Hospitality and Restaurants

Marketing Consultant in Melbourne

Photography by Kris Paulsen

Clarity, Structure and Sustainable Growth for Your Venue

Running a venue is fast, demanding and rarely predictable.

Between service, staffing, rising costs, menu changes and customer expectations, marketing can easily become reactive or something you do only when you have time.

I help restaurants, bars and hospitality groups build clear, practical marketing strategies that drive bookings, stabilise mid-week trade, strengthen brand presence and support your team.

With 20 years across food, wine and hospitality, from restaurant floors to group-level strategy, I understand how venues operate and what actually influences customer behaviour. My role is to bring clarity, structure and a sustainable plan your team can confidently deliver.

If you want to create momentum, improve consistency and tell your story with purpose, I can help.

Who I Work With

  • Single-venue restaurants

  • Hospitality groups with multiple brands

  • Bars, whisky venues and cocktail programs

  • Café groups and all-day dining

  • Distilleries and hybrid venues

  • Founders, GMs, executive chefs and marketing teams

Elegant logo for Altjoints Estate in black cursive and uppercase text on a light background.
The word "ARBOUR" written in bold, black, arched letters on a light background.
Text that reads 'CODA / TONKA' on a light background.
Elegant logo for Estelle Bistro with a light gray background, featuring the word "Estelle" in large, cursive black font and the word "Bistro" in smaller uppercase black letters below, separated by dashes.
The word 'EUROPEAN' written in large black font on a light background.
Text reading 'French Salon' in bold black letters on a light background.
Large black text spelling KIN on a light background.
Text graphic promoting Melbourne Food and Wine Festival with large black letters on a light background, featuring arrows pointing toward the word FESTIVAL.
Black silhouette of Mount Ophir Estate on a light background with bold text reading "Mount Ophir Estate" and smaller text underneath "Rutherglen 1891."
Black and white logo with the word 'SIGLO' in bold uppercase letters inside a rectangular border.

How I Help Hospitality Businesses Grow

  • I help you define a clear direction for the year ahead, turning competing ideas and pressures into a structured plan your team can follow.

    This includes:

    • Strategic priorities

    • Audience and market focus

    • Brand story and positioning

    • Seasonal and monthly rhythms

    • Campaign frameworks

    • Measurement and accountability

    Your team executes the plan with confidence, using a roadmap that keeps everyone aligned.

  • Brand strength comes from clarity. I guide you through the process of defining or refining your brand so it reflects who you are today and the market you want to reach.

    This covers:

    • Brand story and messaging

    • Tone of voice

    • Visual direction guidance

    • Positioning within a group or competitive market

    • How your identity shows up across digital, service and PR

    I help you make brand decisions with long-term consistency in mind.

  • Rather than running your digital channels, I help you understand where the gaps and opportunities are and how to prioritise them.

    This includes guidance on:

    • Website and booking journeys

    • Data and analytics

    • CRM structure and segmentation

    • Digital visibility and search behaviour

    • Private event enquiry pathways

    • Customer experience and retention

    Your team knows what to focus on and what matters most.

  • I work with owners and leaders to diagnose what affects mid-week trade and to design a sustainable approach to improving consistency.

    This involves:

    • Understanding customer behaviour

    • Identifying growth segments

    • Clarifying offer strategy

    • Using events and experiences as strategic tools

    • Creating a plan that builds steady, predictable demand

    • No promotions for the sake of it. Just considered, long-term decision-making.

  • I provide the frameworks and messaging your team needs to communicate clearly and consistently.

    This includes:

    • Content pillars

    • Storytelling themes

    • Messaging hierarchy

    • Photography and creative direction

    • Approaches for short-form and event-led content

    Your team walks away knowing what to say, how to say it and why it matters.

  • Events and collaborations can play a powerful role in revenue, relevance and storytelling.

    I help you decide:

    • What events make sense for your brand

    • How they support your long-term positioning

    • How they fit into your annual plan

    • Which partnerships strengthen your brand story

    • How to use events to build community and visibility

    This is strategic planning, not event coordination.

  • I provide senior support for owners, GMs and in-house marketers who need a strategic partner in their corner.

    This can include:

    • Monthly or fortnightly advisory sessions

    • Oversight of marketing priorities

    • Coaching for marketing coordinators

    • Guidance on reporting, planning and workflow

    • Helping teams build confidence and structure

    You stay focussed on the decisions that matter most while developing in-house capability.

Let's Talk Stategy

Success Story: Coda and Tonka

“Holly is driven to the point of when the idea is seeded, it doesn’t just ferment, it takes seed and it grows.”

— Mykal Bartholomew, Co-Owner, Coda and Tonka Restaurants

FAQs

  • Yes. I set the strategy and direction so your team can manage it with confidence.

  • Yes. Many clients engage me during growth periods or when they need clearer structure.

  • I oversee the strategy and work with a trusted specialist to execute campaigns.

  • Yes. Hospitality is hands-on and I visit venues as part of the process.

  • Yes. I refine story, messaging and digital presence and work with designers when visual updates are required.

Holly Formosa smiling, sitting at a dark table against a plain gray background, with her right elbow resting on the table and her right hand supporting her chin.

Ready to grow revenue and attract new customers?

I’ll help you craft a marketing strategy that builds loyalty, boosts visibility and drives results.

Book a free 30-minute call—no pressure, just practical ideas.

Let's Talk