Wagamama’s Free Tasting Events Are Clever Marketing. Here’s How HighLevel Could Take the Idea Even Further

I received an email from Wagamama this morning with a subject line that immediately caught my attention:

“fancy a free first taste?”

The idea is beautifully simple.

Wagamama is inviting members of its Soul Club to exclusive tasting events where they can try new dishes for free before they are launched to everyone else.

Click through from the email and you’re taken to an Eventbrite collection containing individual tasting events at Wagamama restaurants around the country.

And I really like this marketing.

They’re Not Just Giving Away Free Food

At first glance, you could look at this as Wagamama giving existing customers something for nothing.

I think that misses the point.

This is customer loyalty marketing.

Rather than constantly trying to tempt customers back with discounts, Wagamama is giving its regular customers something that feels exclusive:

Come and try something before everyone else does.

That makes customers feel like insiders.

It gives them another reason to engage with the Wagamama brand between normal restaurant visits. It potentially generates word of mouth and social media activity. And, importantly, it brings existing customers physically back into a restaurant.

There’s also something psychologically very different between:

“Here’s 20% off your next meal.”

and:

“We’d like you to be one of the first people to try our new dish.”

I’d take the second approach every time.

Then I Noticed They Were Using Eventbrite

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with Eventbrite. For this campaign it appears to be doing a relatively straightforward job.

Choose a restaurant. Reserve a free place. Turn up.

But it immediately made me think about the new HighLevel Events & Tickets functionality.

HighLevel can now create free RSVP events and paid ticketed events, manage capacity and registrations, issue tickets and check attendees in using QR codes.

For a relatively simple tasting event such as this, HighLevel could potentially replace Eventbrite.

I’ve previously written about using HighLevel as an Eventbrite alternative, but the really interesting part isn’t simply replacing another piece of software.

It’s what becomes possible when the event booking system is also connected to your CRM, WhatsApp, email, SMS, reputation management, social media and marketing automation.

Imagine Wagamama Had Run the Whole Campaign Through HighLevel

Someone receives:

Fancy a free first taste?

They click through and reserve a place at their local restaurant.

HighLevel now knows that customer has registered for that particular tasting event.

Before the event, workflows can automatically send confirmations and reminders.

Then the customer arrives at the restaurant and their QR code is scanned.

Now HighLevel knows something much more important:

They didn’t just book. They actually showed up.

And that single action can start an entirely different marketing journey.

This is where I’d start having some fun.

1. Build Anticipation Before the Tasting

Don’t just send a boring booking confirmation.

A couple of days beforehand:

“You’re one of the first people who’ll get to try our new dish. Any guesses what it might be?”

Perhaps reveal a clue.

Then another one on the morning of the event.

The event experience has started before the customer has even arrived.

2. Reduce No-Shows With Reminders

Free events have an obvious problem.

It’s very easy to reserve a free place and then decide not to bother going.

So use email, SMS or WhatsApp reminders in the run-up to the event.

You could even include:

“Can’t make it? Let us know and we’ll give your place to another Soul Club member.”

Now you’re potentially recovering capacity rather than simply accepting no-shows.

3. WhatsApp People When They Actually Arrive

This is where things start getting much more interesting.

When someone checks in, HighLevel can trigger an automation because that person has actually arrived at the event.

So perhaps 20 or 30 minutes after check-in they receive a WhatsApp:

“Enjoying your first taste? 🍜 You’re one of the first people to try our new dish. We’d love to know what you think…”

The timing matters.

Don’t ask them tomorrow.

Ask them while they’re sitting in the restaurant, eating the food and enjoying the experience.

4. Turn the Event Into a Video Testimonial Machine

This might be my favourite idea.

HighLevel now has Video Testimonials built into its reputation management functionality.

You can create a branded video testimonial request and send the customer a link by WhatsApp while they are still at the tasting.

The customer can then use their phone to record a short reaction.

So the WhatsApp message could say:

“You’re one of the first people in the country to try this. Fancy giving us your verdict? Tap below and record a quick 20-second video.”

Think about the timing.

They’ve just eaten something new.

They’re at an exclusive event.

They’re probably with other Wagamama fans.

They’re excited enough about the brand to have booked a tasting event in the first place.

That’s exactly when I’d ask for the testimonial.

Rather than a marketing department trying to manufacture social content afterwards, you’ve created the conditions for customers to create it for you.

5. Turn Those Videos Into Social Proof

Once somebody submits their video, another HighLevel workflow could be triggered.

So you could potentially have:

Customer checks in → receives WhatsApp → records video → grants marketing consent → marketing team is notified → video reviewed → approved content repurposed for social media.

I wouldn’t automatically publish every video without somebody reviewing it first.

That’s not a limitation. I’d deliberately build human approval into the process.

Imagine Wagamama running 20 tasting events and receiving 100 short videos.

The marketing team isn’t starting with a blank sheet of paper wondering what to post on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok.

They’ve got dozens of genuine reactions from real customers trying the product.

“We gave Soul Club members the first taste of our new dish. Here’s what they thought…”

That’s potentially fantastic social content.

And because HighLevel brings CRM and marketing automation together, the event doesn’t need to exist as an isolated marketing activity.

6. Ask Everyone for Their Verdict

Not everybody wants to record a video.

That’s fine.

After the event, send everyone who checked in a simple survey:

What did you think?

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Now the event isn’t just marketing.

It’s also market research.

You can discover which dishes people loved, which divided opinion and potentially why.

And because this information sits against the contact in the CRM, it can influence what happens next.

7. Treat the People Who Loved It Differently

Suppose someone gives the dish five stars.

Don’t just record the answer in a spreadsheet and forget about it.

That’s a marketing signal.

When the dish officially launches, send them:

“Remember that dish you tried before everyone else?”

“It’s now officially on the menu.”

You could invite them back to have it again, perhaps with a friend.

That’s an incredibly natural reason to contact somebody.

You’re not sending another generic restaurant promotion.

You’re continuing a conversation that started when they attended the tasting.

8. Treat the No-Shows Differently Too

Imagine 100 people book and 80 actually check in.

Those two groups shouldn’t receive the same follow-up.

The 80 attendees might receive:

“Thanks for joining us. What did you think?”

The 20 people who didn’t attend might receive:

“Sorry we missed you. Would you like first refusal on our next tasting event?”

Same event.

Completely different follow-up based on customer behaviour.

9. Create a VIP Tasting Panel

Now think beyond a single event.

HighLevel is a CRM.

Over time, you could identify people who:

register → attend → give feedback → submit videos → engage with future invitations

Those people are telling you something.

They’re not merely customers.

They’re potentially some of your biggest brand advocates.

So why not create a Wagamama Tasting Panel?

Give those customers priority invitations to future tastings.

Ask them to help choose between two potential dishes.

Invite them to preview a seasonal menu.

Give them a vote on which discontinued dish should return.

Now the loyalty programme starts feeling like a genuine club rather than another database with a membership number.

10. Encourage Attendees to Bring Someone Next Time

Here’s another opportunity.

After somebody attends and gives the experience a high score:

“Glad you enjoyed it. Next time, would you like to bring a friend?”

That’s clever because your existing customer becomes the acquisition channel.

Their friend gets introduced to Wagamama through an exclusive experience rather than an advertisement.

If the objective is customer acquisition, I’d be measuring how many guests subsequently join Soul Club themselves.

11. Reward Your Best Advocates

You could take this further still.

Someone has attended three tastings.

They’ve completed every survey.

They’ve recorded two video testimonials.

They’ve brought a friend.

Why not recognise that?

Perhaps they get invited to a particularly exclusive menu preview.

Or receive a surprise reward.

Or get first access to the next tasting before invitations go to everybody else.

The technology makes it possible to recognise behaviour rather than treating every person in the database identically.

12. Close the Loop on Social Media

There’s one final twist I particularly like.

After somebody submits a video testimonial and gives permission for it to be used, send them:

“Thanks! We loved your reaction. Keep an eye on our socials. You might just spot yourself 👀”

Now you’ve potentially given them another reason to follow the brand.

And if their video does get used?

Tell them.

They’re quite likely to share it themselves.

So one customer interaction potentially becomes:

Event attendance → testimonial → Wagamama social content → customer shares Wagamama content → customer’s friends see it → more awareness of the next event.

Now you’ve created a marketing loop.

This Is Why I’m Excited About HighLevel Events

If all HighLevel did was issue tickets, I’d be considerably less interested.

There are already plenty of systems that can do that.

HighLevel Events & Tickets can create event pages, handle RSVP and ticketed registrations, control capacity, issue QR-code tickets and manage attendee check-in.

But that’s only the starting point.

The bigger opportunity is:

Invitation → Registration → Reminder → Attendance → WhatsApp → Feedback → Video testimonial → Marketing consent → Social proof → Segmentation → Follow-up → Repeat visit → Referral → Next event

And all of those interactions can potentially contribute to the same customer record.

That’s much more interesting than simply asking:

“Can HighLevel replace Eventbrite?”

For a relatively straightforward event like Wagamama’s tasting sessions, I think the better question is:

“What becomes possible when your event platform is also your CRM and marketing automation platform?”

What Can Other Businesses Learn From Wagamama?

I’m not suggesting Wagamama should rip out Eventbrite and install HighLevel.

I don’t know their technology stack, their requirements or what happens behind the scenes.

I’m highlighting their campaign because the marketing idea itself is excellent.

And it’s an idea businesses of almost any size can borrow.

A restaurant can run menu tastings.

A gym can invite members to an exclusive new class.

A dentist can hold an Invisalign information evening.

An accountant can run a Budget update.

An estate agent can host a property investment evening.

A software company can invite its best customers to preview a new feature.

A martial arts club can run gradings, tournaments and presentation evenings.

The event doesn’t necessarily need to make money.

Sometimes the purpose is to give your customers another reason to interact with you and another reason to feel good about being one of your customers.

Wagamama has done that with one very simple proposition:

Come and try our new food before everyone else.

I think that’s clever marketing.

But combine that idea with CRM data, event check-ins, WhatsApp, workflows, customer feedback, video testimonials and social media, and it could become something considerably more powerful.

If you’d like to explore the technology itself, I’ve written a more detailed guide to HighLevel Events & Tickets.

You can also join us for our free live HighLevel Courses, Events & Ticketing workshop, where we look at how these features can be used in a real HighLevel account.

So yes, Wagamama. I like this one.

And I’ll be particularly interested to see what they send me after the tasting event.