What fills the tables on weekdays, how to reach locals and visitors, and the formats that beat a photo of a dish.
What fills the tables on weekdays
Five contents, in decreasing effectiveness.
The set lunch, dealt with above.
The real crowd at midday, which reassures about freshness and pace.
The options missing everywhere: gluten-free, vegetarian, children's portions.
The stated waiting time, rare information and decisive for a lunch break.
And the takeaway, with the packaging shown, because part of the volume is played out there.
The other audience: the visitor
Four differences from the local audience.
They search ahead, often the day before and on their phone, in another language.
They know neither the neighbourhood nor the customs, and hesitate to enter a place they have not seen from the inside.
They are buying an experience and not a habit, which makes the setting and the atmosphere decisive.
And they will leave, which makes their online review far weightier than a regular's.
What the visitor will never ask
Five pieces of information they will not dare ask for and that nonetheless decide their visit.
Whether card payment is possible, and whether a minimum amount applies.
Whether anybody speaks their language, even a little.
How to get there, and where to park.
Whether the displayed opening hours are respected, particularly in low season.
And whether the place suits somebody on their own, a question half of visitors ask and nobody handles.
One production consequence: those five answers fit in a one-minute video, and that video works all year.
Which creators to engage
Four profiles, with their uses.
The neighbourhood local, the most credible for the set lunch.
The family profile, useful for weekends and large tables.
The travel creator, only for the visitor audience and provided they show the journey.
And the establishment's staff, for the kitchen and the craft, a position openly assumed and not disguised as a customer.
The brief that produces good material
Six points to write on one page.
The three dishes that leave the kitchen most, to be asked of the floor staff rather than the manager.
The compulsory shots: arrival, room at service time, dish, price, bill.
The real sound, with no added music.
The shooting hours, during service and not in an empty room.
The exact advertising disclosure.
And permission to film other customers, or an explicit ban on framing them.
The Costa Rican calendar
Four periods, four messages.
The dry season, strong in visitors, where the content targets the experience.
The green season, when you speak to the local audience, the set lunch and delivery.
The year-end festivities, the period of large tables, to be prepared from October.
And the back-to-work weeks, the moment of habits and tight budgets.
What a venue needs across the year
Eight occasions that come back.
A new menu.
A weekday lunch offer.
A room for private events.
Recruiting floor staff.
A delivery service starting up.
An offer for the quiet season.
An answer to a review.
And images for the booking page.
What is shot in a venue
| Sequence | The right moment | Length |
|---|---|---|
| The empty room | Before service | 10 s |
| The kitchen gesture | During the prep | 15 s |
| The plated dish | As it leaves the pass | 10 s |
What is arranged with the manager beforehand
The exact slot, the permitted areas, the consent of any staff filmed, and how to handle guests present. Filming during full service disturbs, and it shows on screen.
What is not said in the video
A price, an opening time, a review score or an availability. These four change and make the video unusable three months later.
What must not be promised
Four statements to set aside.
Any health or nutritional benefit claim.
Any promise that an allergen is absent without a verified kitchen procedure, a point handled with the manager and checked with a lawyer.
Any price announced with no date, dealt with above.
And any statement about the origin of the products that would not be accurate for the service filmed.
One last marker: in this category the best video is not the most appetising, it is the one answering the question asked at ten to twelve, when a fast choice has to be made between three addresses and only one shows what you get for your money.
