Case study · SUSHISAMBA Bahrain
A global name, launched as a destination in its own right.
SUSHISAMBA arrived in Bahrain with the bar already set high. The launch could not look like a local restaurant opening — it had to meet the creative standard the brand’s international audience already expected.
regional audience, independent of the host hotel
of paid media: Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube
delivering to SUSHISAMBA’s international venue standards
Services: Brand Video Production · Social Media Management · Paid Media · Activation Campaigns
The Challenge
SUSHISAMBA arrived in Bahrain with a bar already set high. As a global brand with venues in London, Dubai, and beyond, the Bahrain launch could not look like a local restaurant opening. It had to launch as a destination in its own right, with its own accounts and identity, and meet the creative standard the brand’s international audience already expected.
There was added complexity in who we answer to. SUSHISAMBA Bahrain sits inside the Conrad Bahrain Financial Harbour, which means three sets of stakeholders: the local Conrad team, the on-site SUSHISAMBA team, and the international brand. We sit in the middle, balancing global brand objectives with local market needs.
The Strategy
We earned the partnership before we expanded it. The engagement began with a defined production scope: high-grade brand videos for the venue and the wider hotel offering. Once those assets proved we could deliver at the level required, SUSHISAMBA brought us on as their social and digital partner.
From there, the strategy was to build SUSHISAMBA as a destination, not a hotel amenity. The Conrad is a business hotel rather than a resort, so it draws relatively few local Bahrainis. SUSHISAMBA, by contrast, has broad regional appeal. We targeted that wider audience directly, and the SUSHISAMBA account now significantly outperforms the host hotel’s.
Operationally, we run a quarterly review rhythm with the brand team and monthly heartbeat meetings with both the local and global teams. The brand aligns on the quarterly plan and objectives rather than approving every post, which lets us move quickly while staying on-brand.
What We Did
The retainer baseline is around 12 posts per month plus a half-day shoot where we plan and produce the monthly content calendar, supported by an extensive content bank built over the partnership. Instagram leads, with Facebook and Google Business Profile managed alongside for search visibility.
On top of that sits the activation playbook. For programming like Friday brunch, Sushi Social, and headline events, we tease in advance, produce the launch assets, then cover the event live with fast-turnaround Reels, often same or next day. We run multi-channel paid campaigns across Meta and TikTok, with Snapchat and YouTube layered in as needed, driving traffic to the SevenRooms booking engine and WhatsApp.
As the media buying team, we are constantly checking that promotions are working and feeding back to the client, even without direct access to their reservation data.
The Results
- A standalone SUSHISAMBA Bahrain audience with broader reach than the host hotel
- A full integrated offering: content, community, search, and multi-channel paid media
- A consistent activation engine that teases, launches, and captures every major event
- An 18-month-plus partnership delivering to international SUSHISAMBA brand standards
Watch the work
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