As part of a recent rebrand, Newmarket Hotel along Inkerman St in St Kilda is holding a competition to get their customers more involved in the venue and its offerings.
As Zoe Trewin, the marketing coordinator and creative mastermind behind the concept explains, “We wanted to shift the focus onto the community and getting the customer involved and making them feel like they’re part of the family.
“I thought to get the word out there, actually having a campaign where people can submit their ideas for burgers and potentially have that added to the menu was the perfect way to start that conversation.”
The competition is two-fold. Firstly, you’ll need to go on a scavenger hunt to find one of their posters, which will be posted outside on the surrounding streets and in a few cheeky shops.
Next, you’ll need to take a photo of the poster and upload it to social media with a caption that fills in the gaps of the burger with ingredients you’d want in your “dream burger”. You’ll also need to tag Newmarket and use the hashtag #NewmarketDreamBurger, so they can find your stellar creation.
As Trewin states, the Newmarket Hotel are basically asking punters, “If you could have the perfect burger, what would it have in it?”.
Now, if you’re wondering whether creativity or taste will be a bigger factor in the decision process, Trewin says that your best bet is to dream big – especially as you’ll be trying to impress more than just the Newmarket staff. In fact, it’s the public who will decide the winner, through the venue’s social media page.
“We won’t even make the final decision, it’ll be up to the general public to vote for their favourite,” Trewin says.
“We’ll pick six of our favourites and put it to the general public to vote on social media.” However, she does offer some advice. “At the end of the day, you want it to taste good.”
So, make sure to keep flavour in mind when you’re selecting your ingredients.
It’s a drool-worthy prize too, with the winner staking claim to a year’s worth of free burgers from the venue.
“So they can go anytime and either have their dream burger every time, or if they get sick of that, try any other burger,” Trewin explains.
There’s no need to feel left out of the running if you’re a vegetarian or vegan either, as Trewin confirms this competition is 100 per cent for you too.
“I tried a Beyond Meat burger for the first time the other day and it was amazing, so just seeing something like that would be great as well to include everyone,” says Trewin. “That’s what we want to do, just have options for absolutely everyone.”
Even if you’re not the chosen winner, you’ll still get a little something, as everyone who enters the competition will have a drink waiting for them at the bar. As Trewin explains, “All they have to do is go in and show that they’ve entered by showing their post on social media, and we’ll shout them a free drink.” The competition will be running for two weeks, kicking off on Friday January 17 until Friday January 31.
“The sky’s the limit in terms of what you can come up with for burgers, so go for it. We’re really excited to see what you come up with,” Trewin says.
Newmarket have also pledged to donate a dollar from every schooner and pint of Furphy sold to WIRES, supporting animals in need following these devastating fires. So make sure to grab a cold one while you’re on the hunt in the area.
The Newmarket Hotel Scavenger Hunt gets underway from Friday January 17 and runs until Friday January 31 and there’s a year’s supply of free burgers up for grabs. Find out more via the venue website.
