentary, almost unheard of in restaurant world.
+ An eight-page press kit bound into book form.
+ A six-month collaboration with Spark PR to organize Miku’s gala opening.
Seigo Nakamura put his faith solidly behind Living Blueprint’s marketing strategy, and he wasn’t disappointed. The outcome was nothing short of a triumph. Miku’s grand opening was an incredible success, filling to capacity within 30 minutes of the doors opening - a remarkable feat in a city with a reputation for apathy. And since opening, Miku has continued to receive critical acclaim and has become firmly seated in the upper echelon of Vancouver fine dining.
++ live website
++ press kit
