Maria's Cocina: Ads & Email Campaign

01 Meta Ads Facebook & Instagram

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Maria's Cocina

Ad 1: "Not chocolate sauce" (first-timers, Tue to Thu)

Primary text: "Isn't mole just chocolate sauce?" We hear it every week. Ours takes two days: chilhuacle, mulato, and pasilla chiles charred on the comal until they're almost black, then ground with toasted seeds, plantain, and a little Oaxacan chocolate. It comes out smoky, earthy, and just barely sweet. First time? Ask for a taste on a chip before you order. It's on us.
Headline: Mole Negro, Two Days in the Making (34 chars)
Description: Your first taste is on us (25 chars)
CTA button: Get Directions
Audience: People within 10 miles, 25 to 60, interested in Mexican food and local dining. Heaviest Tuesday to Thursday afternoons, when people pick dinner.
Creative direction: A 6-second clip: chiles blackening on the comal with real smoke, a cut to mole ladled over chicken, then hands tearing a fresh tortilla. One line of on-screen text: "Not chocolate sauce." Kitchen light, no studio gloss.

the thinking

In reviews, first-timers describe mole as "chocolate sauce" more than anything else, and that's why people who've never tried it order tacos instead. So the ad asks the question out loud, answers it with what actually goes in, and takes away the risk with a free taste. It never says "authentic." Chilhuacle chiles grow in one small corner of Oaxaca, and a detail like that proves it better than the word ever could.

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Maria's Cocina

Ad 2: "Nobody leaves hungry" (catering, the bigger ticket)

Primary text: Graduation party? Quinceañera? Office lunch for 40? Guests remember two things about party food: whether it ran out, and whether it showed up cold. We pack for 10% more people than you order for, deliver hot in insulated carriers, and show up 30 minutes early. Trays of mole, rice, and beans, plus tamales by the dozen. You'll have a quote within a day.
Headline: Nobody Leaves Hungry (20 chars)
Description: Catering for 10 to 200 (22 chars)
CTA button: Get Quote
Audience: Site visitors and past diners from the last 90 days, plus parents of high school seniors and office admins within 15 miles.
Creative direction: Overhead shot of a real party table: foil trays of tamales, mole, rice, and salsa with hands reaching in. Warm, a little messy, clearly a real party.

the thinking

Catering reviews and party-planning forums are full of the same fears: food that ran out, showed up an hour late, or arrived cold. One bride wrote that guests were "left without full meals" and she still felt horrible about it. The chains sell customization ("build your own bar"). Nobody promises the thing the host is actually worried about. So this ad makes three promises a host can hold Maria's to: extra food, hot delivery, and an early arrival. One catering order can be worth more than a week of Tuesday dinners, so it gets its own audience and budget.

02 Google Ads Search: hungry right now

Google · "mexican restaurant near me"

Ad·mariascocina.com/Menu/Takeout

Maria's Cocina | Mole Negro, Two Days to Make | Order Takeout Online

Mole negro made over two days, tamales in banana leaf, and tortillas pressed by hand. Never had mole? Ask for a taste on a chip. It is on us. Open Tue to Sun, 11a to 9p.

See the Menu Order Takeout Get a Catering Quote Reserve a Table

Call extension: (555) 019-9222

Responsive Search Ad: dinner tonight

Headlines (12 of 15): Maria's Cocina14/30
Oaxacan Kitchen Since 201126/30
Mole Negro, Two Days to Make28/30
Tamales in Banana Leaf22/30
Tortillas Pressed by Hand25/30
First Taste of Mole Is Free27/30
Tamales, Mole & Birria Tacos28/30
Order Takeout Online20/30
Reserve a Table Tonight23/30
Catering for 10 to 200 Guests29/30
Catering: Nobody Leaves Hungry30/30
Family-Run, Open Tue to Sun27/30
Descriptions (4 of 4): Mole negro made over two days, tamales in banana leaf, and tortillas pressed by hand.85/90
Never had mole? Ask for a taste on a chip. It is on us. Open Tue to Sun, 11a to 9p.83/90
Party catering for 10 to 200. We pack extra and deliver hot. Quote back within a day.85/90
Family-run in town since 2011. Dine in, order takeout, or reserve the big table.80/90
Display path: mariascocina.com/Menu/Takeout
Keywords: [mexican restaurant near me], "oaxacan food", "mole near me", [tamales near me], "birria tacos near me". Catering gets its own ad group: "mexican catering", [taco catering near me]
Negative keywords: recipe, "how to make", jobs, hiring, frozen, grocery, "near me open 24 hours", delivery app names
Sitelinks: See the Menu · Order Takeout · Get a Catering Quote · Reserve a Table
Callouts: Made From Scratch Daily · First Taste of Mole Free · Vegetarian Options · Catering 10 to 200
Other assets: Location asset from the Google Business Profile, call asset during open hours only, menu and food photos as image assets.

the thinking

Someone searching "mexican restaurant near me" is choosing between three names on a map, and the chain is usually closest. Real dishes and real effort in the headlines ("two days to make," "pressed by hand") are things a chain can't say. The free taste goes in a headline because it answers the first-timer's hesitation before they even click. Catering gets its own ad group with its own keywords, because someone searching "mexican catering" is planning a party, not picking dinner.

03 Email First visit to regular

Maria's Cocina

Header image · images/email-1.jpg

Gracias for coming in, Sam.

It meant a lot to have you at our table. Next time, try the mole negro. It takes us two days, and it's the recipe my abuela made for every wedding in her pueblo. If you've never had it, tell your server and the first taste is on me. One more thing: I stamped your La Familia Card twice, once for coming in and once for being new. Six more and your next meal is on us.

See what's cooking this week

Maria

Email 1: First visit thank-you

Subject: Gracias for coming in, {{first_name}} (37 chars)
A/B subject: I stamped your card twice
Preview text: And the one dish to order next time.
Sends: The morning after a first visit (stamp card sign-up or first online order).
Exits when: They come back for a second visit.
Goal: Turn a first visit into a second one, without a coupon.

the thinking

A study of 1,000+ restaurants found post-visit thank-you emails get the lowest open rate of any type (11%) but the highest return rate: almost 30% of the people who got one came back. So this email stays short, comes from Maria, and gives one reason to come back that isn't a discount: a specific dish to try next. The double stamp comes from a well-known loyalty study. Car-wash customers given a card with 2 of 10 stamps already filled finished it far more often (34%) than people with a blank 8-stamp card (19%), even though both needed 8 washes.

Maria's Cocina

Header image · images/email-2.jpg

It's been a minute, Sam.

You're two stamps away from a free meal on La Familia Card. Also, the banana leaf tamales are back this week, made the way my mom made them for Día de Muertos. They go fast. Tuesday's usually quiet, so it's a good night to grab the big booth.

Reserve a table

Maria

Email 2: Lapsed regular, stamp card nudge

Subject: Two stamps away, {{first_name}} (31 chars)
A/B subject: The banana leaf tamales are back
Preview text: And Tuesday is a quiet night for the big booth.
Sends: To card holders with no visit in 30 days. Lands Tuesday at 11am, before dinner plans are made.
Exits when: They visit. No visit after 2 weeks: one more try, then they go to a quarterly list.
Goal: Bring back regulars who drifted, using the reward they already earned.

the thinking

"Two stamps away" works better than "we miss you," because it shows how close the reward is, and people speed up as they get near a finish line. The second reason to come back is food, not a coupon: a seasonal dish that won't be around long. The same restaurant study found win-back emails bring back about 6.5% of lapsed guests, so the email's job is to give them a specific reason, this week. There's no discount, because the free meal they've already earned is the offer.