#WhatThePho: Vietnamese chain runs awareness campaign ahead of Manchester launch

By Emma Eversham

- Last updated on GMT

#WhatThePho: Vietnamese chain runs awareness campaign ahead of Manchester launch
Vietnamese restaurant chain Pho has launched an innovative awareness campaign around its name and main dish ahead of its latest opening in Manchester. 

The company, run by Stephen and Juliette Wall, will open its fifteenth site in Manchester at the city's Corn Exchange on 28 August and is hoping to create a buzz in the run-up through its #WhatThePho campaign which pokes fun at the pronunciation of 'Pho'. 

Although the spelling is the same, the company's name is pronounced 'fow' while the noodle soup it serves is pronounced 'fuh', so it produced a tongue-in-cheek video to highlight the difference. 

"Vietnamese food isn't as well known in the north as it has become in London and although our Leeds restaurant has helped with awareness, we want to make sure that when we arrive in Manchester people will be ready for us, having had a chance to check out menus, photos and social media channels so there's no confusion about what kind of restaurant we are," said Pho's head of marketing Libby Andrews. 

"The marketing of Vietnamese noodle soups to people who've never heard of pho brings us back to basics and back to the PR strategy we used years ago when opening up early sites in London." 

In addition to the video, which has been posted to Youtube and can be viewed below, Pho has put up posters around Manchester with key messaging and will be running dedicated content through its social media channels. 

Earlier this month Pho announced plans to grow to 30 sites over the next three years after receiving £8m of funding from NatWest.

 

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