If you’re like me, you’re probably wondering from time to time why you even bother marketing your books. I mean, there have been times when everything I’d try would seem to be in vain. When, at best, I broke even on my Ads. When people wouldn’t read my work if I literally gave it away.
So, when I came across the hilarious story of The Shed at Dulwich by Lindsay Kent on Quora and read the full story in Butler’s own words on Vice, I just had to share.
Mind you, it has nothing to do with books. But it has everything to do with marketing. Read on and you’ll see what I mean!
The Shed at Dulwich
London. Home to over 8 million people. A hub of cultures colliding into a mishmash of food. Steaming fish and chips and spicy curry. Hot tea and sticky toffee pudding.f a restaurant is ranked as being the best in London, it has to be good, right?
In April 2017, Oobah Butler, a writer for Vice who had previously been bribed by restaurants to give good reviews, set out to test the system and prove a point.
He decided to fake an entire restaurant.
Named “The Shed at Dulwich,” after well, Butler’s own shed at Dulwich, he quickly began to set up the fake dinner place.
A $13 burner phone was all he needed to verify it on Yelp. Having no address, he called The Shed an “appointment-only restaurant”.
He set up a two-page website, complete with ever-so-very-hipster mood-inspired dishes and delicious photos of food. Hot spots are all about quirks, so to cut through the noise he needed a concept silly enough to infuriate your dad. A concept like naming all of his dishes after moods.
As he explained on his website:
You choose which fits your day, and our Chef interprets that. We can also tailor dishes for special occasions and at extra cost.
And he continued with…
Examples of Moods served in the past
- Lust: Rabbit kidneys on toast seasoned with saffron and an oyster bisque. Served with a side of pomegranate soufflé.
Nice Photos
Now, some soft-focus images of those delicious dishes.
PHOTO: CHRIS BETHELL. You’d eat this, wouldn’t you?
PHOTO: CHRIS BETHELL. Probably best not to.
PHOTO: CHRIS BETHELL. No? OK, how about—
PHOTO: CHRIS BETHELL. This is sponge covered in paint, with quenelles of shaving foam.
You’re getting it: this isn’t what it looks like.
The Value of Reviews
Initially, the restaurant was ranked #18,149. The worst in London. Butler contacted friends and asked them to write fake reviews, and within the first couple of weeks, he had broken 10,000.
Requests for reservations began to flood in. Butler responded by saying “Sorry, but we’re fully booked for the next six weeks.”
The Shed at Dulwich soared in the rankings, reaching #1,456.
By the end of August, it was in the top 200. Butler’s burner phone was ringing for reservations more and more.
The Best Restaurant in London
On November 1st, 2017, The Shed at Dulwich became London’s top-rated restaurant, despite literally no one ever having dined there.
Out of Hand
That’s when things got out of hand. People who wanted to work at The Shed got in touch, in significant numbers. Then he got an email from the council, which wanted to relocate them to a site in Bromley they were developing.
Companies tracked the location and began to mail free samples.
Then an Australian production company got in touch, saying they wanted to exhibit them across the world in an aircraft company’s inflight videos.
That’s when Butler decided to do it: he’d open The Shed. Just for one night. With a menu straight out of the local super market’s £1 shelf (roughly $1.10).
The result? He invited people into a hastily-assembled collection of chairs outside his shed, and they left thinking it really could be the best restaurant in London.
Read the full story in Butler’s own words on Vice and remember: if marketing can propel this guy’s shed to #1, imagine what it can do for your book!
Happy (book) marketing!
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This is the funniest thing I have read recently! lol
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it 😀
Wow. That’s utterly amazing. He had a great gimmick to start off with the unique dishes based on a mood. I guess that shows the power of the blurb! Lol. A fun post, Nicholas. 🙂
Thank you, D! It also shows the value of reviews, I guess. Especially glowing fake ones lol
That is so brilliant. And funny too!
Completely agree 😀
Wow, what a story! The guy’s a marketing genius.
Couldn’t agree more! I’m so jealous 🙂
Thanks, Nicholas! You had the whole family laughing together about this story. Now I’m trying to figure out how to get the erstwhile restauranteur to promote my books! Very funny.
See? You’re already full of new marketing ideas 😀
Funny. Need this today.
So glad I could help 🙂
Very funny! Needed a laugh.
So glad I could help 🙂
Very interesting–not to mention hilarious.
I know, right?? 😀