Our Work: Firefly Bistro and Bar
Restaurant rebrand, website and marketing support for Manchester's gathering place
CLIENT: Firefly Bistro and Bar
Firefly Bistro & Bar is a Manchester, NH gathering place. The staff is friendly and familiar, the dishes are delicious, the cocktails are captivating and the location is in the heart of the city. The Firefly team’s work ethic, familiarity and reputation helped bring them through the Covid-19 pandemic when many local establishments shuttered their doors. On the other side of the ordeal, they knew it was time to celebrate with a new look, website and marketing effort, so they called us.
WHAT WE DID
- Rebranding
- Website redesign
- Sign design
- Email marketing
Rebranding
Fireflies are gregarious creatures. They use their light, called bioluminescence, to illuminate the ends of their abdomen and communicate with their fellow fireflies. In addition to being a beacon in the night, they are extremely community-oriented – traits they share with Firefly’s staff, patrons and atmosphere. We strived to call attention to the glowing light of the firefly in the new logo design while modernizing the colors and fonts. The result is an inviting yet streamlined look and color palette for one of Manchester’s best restaurants.
BEFORE
Website redesign
Firefly’s updated brand is reflected in flickering fireflies, vibey design and welcoming messaging on its restaurant website, designed by the Cookson web and creative team. The user can easily navigate to the menus, check out the Happenings page (always up-to-date) and, most importantly, book a reservation or event. We kept things simple on the front end but employed a location-based SEO strategy that keeps Manchester’s nightspot among the top spots on Google.
Sign design
We worked with the Firefly team and sign vendors to strategize new sign placement and structure for maximum impact. This resulted in several branding opportunities, including a mural produced on the side of Firefly’s brick building. Not only can you see the logo for miles, but it truly seems to “glow”!
Email marketing
In order to keep Firefly’s guests and regulars up-to-date on all the latest happenings, we created and implemented a monthly email marketing plan. Cookson’s creative team designed an eye-catching email template to reflect Firefly’s new branding, complete with seasonally updated photos, clickable links – and of course, the iconic flickering fireflies. Every month, Cookson’s communications team works directly with Firefly to draft a concise, informative and relevant email to inform guests about seasonal specials, Community Partnerships and in-restaurant events and promotions. Through strategized communication techniques, Cookson has consistently kept Firefly’s average open rate at 43 percent, well above the industry average’s 28 percent rate.
Last 12 months (October 2023-October 2024)
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“Cookson Communications has been instrumental in refreshing our brand and launching our new website. Their responsive, collaborative and creative approach to rebranding – including logo and tagline updates – has helped us modernize while maintaining respect for our 77-year legacy. The team’s dedication to understanding our unique goals and providing expert guidance has been invaluable. We’re so grateful for their partnership in helping us achieve our vision.”
